Detectives zero in on 90-minute window in probe into Clayfield millionaire’s death

Homicide detectives are zeroing in on a 90-minute window the night Brisbane businessman Greg Josephson was allegedly murdered in his multimillion-dollar Clayfield home.

Josephson, the 58-year-old co-founder of clothing chain Universal Store, was stabbed to death during a party attended by dozens of teenagers at his home on the night of June 26.

A 15-year-old boy was charged with murder the following day.

Greg Josephson co-founded Universal Store.Credit: Instagram

Police received an emergency call that a man had been critically injured, and arrived at the house, worth more than $5 million, about 8.15pm while the party was ongoing.

They found Josephson’s body upstairs while about 30 unaware teenagers continued to enjoy themselves downstairs.

On Wednesday evening, police revealed they were focusing on the time between 7pm and 8.30pm and appealed for dashcam footage from surrounding streets, including Oriel Road, Alexandra Road and Barlow Street.

Universal Store co-founder Greg Josephson was allegedly murdered at his six-bedroom house in the exclusive Brisbane suburb of Clayfield.Credit: William Davis

“Operation Xray Matte has been launched,” police said in a statement.

“Investigators are appealing to anyone with dashcam footage in the areas of Oriel Road, Alexandra Road and Barlow Street, between the hours of 7pm to 8.30pm, to contact Crime Stoppers.”

According to police, the accused boy was found in Barlow Street, streets away from the home, and officers took him into custody.

The teenager’s case was briefly mentioned in the Children’s Court on Friday morning, but he did not appear. The court heard he had been taken to hospital.

The prosecution asked for an eight-week adjournment to prepare the brief of evidence and the case was adjourned to September 2.

Detectives confirmed on Friday they had found the alleged weapon used.

Josephson founded the Universal Store with his brother, Michael, launching the first storefront in Carindale in 1999. Their uncle owned the Lee Cooper brand, while their grandfather owned workwear brand Can’t Tear ’Em.

The brothers sold the company for $100 million in 2018. As of December, more than 80 Universal Store shopfronts are across Australia.

Greg Josephson was the co-founder of Universal Store.Credit: File image

According to his LinkedIn profile, Josephson held roles for Westfield and Lendlease, most recently having been the chief executive of Josephsons Holdings.

The Josephson family home, with six bedrooms and six bathrooms in the affluent inner-city neighbourhood of Clayfield, sat on a 1259-square-metre block and had been listed for sale last month.

It was bought in May 2016 for $1.91 million and had been renovated extensively.

Responding police described the scene on Thursday night as chaotic.

The Clayfield home in which Greg Josephson’s body was found on Thursday, June 26.

“When we got here it was quite a chaotic scene. There were about 30 young people here having a party,” Inspector Jane Healy said.

Detective Acting Superintendent Craig Williams said other teenagers at the property were taken to Boondall police station for questioning and their parents were called.

He could not confirm where in the property the alleged altercation took place.

“It was a confusing situation because it was a party ... and when police turn up at a party it was confusing until obviously all persons present understood what was going on and why police were there,” he said.

Police at the Clayfield home on Saturday.Credit: William Davis

“It’s an extremely distressing job, of course, when a young person is involved and any time there’s loss of life, as I said, it’s distressing for the family, it’s distressing for the community and the innocent people at the house who had nothing to do with it.

“I’m aware there was a triple-zero call to police and that is what caused the initial response.”

He said that whether the 8.15pm call came from inside the house was still part of the investigation.

Josephson’s family issued a statement asking for privacy as they did not wish to participate in interviews.

Police at the scene.Credit: William Davis

In a statement, Universal Store said: “We wanted to share the sad news that Greg Josephson, who founded our company and played a significant role until 2018, has recently passed away.

“Our sincere thoughts and condolences are with his family at this very sad time.”

The alleged murder could be the first major test of Queensland’s controversial adult crime, adult time legislation.

Under the laws, a key plank of Premier David Crisafulli’s election pitch last year, juveniles can face life sentences for serious criminal offences.

Asked about the prospect of the teenager being the first to face a murder charge under the new regime, Crisafulli played it safe.

“I’m just mindful at the moment, where a family’s lost someone in recent hours, I might reserve my comments on that in particular,” he said.

“But, just more generally, when things like this happen … it makes people particularly reflect about how precious life is and we’ll let the courts do their job.”

Police have urged anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers online or call 1800 333 000.

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