27-year-old man charged with Paralowie stabbing knew his 23-year-old alleged victim

The man charged with murdering 23-year-old concreter Dakota Woodford on Tuesday morning was also a tradie. It’s also been revealed that the two were “no strangers”.

The man charged with murdering 23-year-old concreter Dakota Woodford on Tuesday morning was also a tradie, and that the two were “no strangers” to each other, The Advertiser understands.

On Wednesday afternoon, a man known to Mr Woodford – who cannot be named for legal reasons – faced the Adelaide Magistrates Court charged with murder, appearing “emotionless”.

SA Police prosecutors in court applied for the alleged murderer’s identity to be suppressed to protect the integrity of the ongoing murder investigation, although 7NEWS were able to reveal that he is a tradie from the southern suburbs.

Mr Woodford’s friends were seen exiting the Adelaide Magistrates Court, saying they were “just here for the victim”.

“(We’re) here for Koda. That’s it” one said as he left.

Chloe Sefton, another of Dakota’s friends, told 7NEWS that he was a “lovely” young man.

“I never heard him say a nasty thing about anyone,” she said.

“He’s always the life of the party... Always a jokester.

“He’s just such a good guy and I just don’t understand it.”

Koda Woodforddied after a stabbing at Paralowie. Picture: TikTok

A 27-year-old man has been charged with ‘Koda’ Woodford’s alleged murder. Picture: Instagram

The alleged murder of 23-year-old tradie Koda (Dakota) Woodford on Tuesday morning has rattled the normally quiet neighbourhood in Paralowie, where the young man was stabbed.

The house on Henry St was home to Woodford’s grandparents, with neighbours expressing their shock at what unfolded in their normally quiet street.

A neighbour on Thorne Street, who knew the family only by face but not by name, said he was still in shock.

The 50-year-old grandfather, who has lived in Paralowie for 10 years, did not want to be identified.

“The community will take time to deal with this,” he said.

“To be honest, I’ll not be walking my five-year-old granddaughter to that park for a long time.

“I was in the post office this morning, people I’ve spoken to are shocked and afraid – you have to know, this area is very quiet.

“I will lay flowers there (at the house) tonight when it’s dark, I’ll lay a card … I heard it was the grandparent who found the lad.”

At 7am on Tuesday morning, emergency services were called to the house on Henry St with reports of a stabbing.

Police reported one of the occupants, confirmed to have been one of the grandparents, had called an ambulance.

Mr Woodford was taken to Royal Adelaide Hospital in critical condition, where he later died within hours from his injuries.

Police tracked down the suspect, arresting him at 9.45am in a dramatic take-down around 40km away in Trott Park.

Local resident Rebecca Ballantyne lives around the corner from Henry St where Dakota Woodford was stabbed outside his family home. Picture: Kelly Barnes

Rebecca Ballantyne, who lives just a street away from where the attack took place, only moved in to the area in January.

“We haven’t been here long. We’ve only been here about six weeks,” the 43-year-old said.

“You just don’t wake up expecting that.”

Ms Ballantyne, a disability support worker, said Henry St was a notoriously safe place to live.

“In talking to the other neighbours, there’s been no trouble in the street for at least ten years,” she said.

“(It’s) a quiet area.

“It’s a really closed area so all the neighbours know each other and no one else comes into the street usually.”

Having been held hostage earlier in her life in an unrelated incident, Ms Ballantyne said that yesterday’s “overwhelming” events brought back some of her trauma.

“It did shake us,” she said.

“I have trauma history. I was held hostage for 10 minutes so it brought that back for me.”

“We woke up to 15 minutes of sirens going off so I said to my husband ‘there’s something going on’ and we went outside and police and everyone were everywhere which was overwhelming..”

The man now charged with murder after Mr Woodford’s death was taken into police custody and his Sheidow Park residence searched by crime scene investigators.

Originally published as 27-year-old man charged with Paralowie stabbing knew his 23-year-old alleged victim