Zillmere park ambush survivor’s horror as best mate died in front of him

A young man who watched his friend die after being stabbed in a suburban park says he pleaded with the attackers “please don’t do it, I don’t know you”, a court has heard.

Witness Kyle Avenido leaves Brisbane Supreme Court. Picture: NewsWire / John Gass

A young man who was stabbed in the back during an ambush in a suburban park and saw his friend die in front of him as they tried to escape, begged the attackers “please don’t do it, I don’t know you” moments before the violence erupted, a court has heard.

Girum Mekonnen, 19, was allegedly murdered in O’Callaghan Park – home to North Star Football Club and the local PCYC – in Zillmere in Brisbane’s north around 5.30pm on September 13, 2020.

The accused 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 currently on trial is charged with one count of murder, nine counts of malicious acts with intent, as well as one count of assault occasioning bodily harm while armed and in company. Each defendant has pleaded not guilty to all 11 charges.

Girum Mekonnen, 19, was allegedly murdered in O’Callaghan Park. Picture Facebook

The Brisbane Supreme Court trial originally began last week with a jury, but was abandoned and restarted on Tuesday as a judge-only proceeding, overseen by Justice Lincoln Crowley.

The first witness on Wednesday was Kyle Avenido, who spent the day with his friend Girum Mekonnen before they wound up sitting on the veranda of a demountable building in O’Callaghan Park near the baseball field drinking alcohol.

CCTV footage from a local bottle shop was played to the court showing Mr Avenido and Mr Mekonnen and another man buying alcohol at 4.47pm. This is the only piece of evidence which captures Mr Mekonnen before his death.

Mr Avenido said their group were on the demountable building’s veranda in the park later that afternoon when suddenly one of them shouted a warning.

“A guy from our group told us to run. I was standing in front of the veranda on the grass, most of my group were standing on the veranda. They [the attackers] formed a semicircle,” Mr Avenido testified.

“They were all African, some were my height, some were taller, they wore good fashionable designer clothing. Nothing was covering their heads, I could see their faces. They had some sort of bats around 30-40cm, there was more than one.

“I remember saying: ‘Please don’t do it, I don’t know you, I don’t know what’s going on.’

“Then one of them came forward and he hit me on the head with the bottle and I started bleeding profusely, blood squirted everywhere.”

Under cross-examination, Mr Avenido conceded some members of his group may have thrown bottles at the ambushers first, saying he remembered “seeing hand movements from people on the veranda”.

O'Callaghan Park, Zillmere. Picture: Richard Walker

Mr Avenido said after he was initially hit by the bottle to the head, he retreated, but was chased and hit in the chest, and stabbed in the back.

“It was like I was winded, I lost my breath for a moment. This was followed by a really sharp pain, and there was blood dripping down from my chest,” he told the court.

Mr Avenido also testified that during a brief lull in the melee, he heard one of the attackers say loudly “you hurt my brother”.

The trial heard on Tuesday that the alleged motive for the Zillmere park ambush was an attack five days earlier on John Wal – who is the brother of four of the defendants.

John Wal was attacked at Redbank Plains Shopping Centre by a group of unknown size. John Wal is not charged with or accused of being involved in the O’Callaghan Park incident.

Badly wounded, Mr Avenido struggled through nearby trees towards the dried creekbed, which led back to the carpark where his car was.

“Then I saw Girum about five metres in front of me,” he testified.

“He was very dazed, he looked disorientated.

“I said ‘Girum, Girum, we need to get out of here’ and then he just collapsed face-first in front of me and that’s the last time I saw him, I didn’t see him get back up.

“I knew I couldn’t help him because I was severely injured.”

Witnesses Robert and Alicia Savage. Picture: NewsWire / John Gass

Witness and local resident Robert Savage was just pulling into the dirt carpark at this time with his wife, Alicia, to take their dog for their regular evening walk.

Mr and Mrs Savage told the court that seconds earlier they had driven past and noticed a group of 8-10 males walking away from the park and some were carrying baseball bats.

Mr and Mrs Savage said the men seemed happy and were smiling and laughing, they both assumed the group had just finished a game of baseball in the park.

As they pulled into the dirt carpark, Mr Savage said he saw a male stumbling towards them in blood-soaked clothes. He didn’t know it at the time, but this was Mr Avenido.

“I just got straight out of the car, told my wife to go home and get a phone and I sprinted to the young man,” Mr Savage testified.

“He face-planted onto the ground, I rolled him over and realised he was severely hurt.

“I could hear bottles being smashed, it sounded like it was coming from the baseball oval.”

Mr Savage said while he was tending to Mr Avenido, he turned and saw two men “of dark ethnicity” in the distance on an embankment.

Mr Savage said one of the men yelled threats towards him and Mr Avenido, making references to coming over and “finishing” them both off.

“I told him [Mr Avenido] that ‘we really need to get out of here’ and I picked him up,” Mr Savage testified.

“He said his car was over in the dirt parking lot and his keys were in his pocket and he just said ‘get me out of here’.”

Mr Savage drove Mr Avenido to the local PCYC where they found taxi drivers parked outside, and they called triple-zero.

The trial continues on Thursday.