‘Dead before he hit the floor’: Graphic footage of fatal Valley stabbing

Graphic footage of a man being fatally stabbed with a pair of scissors – which was not allowed to be shown during an ongoing murder trial – can finally be resurfaced. WATCH THE VIDEO

A man on trial for murder has told a jury he felt “sick” when allegedly given an ultimatum to “fight or be stabbed”.

Seyram Djentuh, 22, has taken the stand as he defends his action in stabbing Lauie Tagaloa, 24, in the neck in Fortitude Valley in July 2022.

Graphic footage of the stabbing was played for the jury on Wednesday.

The two men had been complete strangers until they crossed paths during a night out with separate friend groups in the Valley.

Both groups ended up in Brunswick St Mall in the early hours to get food after being in separate nightclubs.

In Brisbane’s Supreme Court on Wednesday, Djentuh said he bumped into Mr Tagaloa and his friend Fernando Siologa outside a kebab shop and was asked by the latter about an incident on Ann St where the accused had been shouting.

The scene of the Fortitude Valley station stabbing.

Djentuh said he explained it was nothing just a guy being cheeky but Mr Siologa repeatedly asked the defendant if he wanted to fight which he turned down.

“He goes on to say that, not word for word, but him and his mates would stab a person like me,” Djentuh told the jury.

“He gave me an ultimatum, he said ‘fight or get stabbed’.

“After that I felt just ill, I felt so sick.

“Sick from stress, adrenaline, that sort of like gut wrenching feeling.”

Mr Siologa denied ever threatening to stab Djentuh but agreed during his evidence that he proposed and wanted to fist fight the defendant.

Djentujh said he next went to a NightOwl and asked the worker to use their backdoor but was told no.

“He was asking me why I told him why, I said there are people out there saying they’re going to stab me,” he said.

He tried contacting several people on his mobile to get a lift or Uber, as his account didn’t work, when he saw some scissors for sale which he put in the back of his pants.

“I thought to myself well I’m getting threatened that they’re going to stab me this is a protection, you know what I mean a last resort,” he said.

After paying for the scissors he left the store with his two friends and walked to Fortitude Valley station where he was followed by Mr Siologa.

“I remember getting to the train station, the doors, walking in and thinking to myself thank god,” Djentuh said.

His group was about 50m inside the retail complex that sits above the train platform when he heard Mr Siologa yelling for them to come outside.

Djentuh said he tried to stop his friend returning but was unsuccessful so followed him back to Mr Siologa who was still wanting to fight.

Queensland Police at Fortitude Valley Train Station after a fatal stabbing.

Djentuh said he repeatedly told Mr Siologa to “f**k off” and go away.

Mr Tagaloa and another man arrived and Djentuh said he put his hands behind his back as a “bluff”

However he claimed in response Mr Tagaloa pulled out a knife from his bag.

“I take my hand away from behind my back because … I thought to myself if I pull out the scissors right now it’s going to be a knife fight,” he said.

“The whole point of me putting my hand behind my was a bluff so I thought, ‘OK take your hand away’, I don’t want a knife fight, I just want to go.”

He said Mr Tagaloa put his knife away and a fight broke out shortly after.

Earlier his barrister Matt Hynes said when his client did pull out the scissors he used them as a “defensive measure”.

“And they keep coming after him as he’s reversing into the Valley Metro with his two friends,” he said.

At one stage Djentuh tells a person to stop filming.

“He didn’t want to be used for entertainment. He didn’t want to be the one bashed or killed on camera for amusement,” Mr Hynes said.

He said his client pulled the scissors each time Mr Tagaloa and Mr Siologa get close.

“He doesn’t go after them he doesn’t chase them he reverses from them,” Mr Hynes said.

“Mr Tagaloa comes around to his side … close enough to touch him close enough to grab him and Mr Djentuh thinks I’m dead here.

“He swung at Mr Tagaloa … he didn’t even know if the scissors actually connected at that point in time.”

Djentuh’s will continue giving evidence on Thursday before Justice Glenn Martin.

Djentuh has pleaded not guilty to a single count of murder on the basis he was acting in self defence.

The two men had been complete strangers until they crossed paths during a night out with separate friend groups on a winter’s evening two years ago.

Detectives at the Fortitude Valley station after a fatal stabbing.

Djentuh, who had armed himself with convenience store scissors, and his two mates had just walked into the Fortitude Valley train station complex when they were called outside by Mr Tagaloa’s friend Fernando Siologa around 4am on July 11 2022, Brisbane’s Supreme Court heard.

There had been talk about a possible fight between Mr Siologa and Djentuh in Brunswick Street Mall earlier, the court heard.

At the entrance of the Valley metro complex verbal bickering between Djentuh and his friends and Mr Siologa and Mr Tagaloa turned physical.

Mr Tagaloa quickly got the better of Djentuh’s two friends while the accused struck out with the scissors several times at Mr Siologa but did not make contact, the court heard.

The altercation moved inside the metro complex and attracted the attention of Ashton Reid who was sitting outside a closed eatery in the centre.

He walked down towards the “commotion” and started filming on his phone, he told the jury on Wednesday.

The footage played to the court showed Djentuh and friends moving further inside the complex as Mr Tagaloa and Mr Siologa advanced towards them.

In the blink of an eye Djentuh, walking backwards, stabbed Mr Tagaloa in the neck. The footage showed everyone kept moving except Mr Tagaloa who reached for his neck as blood spilt to the floor. The footage was stopped before Mr Tagaloa, whose carotid artery was cut, fell to the ground.

Mr Reid said he ran to the nearby 7-Eleven and screamed for someone to call emergency services before returning and trying to stop Mr Tagaloa’s bleeding with a jumper on his neck.

Eye witness Daniel Kennedy, whose statement was read out in court as he is now deceased, said he saw what he thought were three Samoans advancing as the “guy with the knife was backing up towards the train station”.

“I saw the guy with the knife swing the knife at one of the Samoan guys striking him in the neck,” Mr Kennedy’s statement said.

“I saw blood instantly start squirting out of the guy’s neck. It would have been no longer than three seconds before the Samoan guy fell to the floor

“I have never seen so much blood. It seemed to me that the guy was probably dead before he hit the floor.”

The trial continues.