Second trial of Peniola Liu over taxi-rank killing of Alex Ollson in 2020 reaches verdict

Audible gasps were heard from the public gallery as a jury delivered its verdict in the trial of a Tongan national over the brutal bashing death of an Innisfail dad.

Gasps were heard from Cairns Supreme Court’s public gallery on Thursday as a jury found Peniola Liu not guilty of murder, but guilty of manslaughter over the brutal bashing death of Alex Ollson in 2020.

After the jury delivered their verdict in a four-day murder trial, Justice James Henry observed what had occurred on the night of the bashing was “beyond understanding”.

The attack took place on the night of December 19, 2020 at an Innisfail taxi rank.

It was the second trial, after the initial trial in November 2022 ended in a hung jury.

Liu had pleaded guilty to manslaughter at the start of his trial.

Alex Ollson, 28, died during a fatal assault at the Edith Street taxi rank in Innisfail

Liu, 30 at the time, now 32, had no criminal history the court heard, and had nothing to say after the verdict was reached.

Mr Ollson’s father, Stephen Ollson, read his victim impact statement in court and said his son’s death caused “deep sadness every day”.

“The news completely devastated me,” he said.

“From that moment in time my life has never been the same again. I feel his loss every day. My wish is that no parent should ever have to experience this.”

Kimberly Ollson, Mr Ollson’s older sister, spoke of Mr Ollson’s life being taken way too soon, and that it had affected the family greatly.

She spoke of suffering anxiety, panic attacks, depression and PTSD.

Jessie Barrie was in a relationship with Mr Ollson for six years.

They shared a happy and healthy co-parenting relationship, she told the court.

She spoke of months of insomnia and “waking up to the vicious cycle of grief”, and how it had affected their eldest child and her sense of peace.

“My children know exactly what is missing in their lives with Alex gone. My heart aches for all the children affected by this.”

The Crown Hotel in Innisfail, where Alex Ollson was drinking on the night he was killed.

Crown prosecutor Aaron Dunkerton submitted to the court that the number and location of the punches Liu inflicted on Mr Ollson was serious.

“It’s also aggravating that while the first collection of punches were thrown relatively quickly, the accused walked off and returned twice,” he told the court.

He asked Justice Henry to take “with a grain of salt” that Liu prayed for Mr Ollson after the fatal assault.

“The deceased was perfectly entitled to be standing where he was standing,” Justice Henry said.

“The anger was well and truly already rolling in the accused’s mind. What occurred here in response was beyond understanding.

“It was an extraordinary gross and violent over-reaction to what he thought was said. It’s obviously a serious violent offence. It’s extraordinarily violent persistence.”

He said the sentencing regime felt materially above the 10-year level and it was worse than a “one-punch” type case, because of the sustained attack.

He reserved his decision and Liu will be sentenced at a later date

The defendant, a Tongan national, will be deported upon his release from prison, the court heard.

Murder trial defendant tells of being ‘infuriated’ with victim

A man on trial for the brutal bashing death of Alex Ollson in 2020 told the Cairns Supreme Court on Wednesday he was “infuriated” with him and punched him so he would stay on the ground.

“I punched him, I wanted him to stay down,” Peniola Liu told the court through a Tongan interpreter.

“He got up and made me feel angry. I told him not to get up. I felt infuriated when he got up, and that was why I hit him again.”

Alex Ollson, 28, died during a fatal assault at the Edith Street taxi rank in Innisfail. Picture: Facebook

On the night of December 19, 2020 as groups of people walked from the Crown Hotel in Innisfail towards a taxi rank around the corner and the IGA carpark, Mr Liu fatally assaulted Alex Ollson, 28, at the taxi rank.

An incident took place on the way to the rank when Mr Ollson touched a man named Tyrell Stevens on the bottom as he walked past.

Crown Prosecutor Aaron Dunkerton asked Mr Liu why he then intervened.

“I was telling him that what he did was wrong,” Mr Liu told the court.

“That was it. He left and I left.”

Mr Liu said he did not intend to “stick up” for Mr Stevens.

“To me it looked like what he did was wrong, to me it was very rude. I said you can’t touch people like that.”

Mr Liu agreed he was angry before Mr Ollson then allegedly called his partner a “big hole”.

“You were annoyed before Kirsty even told you what he’d said?” Mr Dunkerton asked him.

“Yes.”

“Then Kirsty told you Alex called her a big hole. And that made you angry.”

“Yes.”

“You say that you walked up to Alex and asked him what he said to Kirsty?” Mr Dunkerton asked him.

“When you repeated the question he said f*** off.”

“Correct.”

The Cairns Courthouse, where Peniola Liu is being tried for murder. Picture: Brendan Radke

Cctv footage of the incident was shown and analysed in the courtroom, and Mr Dunkerton emphasised that Mr Liu stood very close to Mr Ollson, that he was bigger than the victim, and asked him if he punched the victim as hard as he could.

Mr Liu answered “no”.

Mr Dunkerton said Mr Liu first punched Mr Ollson about four seconds after he arrived at the taxi rank, and suggested he did not give Mr Ollson time to answer.

“I walked there and asked him, it was so quick, I repeated the question and he said ‘f*** off’,” Mr Liu said.

“When I threw the first punch I was not thinking, I wanted to teach him a lesson. I definitely did not intend to seriously hurt him.”

Defence barrister Michael Dalton asked Mr Liu if he was trying to kill or cause Mr Ollson serious harm, to which Mr Liu answered “No” to both questions.

On the third day of the trial the public gallery was nearly full. The trial is expected to run all week and Justice James Henry is presiding.

