Man accused of murdering Gold Coast good Samaritan in hit-n-run on Boxing Day weeps in court
ALEXANDER Craig Warton Kirke wept openly in Southport Magistrates Court as he faced charges over the death on Boxing Day of good Samaritan Darren Pullar.
ALEXANDER Craig Warton Kirke wept in the Southport Magistrates Court yesterday as he faced charges over the death on Boxing Day of good Samaritan Darren Pullar.
The 17-year-old Gold Coaster sobbed quietly at the hearing, at times burying his head in this hands and other times throwing his head back.
Police will allege Kirke was among a group who broke into a Rio Vista Blvd unit at Broadbeach Waters in the early hours of Boxing Day.
When Mr Pullar went to help his neighbour, a fight spilt onto the street and Mr Pullar was hit by a dark sedan.
The 50-year-old Yatala man died at the scene.
Police spent more than 24 hours combing the area for clues but it was not until Monday night this week that charges were laid against Kirke.
The teenager tried to mouth words to a woman believed to be his mother and a teenage girl watching from the back of the courtroom.
Kirke was in the courtroom for less than two minutes.
He faces charges of murder, assault occasioning bodily harm and robbery.
Defence lawyer Rijald Hadzalic did not apply for bail on Kirke’s behalf and asked for the matter to be mentioned again on January 19.
Kirke’s two supporters remained silent as they left court, only muttering they had not spoken to the teenager since he was taken into police custody.
Outside court, Mr Hadzalic said Kirke was upset by the charges and would be fighting them.
“He is obviously, as you could see in the dock, very stressed and he is anxious to have the matters moving along,” he said.
Mr Hadzalic said he believed a bail application would be made once there was time to “consider Kirke’s position”.
“Hopefully he won’t be sitting in there too long,” he said.
“He is a 17-year-old kid, it’s his first time in custody so it is obviously very stressful.”
Mr Hadzalic said Kirke was coping “as best as he can”.
A post of Kirke’s social media dated October 9, 2016, includes a photo of a letter showing the recipient had passed the logbook requirements on his learner driver’s licence and was eligible to sit the practical test.
Kirke captioned the photo, “been waitin’ a while for this”.
Throughout his social media profile, Kirke had shared a number of photos and videos of cars and motorbikes.
Police investigations are continuing.
Originally published as Man accused of murdering Gold Coast good Samaritan in hit-n-run on Boxing Day weeps in court