Second teen stabbed at New Year’s party speaks during murder trial

A young man has given evidence about the moment he realised he had been stabbed during a wild brawl that ended with his friend suffering a fatal 14cm wound which severed veins and lacerated his liver.

Seventeen-year-old Jayden Dau was killed after allegedly being stabbed at a Manoora street party in the early hours of New Year's Day, 2022.

A young man has given evidence about the moment he realised he had been stabbed during a wild brawl that ended with his friend suffering a fatal 14cm wound which severed veins and lacerated his liver.

Giving evidence during the second day of the murder trial for a teenager accused of killing his friend Jayden Dau, the young man told the jury he didn’t realise he had been stabbed until he felt a warmth drip down from his shoulder.

The murder accused, who was 14 at the time of the stabbing, pleaded not guilty during the first day of the trial in Cairns Supreme Court on Monday.

Mr Dau’s friend told the court he attended the party at Lychee Close in Manoora on New Year’s Eve, 2021.

Seventeen-year-old Jayden Dau (left) was killed after allegedly being stabbed at a Manoora street party in the early hours of New Year's Day. Pictured here with David Fauid (right) who was also stabbed and was released from Cairns Hospital on Sunday

The man told the court they arrived after dark, spending the night drinking in the backyard of the home.

He told the court he heard smashing bottles and yelling from the front of the house after midnight and went to see what was happening where he saw a fight taking place.

“Things were going off,” he said.

He told the court he saw a white Holden Commodore in the cul-de-sac with people standing around it before he tried to stop and calm down a person involved in the fight.

The man told the court he did not initially realise he had been stabbed during the commotion.

“I just felt this warmness run down my upper shoulder,” he said.

He said he had been stabbed in the upper shoulder near his neck and in his torso around his kidneys.

He initially told the court he did not see who had stabbed him.

Seventeen-year-old Jayden Dau was killed after allegedly being stabbed at a Manoora street party in the early hours of New Year's Day, 2022, a Cairns court has heard. Picture: Brendan Radke

However, during cross examination from defence counsel Matt Jackson, he confirmed he had previously made a statement to police that he had seen a “little boy in a bucket hat crack a bottle on the ground”, who had punched him.

The man said he jumped in a car and went straight to the hospital.

He told the court he did not see Jayden Dau during the brawl at the front of the house.

Earlier the jury heard from forensic pathologist Dr Paul Botterill who told the court Jayden Dau was likely killed by a 14cm stab wound to his abdomen which pierced his stomach cavity, severed veins to his kidneys, and lacerated his liver which caused massive blood loss.

He testified that a second 9cm long and deep slash wound to his upper arm, while not damaging major organs, would have contributed to the massive blood loss.

The trial will continue with further witnesses from the party set to provide their accounts of the night.

Originally published as Second teen stabbed at New Year’s party speaks during murder trial