‘Looked me dead in eye and smiled’: Brutal brawl survivor’s harrowing recount

A victim of the horrifying Brisbane park attack which killed one and put 10 others in hospital has stared down the accused attackers in the courtroom, claiming it was “mistaken identity”.

Rami Joseph Eresto leaves the Brisbane Supreme Court after testifying in the murder trial of Girum Mekonnen. Picture: NewsWire/Tertius Pickard

A victim of the horrifying Brisbane park attack which killed one and put 10 others in hospital has stared down the accused attackers in the courtroom, remembering one accused killer looking him “dead in the eye and smiling” moments before the melee began.

The survivor at one point turned to one of the accused killers sitting in the courtroom’s secure dock and spoke directly to him, and later claimed that several accused killers were told in the days prior that they were targeting the wrong people in a case of mistaken identity.

Girum Mekonnen, 19, was allegedly murdered in O’Callaghan Park in Zillmere in Brisbane’s north around 5.30pm on September 13, 2020. A further 10 people were hospitalised that night, some were severely injured with multiple horrific injuries.

A dozen defendants are on trial in a judge-only proceeding in Brisbane Supreme Court for 11 charges each, including murder. All have pleaded not guilty to all charges.

On Thursday, witness Rami Eresto recounted the park attack and his chilling confrontation with an unmasked attacker moments before the violence broke out.

Mr Eresto said the attackers were armed with baseball bats, machetes and hunting knives and were yelling words such as “f*** you, f***ing dogs, f***ing c***s”.

Mr Eresto told the court that when the attackers surrounded his group in the park, all had their faces covered except for one – a man he had met before, but knew him only by his nickname “Gucci 1K”. It is alleged this person was defendant Kresto Wal Wal.

Girum Mekonnen lost his live in a gang fight at Zillmere. Picture: Facebook

“He had no mask on, he was standing on the porch [of the demountable building],” Mr Eresto testified on Thursday, before turning directly to Kresto Wal Wal in the dock.

“You looked me dead in the eye, bro. You smiled. You’re the only person with the gap [in his front teeth].”

In a later exchange when he was being scrutinised by defence barrister Scott Lynch, acting for Kresto Wal Wal, Mr Eresto described the attacker’s smile as “unforgettable”.

“Are you telling me that if someone came to murder your mates, looked you dead in the eye and smiled at you, you would forget that?” Mr Eresto said in frustration.

Mr Eresto also told the court that in the days before the park ambush, he had heard about the assault on John Wal – who is the brother of four of the defendants – at Redbank Plains Shopping Centre by a group of unknown size on September 8, 2020. This assault was the alleged motive for the O’Callaghan Park attack.

Mr Eresto said he had a phone conversation with one of the Wal brothers – who goes by the name “Junior” – the day before the park ambush.

“He called me and asked whether I had heard about what happened to his brother [John Wal]?” Mr Eresto told the court.

“I said yes I had and I told him that whatever happened to his brother had nothing to do with us, and we did not do that to his brother.

“He told me: ‘Yes, I know, it’s got nothing to do with you guys’.”

Mr Eresto further testified that he spoke to one of the defendants, Santo Wal, in the days after the attack.

“Man, my friend [Girum] died, my brother [Ronal] got stabbed. Why did your brothers do that?” Mr Eresto asked Santo Wal.

“Well that’s what happens when you hurt someone’s family. ‘Junior’ is angry,” Santo Wal allegedly replied.

Following intense cross-examination by barristers representing the accused men about his recollection of details and why some details were only disclosed to police several days after the park attack, Mr Eresto snapped.

“They know damn well who attacked their little brother, they came and attacked the wrong people and killed an innocent person – for what? For what? That’s one thing today I still want to know,” he said angrily from the stand.

Also during cross-examination, Mr Eresto conceded he had identified “Gucci1K” to detectives by trawling through Facebook photos, and he couldn’t remember formally identifying the attacker through a police photo line-up.

Another witness on Thursday was Zaki Adwanga, who testified that early on in the melee a “small red-handled knife” was thrown at his head, but he dodged it at the last second.

Zaki Younis Adwanga leaves the Brisbane Supreme Court. Picture: Tertius Pickard

During his testimony, he accused defendant Juma Makuol Deng Makuol of being the one who threw the knife at him.

“Let’s fight, let’s fight. All you dogs are about to die,” Mr Adwanga testified the attackers said just before the violence erupted.

Mr Adwanga also spoke about comforting Mr Mekonnen after the ambush.

“He had been stabbed in the sides of his stomach … yes there was a lot of blood and his kidneys and everything was falling out,” Mr Adwanga recalled.

During cross-examination, defence barrister Veronika Drago, representing Mr Makuol, pressed Mr Adwanga on why details and descriptions of the attackers had changed in his various statements to police or testimonies before the court.

Drago: “The reality is Mr Adwanga that you would say whatever lie necessary to try to get that peace and justice for your friend?”

Adwanga: “No.”

Drago: “You don’t know who may have thrown a knife at you?”

Adwanga: “I 100 per cent know who.”

Drago: “You can’t be sure where you were standing when that knife was thrown at you?”

Adwanga: “I was there.”

Drago: “You can’t be clear about the knife and what it looked like?”

Adwanga: “Yes, I 100 per cent can.”

The 12 accused on trial are Alex Edward Deng, 22, Ben Abio, 23, Majok Riel Majok, 23, Yohana Wal Wal, 23, Malat Akoi Makuach, 25, Juma Makuol Deng Makuol, 27, Chan Kuchmol Kon, 28, Joseph Lokolong, 28, Kresto Wal Wal, 28, Abraham Ajang Yaak, 30, Gabreal Wal Wal, 31, and Santo Wal, 36.

Each defendant has pleaded not guilty to one count of murder, nine counts of malicious acts with intent, and one count of assault occasioning bodily harm while armed and in company.

The trial continues on Friday.