West Wollongong: Cruz Austin charged over alleged apartment stabbing
A Wollongong magistrate has told a 27-year-old man he is lucky to not be facing a murder charge after he allegedly stabbed another man in an attack “born out of jealousy”.
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A magistrate has told a young man he’s “lucky he wasn’t charged with murder” after he allegedly stabbed another man in the chest at a Wollongong unit block earlier this month.
Cruz Austin, 27, faced Wollongong Local Court on Friday, after police allege he stabbed 19-year-old Aiden Lewis in a fit of jealousy following a fight over a woman on May 5.
Cruz was found hiding under a bed at a Myuna Way home by police on Thursday evening and was subsequently charged with wound with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, after the alleged stabbing left Mr Lewis on life support.
Police will allege on May 5, emergency services were called to a unit complex in Phillips Ave around 9pm, after receiving reports a man had been injured.
Police allegedly arrived to find Mr Lewis slumped in a bloody stairwell with a stab wound to the chest.
Police were unable to find the alleged perpetrator and established Strike Force Edwin to investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident.
Following extensive inquiries, police arrested Austin at a Myuna Way unit and seized several items for forensic examination.
The 27-year-old appeared in Wollongong Local Court on Friday, where Magistrate Claire Girotto told the court Mr Lewis’s injuries were “very serious” and that he spent some time on life support.
“This is extremely serious,” she said. “This could have been a murder”.
Magistrate Girotto said the alleged offence was aggravated by the fact it was “born out of jealousy”.
While Austin was due to apply for bail, Magistrate Girotto advised his lawyer against it, saying she needed more evidence about where he would reside if he was released.
Austin will remain in custody until his next appearance before the court in July.