Dominic Saliba: Nowra man pleads not guilty to Bomaderry murder
A man accused of murdering his teenage cousin at a house party in Bomaderry more than a year ago has pleaded not guilty. Here is what happens next.
The South Coast News
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A man accused of murdering his teen cousin at a house party on the NSW south coast more than a year ago has officially denied the allegation.
Dominic Saliba, 20, appeared via video from the Lithgow Correctional Centre in the Sydney Supreme Court on Friday, pleading not guilty to murder.
It was more than a year ago on December 9, 2022, when the Nowra man allegedly murdered his 18-year-old cousin Bailey Jones while at a house party in Bomaderry.
Officers found the teenager in the driveway of the Bomaderry home with “serious” stab wounds to his chest.
At the time, NSW Ambulance paramedics described the teen as being in a serious condition.
He was transferred to the Shoalhaven District Hospital, where he died the same night.
Initial reports from witnesses suggested the death was nothing more than a tragic accident, where Mr Jones had been playing with a knife at the party before accidentally stabbing himself.
However, following two weeks of extensive investigations from the South Coast Police District, Saliba was arrested and charged with murder.
On the same day police arrested Saliba, Mr Jones was farewelled at a ceremony in Sydney.
Saliba appeared before the Sydney Supreme Court on Friday via video for arraignment, where he pleaded not guilty to the murder charge.
Mr Jones’ mother, Carol Micallef, was in attendance, briefly informing Judge Helen Wilson she was “anxious” and lost track of time since her son’s death.
After the plea was entered by Saliba, Judge Wilson asked his lawyer Damien Mahon where a trial would be best suited, before Nowra was agreed by defence and the Crown.
Judge Wilson determined March 10, 2025 as the appropriate time for Saliba’s murder trial which is expected to last four to five weeks.
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