Defendant and partner prayed for victim after assault, court hears

After a brutal assault on a man at an Innisfail taxi rank in December 2020, the defendant and his partner parked at a church and then at home and prayed the victim would be all right, a Cairns court has heard.

Peniola Liu has pleaded not guilty in the Cairns Supreme Court to the murder of Alex Ollson in the week before Christmas 2020, but guilty to manslaughter.

In court on Tuesday, Mr Liu’s partner Kirsty Kora took the witness stand on the second day of the trial and testified that on the night of December 19, after last drinks were called at the Crown Hotel, two incidents took place before the assault.

She testified the victim touched her cousin, Tyrell Stevens, on the bottom as he walked past. She told the court Mr Stevens yelled at Mr Ollson because he was angry, and another woman intervened and asked Mr Stevens to stop.

“I was talking to Tyrell trying to tell him not to worry about it. He was still angry. My partner (Mr Liu) was talking to him,” she said.

“I could hear Peniola saying to the man, ‘why did you do that to my nephew?’ and the man said ‘I’m a lover not a fighter’.”

Alex Ollson, 28, died during a fatal assault at the Edith Street taxi rank in Innisfail

She testified that everyone was happy at that stage and enjoying the night.

“What happened when you got to the corner?” Crown prosecutor Aaron Dunkerton asked her.

She testified the victim then said ”You’re a big hole”, and walked away.

She told the court she asked him to say it again and he repeated it.

“Peniola asked ‘what did he say?’” she told the court.

“He called me a big hole. And Peniola walked towards him,” she said.

Ms Kora testified she told Mr Liu not to worry about it.

As Mr Liu walked towards Mr Ollson she said it was not worth getting into a fight, the court heard.

She testified their body language was “getting heated”.

Ms Kora said at that stage the assault took place, and she testified after the first punch Mr Ollson swung back at Mr Liu.

After the assault she told the court they drove home, she was sober enough to drive, and when they were nearly there she told the court Mr Liu asked her to drive back and see if Mr Ollson was all right.

As they drove past slowly they saw paramedics.

They later parked at a church, and then back at home they sat on the veranda crying and “praying the man would be okay, that nothing was wrong”.

The trial is proceeding before Justice James Henry.

Christmas drinks turned to tragedy: Fatal bashing murder trial opens

A murder trial jury on Monday has heard that a man who was brutally bashed to death at a taxi rank said he was “a lover, not a fighter” prior to his fatal assault.

Peniola Liu is standing trial for murder over the assault on Alexander Stephen Ollson, 28, on December 19, 2020.

Mr Liu, a Tongan national, was 30 at the time of the assault and has pleaded not guilty to the alleged murder of Mr Ollson, who died after the assault at the Edith Street taxi rank in Innisfail.

Mr Liu pleaded guilty to manslaughter at the opening of the trial in Cairns on Monday.

Defence barrister Michael Dalton told the court Mr Liu had admitted he unlawfully killed Alexander Olsen.

The trial will centre on the notion of intent, Mr Dalton told the court, or what Mr Liu intended when he assaulted Mr Ollson, as there was no dispute Mr Liu’s actions led to Mr Ollson’s death.

“Ladies and gentlemen, on 19 December 2020, Alexander Ollson was punched and killed by Peniola Liu,” Crown prosecutor Aaron Dunkerton said as he addressed the jury.

He outlined what happened that night

Mr Ollson was out celebrating his work Christmas party at the Crown Hotel in Innisfail.

Just after 10pm the defendant arrived with his partner, and a number of people began to leave when last drinks were called before 2am.

Mr Dunkerton told the court Mr Ollson touched another man, Mr Stevens, on his “bum” as he walked past, giving him a “bum tap”.

Mr Stevens followed Mr Ollson and asked him not to do that again, the court heard.

At that stage Mr Ollson said he was “a lover not a fighter”, and Mr Ollson and Mr Stevens went their separate ways amicably.

The Cairns Courthouse. Picture: Brendan Radke

Shortly after, the court heard, Mr Liu called out to Mr Ollson: “what did you say to my missus?”

The allegation was he called her a “big hole”, the court was told.

CCTV footage of the assault at the taxi rank was then shown to the jurors, showing Mr Liu approach Mr Ollson, stand close to him, and punch him several times in the head.

Mr Ollson falls, sits up, Mr Liu punches him again and he falls again.

Mr Ollson then stands and Mr Liu walks back to him again and hits him in the head again.

This time Mr Ollson falls and appears to hit his head on a metal grate on the ground.

Mr Dunkerton told the court the cause of Mr Ollson’s death was a ruptured vessel in the sub-arachnoid space of his brain.

Mr Dalton said the case narrowed down to one issue, of intent. He asked the jury to focus on Mr Liu’s intent on that night.

“This case is not about the consequences of my client’s actions,” he told the court.

“The consequences are terrible, we’ve seen them on the CCTV. All violence is ugly.

“You’ve just seen it and it’s ugly. But you’ve got to look at it and see it as a piece of evidence.

“You’ve got to ask what was Mr Liu’s intent? What was in his mind? Did he intend to kill Mr Ollson?

“It’s the defence case he did not. The defence case is it was to teach a lesson, to prove a point.”

Detective Senior Sergeant Stephen Bull, Officer in Charge of the investigation, was called to the witness stand.

He testified that by the time he arrived paramedics had stopped any medical intervention, and that he later arrested Peniola Liu at his home by tracing names and addresses from the Covid sign-in register at the hotel.

The trial is expected to run all week and Justice James Henry is presiding.

Originally published as Second trial of Peniola Liu over taxi-rank killing of Alex Ollson in 2020 reaches verdict