Lawyer invokes movie villain in defence of accused killer

A lawyer has invoked The Usual Suspects villain Keyser Söze in his defence of a man fingered for murder by his getaway driver.

Ahmed Al Hamza faces trial for the murder of Anwar Teriaki, who was shot three times when cornered in the doorway of a Roxburgh Park home. Picture: Nicole Garmston

A lawyer has invoked The Usual Suspects villain Keyser Söze in his defence of a man fingered for murder by his getaway driver.

Ahmed Al Hamza faces trial for the murder of Anwar Teriaki, who was shot three times when cornered in the doorway of a Roxburgh Park home.

The Supreme Court heard the accused killer conned his driver – now a secret witness for the prosecution – into taking the fall for the murder over an alleged drug debt.

But barrister Damian Sheales raised the fictional villain in his defence of Al Hamza.

He said in the iconic crime movie, Keyser gave police a version of events and told them “this fantastic story”,

“Part of selling a story is understanding who you’re selling it to,” he said.

Mr Sheales said the case against his client hinged on what the secret witness said.

The witness was “central, pivotal, and you must believe him” in order to convict, he told the jury.

Anwar Teriaki, 21, was found dead after the late night shooting at Coronet Ave in Roxburgh Park.

The court heard Al Hamza sat off Mr Teriaki’s house under the cover of darkness with Maytham Hamad and the driver for up to 40 minutes, on August 9, 2017.

Mr Teriaki was allegedly ambushed in a baseball bat attack by Al Hamza and Hamad but managed to flee, throwing a rubbish bin in their way as the pair chased him.

His body was later found 300m away, in the front doorway of a nearby home.

The driver of the getaway car later told police Al Hamza said, “Yeah I killed him, so what”.

According to the witness, Al Hamza said a cornered Mr Teriaki “called him a dog and said it wasn’t over”.

“He got smart, so I blew the dog away,” Al Hamza allegedly said.

The driver was given an all expenses paid overseas holiday by his co-accused and told if he was arrested, his legal fees would be covered.

In February 2019, the trio was arrested for Mr Teriaki’s murder.

Barrister Kristie Churchill, for the Crown, said it was at this point that Al Hamza and Hamad “really ramp up their efforts to (get the driver) to take the fall for this murder”, by applying pressure then threatening his family.

“We say he’s being pressured to admit to a murder he didn’t commit,” she said.

The driver confessed, but later retracted his admission and turned on Al Hamza and Hamad, becoming a witness for the prosecution.

The trial continues.

The Al Hamza case was the first jury trial to resume following Covid-19 suspensions, with further jury trials set to begin on Wednesday.