17yo boy and 22yo Guandong Lual Gatl Guandong charged with murder of Yiel ‘Yoal’ Deng Gatluak

A teenage boy and a 22-year-old man are now facing allegations of murder, after NT Police elevated their charges in relation to the death of Yiel ‘Yoal’ Deng Gatluak. LATEST FROM POLICE.

Yiel Gatluak was born in Australia to South Sudanese parents and was raised in Melbourne's east and went to school in Dandenong. Supplied: Mary Riek

Police have elevated charges against a teenager and 22-year-old man, three weeks after the death of Yiel ‘Yoal’ Deng Gatluak.

The 19-year-old Alice Springs teen’s body was discovered on New Year’s Day, after he was allegedly beaten to death on the roadside.

A 17-year-old Alice Springs boy was previously charged with being an accessory after the fact to murder, while 22-year-old Guandong Lual Gatl Guandong was accused of aiding and abetting.

However on Thursday morning, NT Police announced that both had now been charged with murder.

Alleged Setta Gang member, 22-year-old Koang Wuordol, had earlier been charged with Mr Gatluak’s murder.

Assistant Commissioner Travis Wurst said the upgraded charges were a result of “an ongoing accumulation” of evidence, including a video believed to be of the alleged murder which has been obtained by police.

Mr Wurst thanked the Northern Territory community for their support through the investigation, including “the provision of that particular footage”.

However, he would not confirm whether the footage had been sent in by a member of the public, nor what the video contained.

Alleged Setta Gang member 22-year-old Koang Wuordol had previously been charged with the murder of Yiel ‘Yoal’ Deng Gatluak. PICTURE: NCA Newswire / Nicki Connolly

In a Tuesday bail hearing for the 17-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, the Alice Springs Local Court heard that police had faced a cloak of silence when attempting to gain statements from alleged witnesses.

Police prosecutor Sergeant Phillip Emmett told the court many of the 20 named witnesses had provided “statements that are blank” – something that was in later revealed as a police admin error, Mr Wurst revealed on Thursday.

“It’s an admin error ... it would have been on our police side, we have to provide the brief to the court,” he said.

Yiel ‘Yoal’ Deng Gatluak’s body was found on a dirt road near Alice Springs on New Year's Day. Supplied: Mary Riek

The court heard the three murder co-accuseds met their victim at the Alice Springs Casino at around 2.25am on the date in question, and they had spent about an hour and half there before leaving together.

Alice Springs Local Court previously heard that at some point after they left, a fight broke out.

An autopsy report allegedly concluded Mr Gatluak’s cause of death was from blunt force trauma to the head, with bruising to his internal abdomen “consistent with blows of strikes with extreme force”.

It is alleged the 17-year-old took Mr Gatluak’s shoes, with the bloodstained items reportedly discovered a week later in his bedroom.

The 17-year-old was remanded in custody.

His next hearing is set for Thursday, February 29.

Wuordol and Guandong were also remanded in custody, to appear back in court on March 7.