Akaydia Austral, Jazurriha Lui found guilty of Karama axe attack, Josiah Binsaris cleared
‘Wake up s—t’: Young mother found guilty of Karma axe attack on sleeping woman, as one of her co-accused has been cleared of all charges.
Police & Courts
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A young mother who swung a tomahawk axe into her screaming victim will face sentencing in the Supreme Court.
Akaydia Austral held her four-week old baby to her chest as multiple witnesses recounted the evidence surrounding a ‘repulsive’ axe attack.
Austral alongside Jazurriha Thomas Lee Lui were found guilty of breaking into a Karama home in the early hours of August 14, 2023.
Over four and a half days the jury heard how the victim, Mikayla Bain-Buckle was asleep when she was dragged out of bed by her hair by an axe-wielding Austral yelling “wake up s—t”.
Ms Bain-Buckle was repeatedly sliced with the axe, leaving a blood trail through the Karama home as she ran for help.
Her boyfriend Callum Schelkis was stopped from intervening in the gory attack by Lui.
After six and a half hours of deliberation over two days, a Supreme Court jury condemned two of the three alleged attackers.
In a majority verdict on Tuesday, Akaydia Austral and Jazurriha Thomas Lee Lui were both found guilty of burglary and aggravated assault.
Both were found not guilty for property damage.
A third man, Josiah Binsaris was found not guilty on all counts in a unanimous jury decision.
The court heard that the leaseholder, Nadine Lyons, was unaware that the couple were staying in her Karama home, which had become a “trap house” for people to buy and use drugs.
Ms Lyons also sensationally retracted her police statement in the witness box, telling the court she was coerced to identify the accused trio by her ex-boyfriend, who she said was abusive.
The court also heard that NT Police failed to secure the crime scene in the wake of the assault, with two people seen cleaning up blood with a mop.
Austral and Lui will return to court for sentencing submissions on July 17.
UPDATE, May 13: A woman squatting in a Karama ‘trap house” has described to a jury how she was dragged out of bed by an axe-wielding attacker.
Mikayla Bain-Buckle told a Supreme Court trial how she woke up in the early hours of the morning on August 14, 2023 to the sound of three people walking through a Karama home.
“I closed my eyes, and put my head back down. That’s when the attack happened,” Ms Bain-Buckle said on Thursday.
She said she was dragged by her hair out of bed by another woman Akaydia Austral, before being cut up with a tomahawk.
Ms Bain-Buckle said she was attacked two men, Jazurriha Thomas Lee Lui and Josiah Binsaris, held back her boyfriend.
Austral, Lui and Binsaris have all pleaded not guilty to aggravated assault, burglary and damage to property.
Amid intense cross-examination from all three defence barristers, Ms Bain-Buckle maintained that she had correctly identified the trio who attacked her.
Both Ms Bain-Buckle and her boyfriend, Callum Schelkis said they had known their alleged attackers since they were all young teenagers.
Ms Bain-Buckle confirmed that the Karama home was a known “trap house”, allowing people to use and sell drugs.
Another man who was at the home — but maintained he was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol — said he also identified Lui and Binsaris.
Richard Lyons said he woke up to the sound of “yelling” down the hallway, and in a momentary glance recognised the two men.
However, during cross-examination Mr Lyons conceded he owned an orange and black tomahawk matching the description of the weapon that was never recovered.
Mr Lyons said he never told police about the axe, and denied he removed the weapon when cops arrived.
NT Police have told the jury they failed to secure the crime scene, with Mr Lyons and a woman able to mop up much of the blood trail before crime scene guards and investigators arrived.
“The police left so I started cleaning up, because I don’t want blood around the house,” Mr Lyons said.
When Mr Crean accused him of “trying to get rid of evidence”, Mr Lyons disagreed saying “whatever you reckon”.
However his niece, Nadine Lyons sensationally retracted her police statement in the witness box.
Ms Lyons, who was the leaseholder for the Karama house, said she was coerced to make a statement to police and identify the trio.
She revealed she was in an extremely violent and controlling relationship at the time, with her ex-boyfriend related to the alleged victim.
“I was told if I didn’t go to police I would get my head punched in,” Mr Lyons said.
Ms Lyons was visibly distressed as she described her foggy memories of the past 12 months due to her heavy drug use while with her abusive partner.
“It’s literally a whole blur … what drugs can do, what being strangled and being hit in the head on a daily basis can do,” she said.
“I don’t remember memories of my kids even.”
When prosecutor Ian Rowbottam repeatedly accused her of lying or misleading the jury by saying she did not remember the incident, Ms Lyons started to break down in tears.
“If you know what he has done to me, you would understand,” she said.
Jury prepped for ‘repulsive’ axe attack trial
Three young Territorians are fighting allegations they took part in an attack on a naked sleeping woman, who was allegedly dragged from her bed by an axe-wielding attacker.
Akaydia Austral held her newborn baby in her arms during the first day of an expected seven-day Supreme Court trial on Tuesday.
The new mother is accused of breaking into a Karama home with two men, Jazurriha Thomas Lee Lui and Josiah Binsaris, on August 14, 2023.
Prosecutor Ian Rowbottam told the jury Austral allegedly dragged her naked victim out of bed while yelling “wake up s—t”.
Austral was accused of beating and slashing at her victim with a tomahawk, while Lui and Binsaris held back the woman’s boyfriend.
Mr Rowbottam accused the two men of “acting together in concert” to hold him back, allowing the axe attack to continue.
The jury was told a blood trail seeped through the Karama home, with the red stains smeared across the bedroom.
But Lui’s defence barrister Paul Crean said no matter how “repulsive” the evidence was, the jury had to remain objective about the facts.
“There may be evidence in this trial that you may find confronting, and disgusting,” Mr Crean said.
“It’s really important … to try and put those feelings of repulsion and disgust to one side and analytically analyse the evidence.”
All three have pleaded not guilty to burglary, aggravated assault and property damage.
Binsaris’s defence barrister Matthew Hubber maintained there were significant questions over whether his client was even at the house on the morning of the attack.
“The main issue … is that of credibility,” he said.
Over the next seven days, the prosecution is expected to call 12 witnesses to give evidence.
On Tuesday Richard Lyons told the jury he was sleeping at his niece’s Karama home when he woke up to “yelling” down the hallway.
Mr Lyons said he saw two men in the short hallway, only 2m from his door, and told them to “get the f—k out”.
He said he “knew both their faces”, but only knew the names of Lui while saying he had “noticed” Binsaris’s face “from around”.
He said the men started throwing things, so he closed the door and “waited for it to go quiet”.
NT Police constable Jason Ryan said he arrived at the Karama home at 8.30am, following a triple-0 call at 7.10am.
Mr Ryan said general duties officers had been to the scene earlier, however he was only provided “vague” details about this incident.
He said he arrived at the alleged axe-attack home invasion to find two civilians cleaning up the blood with a mop, and no crime scene guards posted to preserve the evidence.
Mr Ryan agreed with defence lawyers that he was effectively “flying blind” with the lack of detail, and was only told about the alleged use of an axe 90 minutes into his three hour investigation.
He acknowledged “in hindsight” the investigation was more serious than he was led to believe.
Despite Mr Ryan saying he found no weapons or drug paraphernalia in the home, lawyers pointed to a bullet casing, pliers, and what they alleged was cannabis, a bong, syringes and a clip-seal plastic bag pictured in his own photos of the crime scene.
The trial continues.
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