Jake Burns: Man who fatally stabbed Erol Tokcan speaks in court

A 25-year-old who murdered a man in his own home claimed in court the fatal stabbing was an accident, telling the victim’s family it was the biggest mistake of his life.

The man who fatally stabbed a father in his Sydney home has claimed it was an “accident” as he told the court it was “the biggest mistake of my life.”

Erol Tokcan, 38, died after he was stabbed in his Dharruk home on March 2018.

Jake Burns, 25, has pleaded guilty to murder yet there is a dispute in facts between his defence and the Crown’s version of events.

Burns took the stand at the NSW Supreme Court on day two of his disputed facts hearing on Thursday.

The court heard Burns and his mates including Jerami Angelos and Ryan Hall were drinking and smoking at Hall’s home on the night of the murder.

Murdered father Erol Tokcan, who was fatally stabbed in a home in Dharruk on March 9, 2018. Picture: NSW Police

They later went to St Marys RSL for beers before they all got into the car and decided to get cannabis from a dealer.

He told the court they drove to Mr Tokcan’s home yet were refused the cannabis and returned to the car.

“I became angry and frustrated that we couldn’t get no cannabis,” Burns told the court.

After claiming he felt “peer-pressured” to get the cannabis, he said “we should go back and take it” which he said referred to stealing cannabis and cash.

When they returned to Mr Tokcan’s home he told Angelos to knock on the door first which was opened by Mr Tokcan’s friend David Lapika before he “charged in.”

“I grabbed Lapika by the shirt and held a knife to his side,” he told the court.

Burns told the court he said, “This is a robbery. Give us everything you’ve got.”

“They said: ‘Are you serious?’ I said: ‘F***ing oath I’m serious,’” he told the court.

Distraught family and friends gathered outside the Dharruk home after the attack. Picture: Gordon McComiskie

He then said “it got heated” as Mr Tokcan’s girlfriend Crystal Watson tried to push him out the door.

“After I pushed her away from me I looked to the left and Tokcan was running up to push me out of the house,” he told the court.

Burns said he then put his hands up to prevent him coming up to him “at full force.”

“I accidentally stabbed him,” he told the court.

Burns told the court he realised Mr Tokcan was bleeding and “panicked” before running off.

He told the court he did not know how severe the stab wound was and felt “awful” when he found out days later that Mr Tokcan had died.

A forensic officer at the crime scene at Livingstone Ave, Dharruk. Picture: Jenny Evans

When Burns’ lawyer Linda McSpedden asked if he intended to plant the knife into Mr Tokcan’s body, he said “No, not at all.”

Addressing Mr Tokcan’s family in court he said if he could relive the day he would “take back” what he had done.

“I didn’t mean for anything that happened to happen and it was the biggest mistake of my life,” he said.

He claimed the knife which was about 15-20 cm in length was only used to scare the occupants but he had no intention to harm them.

In cross-examination, the Crown asked why he had taken his knife which he claimed was for work purposes before going to Hall’s home.

“I just had it on me because it was handy to have,” he said.

“I didn’t carry it around as a weapon. I carried it around as a tool.”

Co-accused Ryan Hall also appeared via AVL from Long Bay Prison.

Hall told the court he ground the knife down with a bench angle grinder after it was left at a table in his home later that night.

When the Crown asked why, he said “I didn’t want a knife lying around at my house.”

Justice Lucy McCallum will make a judgment on the facts later this month.

Burns will be sentenced in January.

Jerami Angelos was sentenced to three years jail with a non-parole period 17 months and 15 days for assault while robbing in company.

He was released on parole in September.

Ryan Hall was sentenced to three years and three months in jail with a non-parole period of one year and 11 months after pleading guilty to assault while robbing in company and being an accessory after the fact to wounding a person.

He will be eligible for parole next February.