Benjamin Charles Johnson, Steven Dale Latter committed to Supreme Court over alleged murder of Jake Opacic
Two men accused of murdering an NRL star’s brother on the Gold Coast have learned whether they will face trial in the Supreme Court. Read the latest from court.
Police & Courts
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TWO men accused of murdering an NRL star’s brother on the Gold Coast have had their matter committed to the Supreme Court.
Benjamin Charles Johnson, 31, and Steven Dale Latter, 29, are each charged with one count of murder in relation to the death of Jake Opacic, the brother of former Brisbane Bronco Tom Opacic.
It is alleged the pair were involved in Mr Opacic's fatal motorbike crash near Numinbah Correctional Centre on July 2, 2021.
Johnson is also charged with dangerous operation of a vehicle, disqualified driving, failing to comply with a requirement to stop, and robbery from the same date.
Latter is charged with robbery and an unrelated count of improper use of a prison call service.
A dozen witnesses were cross-examined during Johnson and Latter’s two-day committal hearing in Southport Magistrates Court this week.
The court was told both Johnson and Mr Opacic had gone to the prison farm to pick up Rheannon Rowe, Johnson’s ex and Mr Opacic’s then-partner. She and Johnson also share four
children.
It was heard Johnson and Latter’s Toyota Camry broke down on Nerang-Murwillumbah Rd, with Ms Rowe’s family members stopping to help on their way home.
Witnesses claimed an argument broke out between Johnson and Mr Opacic, who was soon seen speeding away on his motorbike.
The Camry – allegedly driven by Latter with Johnson in the passenger seat – took off in the same direction, the court was told.
Ms Rowe and her family members said it was about a minute later that the sedan returned in the opposite direction. They claimed Johnson flagged them down to say Mr Opacic had “come off his bike”.
Ross and Diana Stuart were the only witnesses to give evidence on Thursday, saying they saw vehicles parked on Nerang-Murwillumbah Rd while driving.
They told the court a motorbike pulled out in front of them and quickly disappeared around a bend.
Ms Stuart said she could see the rider gesturing behind them, but was unsure who the target was.
The couple claimed they were then overtaken by a dark-coloured car travelling in the same direction as Mr Opacic, and came across the motorcyclist’s body about a minute later.
They called triple-0 and tried to render assistance, but were told by others at the scene that there was nothing more they could do.
The couple said they did not see the dark-coloured car travelling back towards the jail.
Johnson and Latter’s murder and robbery charges were committed to the Supreme Court, with neither defence counsel contesting it.
An indictment is expected to be presented in the coming months.
The pair’s remaining charges will next be mentioned on June 8.
Moments leading to alleged murder of NRL star’s brother revealed
Details of a drug-fuelled night and explosive love triangle have been aired in court on day one of a committal into the alleged murder of an NRL star’s brother.
Benjamin Charles Johnson and Steven Dale Latter are each charged with one count of murder in relation to the death of Jake Opacic, brother of ex-Brisbane Broncos player Tom Opacic.
It is alleged they were involved in Mr Opacic’s fatal motorbike crash on Nerang-Murwillumbah Rd on July 2, 2021.
Several witnesses were cross-examined on the first day of the pair’s committal hearing in Southport Magistrates Court on Wednesday.
The court was told Johnson and Latter were hanging out with two women, Kyah Baylis and Jasmine Davis, the night before the crash.
Ms Baylis told the court members of the group allegedly took GHB or ‘frank’ throughout the evening, and that she and Johnson were “mucking around” with an old and broken gun.
Both Ms Baylis and Ms Davis said there was no suggestion to pull the weapon on anyone.
The court was told Johnson then decided he would drive to the Numinbah Correctional Centre later that day to pick up his ex-partner and mother of his four children, Rheannon Rowe. Ms Davis claimed Johnson thought he might fight Mr Opacic, Ms Rowe’s new partner, and asked Latter to accompany him in case it went awry.
Ms Baylis said Johnson and Mr Opacic had a history of antagonising one another.
The court was told Ms Rowe’s family passed Johnson and Latter’s broken-down Toyota Camry on their way to the jail, and stopped to help them on their return trip.
Her stepfather Jason Mappas was one of several witnesses to say Johnson and Mr Opacic argued while he and Latter were trying to restart the vehicle.
He claimed Mr Opacic was loudly revving his motorbike and yelling at Johnson, who had thrown an empty plastic bottle in his direction moments earlier.
“It was going both ways – they were both there to see Rheannon,” Mr Mappas said.
When asked whether he heard Johnson threaten Mr Opacic, Mr Mappas said he “didn’t see Ben as a killer”.
The court was told Mr Opacic soon sped out of sight on his motorbike and was closely followed by the Camry, allegedly driven by Latter with Johnson in the passenger seat.
Several witnesses in court said it had been raining on the day.
Ms Rowe said she tried to stop the confrontation, and heard Johnson yell words to the effect of “I love you so much, but I f**king hate you” before they took off in the same direction as Mr Opacic.
She said it was only about a minute later that the Camry returned, with Johnson telling them Mr Opacic had “come off his bike” and he “didn’t do nothing”.
Ms Rowe’s family spent about 45 minutes trying to help Mr Opacic at the scene, the court was told. The hearing will continue on Thursday.
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