Toutai Kefu’s family returns to scene of home invasion

Toutai Kefu has told of the emotional pain his family have gone through as they made a tearful return to their Brisbane home, while he admits his wife still won’t return four days after the home invasion that left the former Wallaby fighting for his life and three others family members in hospital.

Wallabies legend Toutai Kefu has detailed the horrific home invasion that saw four members of his family injured, saying his young son went into “beast mode” to save him from two of the allegedly armed attackers.

Kefu and his family were rushed to hospital during the early hours of Monday morning after four teens allegedly broke into their Coorparoo home with an axe, a machete and a knife.

Kefu, who along with his children, returned to the family home today, revealed the teens returned to the scene as one of his neighbours held down one of the alleged offenders in the front yard.

“He’s an absolute hero,” Kefu said of his neighbour, who ran into his home and tackled one of the youths to the ground.

“Unbelievable. He turned up at the right time on that Monday morning and apprehended one of the intruders.

“If he didn’t turn up, it could have been a different story.

“He’s an absolute hero.”

Kefu

The neighbour ran into the Kefu home after hearing screams, tackling a teen who was allegedly still armed with a knife.

“Absolutely courageous what he did and to hold - I mean, there was one stage where I think one of the intruders got out and there was a car waiting for them,” Kefu said.

“They left and they came back and he was the only one that was out the front with the girls.

“Myself and my son were inside attending to our injuries.

“So we’re lucky that the police turned up at that time.

Kefu said the horror unfolded when his wife went downstairs to investigate a noise.

“So my wife, she heard a bit of a rustle downstairs. She got up had a look outside.

“She noticed a car across the road that she thought (was) just maybe an Uber driver dropping someone off.

“And she went back to bed and then she heard another, it was quite noisy, she thought maybe a possum had got in the house.

“So she went downstairs and that’s when she was confronted by the two (teens).

(She) let out this shrieky kind of scream.

“I jumped out of bed.”

Kefu

He said two of the teens allegedly began attacking him, and his 21-year-old son launched himself into the melee to protect him.

“My son, he absolutely went into beast mode,” Kefu said.

“I had the two intruders on me and he just jumped in with no fear and he copped a couple of hacks to his back.

“But … it could have certainly been a different outcome if (their neighbour) didn’t turn up.

“He had no thought for his own safety.”

He said the amount of blood in the house made their injuries seem - in some cases - more life threatening than they turned out to be.

“But we knew that if we just applied pressure that emergency services wouldn’t be too far away,” he said.

Kefu said he was shocked when he saw how young the people were who had allegedly broken into his home.

“When I actually came downstairs, I could see how young they were. I was shocked,” he said.

“And to find out they were 15- and 13-year-olds involved. I was really shocked.

“I don’t hate them - I’ve got a 15-year-old.

“I feel sorry for them.

“I’m just grateful that we all got out, we’re alive.”

Kefu

He said his wife Rachel is handling it the hardest and would find out in the next two weeks if she will regain full function of her arm.

“At one stage, I think the doctor said to her if the blade was sharper it would have cut her whole arm off - but the bone actually stopped the blade.

“So it was really graphic and she’s a trooper, Rach.

“She is the biggest one that’s struggling at the moment.”

He said she had major surgery yesterday and doctors would monitor how the wound healed.

“They’ve just said give it two weeks and then fingers crossed within that two weeks it’s mended really well.

“I don’t think she’ll get full use of her arm.”

He said the healing process would be slow for them all.

“We’ll take each day as it comes,” he said.

“Every time I talk about my family, I get emotional.”

Kefu

Kefu wiped away tears as he spoke about the aftermath of the home invasion, saying it was a “traumatic event” for the whole family.

“I take it day by day, at times there’s just outbursts of crying,” he said.

Kefu’s two adult children who were involved in the home invasion arrived home with him on Friday however his wife Rachel, who was the one to find the intruders on the night, still wasn’t ready to return.

“My kids are all here. My wife, she still won’t come to the home, I’m hoping maybe tomorrow,” he said.

The whole family was on the road to recovery according to the rugby legend with his wife receiving the last operation on her arm on Thursday.

“We’ll know more in two weeks about her arm, but everyone else is just getting over wounds,” he said.

Kefu said the outpouring of love from communities all around the world was “unbelievable”.

“I’d also like to thank police and the emergency services on that night. There’s a lot of what-ifs. Police turned up at a really important time, a lot of things could have gone differently without their support,” he said.

Four teenagers - including a 13-year-old boy - have now been charged with the attempted murders of the Wallabies legend, his wife Rachel and their two adult children.

Confronted by a member of the family, the teens are alleged to have attacked using an axe, a machete and a knife.

The Kefus were severely injured in the attack, with Toutai suffering severe injuries to his abdomen that required emergency life saving surgery.

Kefu

Rachel was left with severe injuries to her arm that also required extensive surgery, while their 21-year-old son was stabbed in the arm and back and their 18-year-old daughter was left with wounds to her arm and hand.

Neighbours from either side of the home bought over prepared meals for the Kefu family following their arrival.

Family members including Toutai’s brothers Steve and Simi Kefu and neighbours spent the morning cleaning the family home including mowing the lawn, pressure cleaning the walls and cleaning the windows.

Kefu

“They’re doing well,” a neighbour said.

“It’s just a working B now for when they get home.”