Man savagely beaten, left to die in front of children near primary school
Three men have been charged with murder after children witnessed a brutal killing outside a school in Melbourne’s northwest — with the feud allegedly sparked when a man tried to help his mate retrieve his stolen phone.
Police & Courts
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Family and friends of a father brutally bashed to death outside a Melbourne school are rallying around his heartbroken partner and kids as they tried to come to terms with their loss.
Ilaijah Kuru, 24, from Werribee, has been remembered as a doting dad “taken way too soon”.
So proud of his two young sons, Mr Kuru flooded his social media pages with photos of their beaming smiles.
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In one of his last posts, he shared an image of his partner, Riana Haa, with one of their boys, alongside a hashtag about family being first.
Family flew in to Melbourne on the weekend from across the country and New Zealand to support Ms Haa.
In an online tribute, relative Johanna Bishop wrote how his death was “so unfair” and reminisced about their childhood together and his “priceless” smile.
A fundraising page has been set up to help Mr Kuru’s family pay for his funeral and support his kids.
“Immensely loved by partner Riana, whanau and friends, who are all grieving this sudden loss, Ilaijah did not deserve to encounter such a vicious attack and to be taken from us so soon,” wrote Emily Haa, the fundraiser organiser.
Jonathan Fuatavai, 20, and Nathan Timoteo and Josaia Bolalailai, both 22, have been charged with his murder.
Court documents released to the Herald Sun allege Mr Timoteo and Mr Bolalailai were tailgating one of Mr Kuru’s friends earlier in the day.
A statement of alleged facts outlines the pair were tailgating the man along Bigg St, St Albans, before engaging in a road-rage incident about 4pm.
The driver received injuries to his face and his mobile phone was stolen.
Two hours later, when the injured man and his friends, including Mr Kuru, were driving to Sunshine Hospital, they spotted Mr Timoteo and Mr Bolalailai standing outside a residential home with Mr Fuatavai.
They stopped and confronted them in an attempt to get his phone back.
But the three accused allegedly armed themselves with a white fence paling, a metal garden pick and a wooden handle and launched an attack, killing Mr Kuru in the fracas.
The horror attack occurred outside the front gates of St Paul’s Kealba Catholic School, which was closed on Friday due tothe police investigation.
Parents and children watched on helplessly as the alleged brutal beating unfolded before their eyes.
Witnesses reported hearing Mr Kuru yelling “please stop” before he was repeatedly struck with weapons, it is alleged.
His friend, Charles Haitana, was among loved ones trying to make sense of his brutal end.
“He was a father, a son, a nephew … loved by a lot of people. (It’s) just not right,” he told the Herald Sun.
It is believed Mr Kuru worked as a lift operator at Linfox.
A Linfox spokesman said: “This is a private, family matter and it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time.”
Mr Kuru’s accused killers faced the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Friday for a brief administrative hearing.
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The prosecutor told the court Mr Bolalaolai had two warrants for his arrest related to failing to appear on summons at Sunshine Magistrates’ Court on other police matters.
It relates to charges of breaching a community correction order, she said.
Their case was adjourned to May 26 to give police time to prepare their case against them.
The court heard investigators needed to trawl CCTV, analyse the accused trio’s phones and conduct a forensic report.