Supreme Court trial begins for man accused of bashing murder of Mark Boyce

A bashing murder accused was the “main protagonist” in the ambush of a man who was in the wrong place at the wrong time, a court’s been told.

The man accused of being the “main protagonist” of a 30-second bashing murder of a man who was “ambushed” while in the wrong place at the wrong time is standing trial in the Supreme Court.

The accused man, who cannot be named, has pleaded not guilty to the murder of innocent man Mark Boyce

Mr Boyce, 36, was bashed near his Hill St, Elizabeth South home at about 10.40pm on January 30, 2017 and died in hospital a week later on February 8, 2017.

The court heard he had ventured outside to ask a man waiting to give his friend a lift if he could also come for a drive when he was set upon by three men who were looking for his friend.

In his opening, prosecutor Jim Pearce KC, said when Mr Boyce went outside he “walked into an ambush”.

“An ambush it may have been, but Mr Boyce was not the intended target of that ambush. He was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time,” he said.

He told Justice Laura Stein, who is presiding over the trial without a jury, the intended target of the attack was Mr Boyce’s friend.

The court heard victim Mark Boyce was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Picture: SA Police

The man charged with murder. Supplied

He said the attack on Mr Boyce, who died from blunt force trauma injuries to his head, “was as short as it was brutal”.

“Mr Boyce was repeatedly punched and kicked. The attack left him unconscious. Moreover, it left him with severe head injuries which would ultimately prove to be fatal,” he said.

“(It took) 30 seconds to bash a man to death.”

Mr Pearce said Mr Boyce’s friend – who knew people were looking for him – had noticed a Toyota Echo and silver RAV 4 coming as he walked outside with Mr Boyce to talk to the driver of a different car who had offered them a lift.

Concerned for his safety he instead retreated, the court heard, before climbing onto the roof of Mr Boyce’s home.

Mr Pearce said the man on the roof – who has since died – had heard the men from the two cars question his whereabouts to which Mr Boyce responded that he did not know, before running away on Hill St.

Mr Pearce said three men from the two cars – including the man standing trial – chased Mr Boyce before detaining and bashing him.

He said the man standing trial was the driver and owner of the Toyota Echo and was “actively involved” in the bashing.

“Indeed, he was the main protagonist,” Mr Pearce said.

Mr Pearce said the Toyota Echo was discovered in September 2019, burnt out, cut up and buried under 4m of “compacted sand” at a property near Mannum.

“Whoever buried the car did not want it to be identified. Before they buried it they chopped it up and they burnt it,” he said.

He said that while some of the identifying features of the car had been removed, the engine number had not been removed. The engine number matched the Toyota Echo owned by the accused.

Mr Pearce said the car was last captured on government Safe-T-Cam four days before police issued a media release seeking information about the car.

The trial is continuing.