Tradie accused of one-punch death of Brazilian man in Surfers Paradise

A Brazilian man died from a fatal blow to the head during a brawl over stolen food, a court has heard.

A Sydney construction worker is in court over the killing of a Brazilian man who died from a fatal blow to the head received during a brawl over a stolen chip on the Gold Coast.

Ricky Lefoe is facing trial in Brisbane Supreme Court, charged with manslaughter over the alleged fatal punch at Surfers Paradise on September 30, 2019.

The Crown alleges Mr Lefoe knocked 29-year-old Ivan Susin unconscious during a brawl outside a kebab shop on Orchid Ave.

Ricky Lefoe, right, arrives at the Brisbane Supreme court with his lawyer Campbell MacCallum. Mr Lefoe is on trial for manslaughter after allegedly punching and killing Brazilian man Ivan Susin. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Tertius Pickard

Ivan Susin died 12 days after he was allegedly punched in the head by Ricky Lefoe.

Mr Lefoe has pleaded not guilty to manslaughter.

Several witnesses on Monday told the court they’d seen a group of men fighting, before one man fell to the ground.

In CCTV, which was played before the court on Monday, a group of men is involved in the alleged fight outside the kebab shop.

Jonathan Lodge, who was sitting on the bench nearby the kebab shop and knew Mr Susin, told the court on Monday how another man had approached him and another friend.

The court heard this man, known as Shaun Simpson, had allegedly stolen a chip from Mr Lodge’s friend and then walked away before allegedly returning to the bench and punching Mr Lodge in the head.

“He punched me and he swung his left fist and then dragged me off the bench” Mr Lodge said.

“I tried to defend myself like anyone would.”

The CCTV footage shown to the court shows the fight break out and Mr Susin approaching to assist his friend Mr Lodge.

Mr Lefoe also allegedly became involved in the fight at this stage before punching Mr Susin to the ground, as shown in the CCTV footage.

Yousef Majed Salameh Abu Meizer says he was serving Ivan Susin at the kebab shop when the fight allegedly broke out. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Tertius Pickard

Kebab shop worker Yousef Majed Salameh Abu Meizer told the court on Monday he had been serving Mr Susin at the takeaway shop when the fight broke out.

“I had a customer in front of me, after the fight started he went to the fight and got punched and went to the floor,” he said.

Witness Daniel Gill told the court he’d been on the Gold Coast to play in the Uni Games tournament and had been out the night of the alleged fight.

Mr Gill said he was sitting nearby when he saw two people get into an “altercation” and could hear “raised voices”.

“It was a bit of a scuffle – both stood up and exchanged some punches. From there, a third person ran in, tried to throw a haymaker punch and missed,” Mr Gill said.

“He (the third person) then got hit in the head, which knocked him out and he went straight to the ground.”

Witness Daniel Gill told the Brisbane Supreme Court about the fight he saw which resulted in Brazilian man Ivan Susin dying from his injuries, allegedly sustained after he was punched. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Tertius Pickard

Mr Gill said he believed the fight had broken out after a “bloke had stolen food and initiated the fight”.

He told the court he didn’t know what type of food was allegedly stolen, but did recall seeing a takeaway container on the bench where the men had been sitting before the fight broke out.

Another witness, Keesha Martinuzzo, told the court she also remembered seeing the fight get “progressively worse” as she was standing nearby with friends.

“I’m not sure how the fight started, but as we were approaching, there was a few punches, so we stepped away,” Ms Martinuzzo said.

Kesha Martinuzzo told the Brisbane Supreme Court she recalled seeing Brazilian man Ivan Susin fall to the ground after he was punched in the head. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Tertius Pickard

“Lots of punches were being thrown (between) a whole lot of people.

“I couldn’t make out who was punching who and there was a lot of people involved in the group.

“I do remember someone being hit … he was completely knocked out just in that one punch.

“In that single punch he landed directly back on the concrete.

“I don’t remember the direction he came from, I wasn’t really observing them at the time.”

Ms Martinuzzo said she saw one man eating chips on the bench and then she saw the fight break out.

“I just remember them fleeing, they didn’t stay.”

The trial continues.

Originally published as Tradie accused of one-punch death of Brazilian man in Surfers Paradise