Wadeye man’s Family give testimony in Ezekiel Narndu’s manslaughter trial

The aunt of a slain Wadeye man has described in court the moment she cradled the bleeding man in her lap following a violent clash.

A Wadeye aunt cradled her bleeding nephew in her lap after a metal bar was pulled from his nose, a court has heard.

In the second day of Ezekiel Narndu’s manslaughter trial, the jury heard from the relatives of a deceased 32-year-old man, known for cultural reasons as Mr Tcherna.

It is alleged the then-teenager Narndu was among a crowd of 150 people when fighting broke out in Wadeye on April 16, 2022.

Narndu was accused of throwing a metal pole at a rival family, which fatally pierced the face of the 32-year-old man.

Narndu pleaded not guilty to reckless or negligent manslaughter, and the alternative charge of committing a violent act causing death.

On Wednesday, the 32-year-old man’s aunt Claire Jongmin described watching her nephew put his hands up in a plea for peace before he was hit by a metal pole.

Ms Jongmin said she was on a hill watching the families try to mediate the unrest, when chaos broke out.

The jury heard allegations another young man charged at police with an axe, causing them to retreat and for fresh fighting to break out.

Wadeye man Ezekiel Narndu pleaded not guilty to reckless or negligent manslaughter for allegedly throwing a metal pole into a crowd on April 16, 2022.

Ms Jongmin said she saw Narndu throw the metal bar at her nephew, before he collapsed to the ground.

“I could see with my own two eyes,” she said.

Ms Jongmin told the jury two men kicked the bleeding man in the ribs before running off.

“That’s where my nephew was laying on my lap, bleeding blood,” she said.

“My body was shaking.”

Ms Jongmin said a man pulled the metal bar out, extracting the pole from her nephew’s nose.

She said another nephew carried the 32-year-old “like a baby” to the local clinic.

The 32-year-old was later flown to Royal Darwin Hospital, where he passed three days later.

Mr Tcherna’s sister, Rosalie Tcherna also described the violence, her voice cracking as she told the court how she watched videos of the fight “many, many times … to see who threw the wire”.

Constable first class Michael Poeling-Oer told the jury he was there as the peace talks dissolved into violence, forcing him and his partner to retreat.

Constable Poeling-Oer said after almost two years working in Wadeye he was familiar with the ongoing unrest, as well as the “gangs” and their constantly shifting alliances.

“It always interchangeable, never the same … (It) seems to be fluid and their alliances would swap and change,” he said.

Constable Poeling-Oer said the gangs used musical themes for their names: “Man of War”, “Metallica” “Celine Dion”, “Bon Jovi”, and then the “German boys”.

He said when these gangs met, it would “almost always” escalate to violence.

“It can turn at any moment.

“So you’re trying to try to stand back and look for familiarity, so faces, people that you can engage with, and then also a way out.”

Constable Poeling-Oer said seeing a group of people with weapons, while “intimidating” was not necessarily a threat to officers in Wadeye.

“These are people that I’ve sometimes gone hunting with, or there’s a relationship there.

“We’re just there to find out what’s going on. They understand that, most times.”

It was not alleged that Narndu was formally part of the gangs, and police had been working with his family to understand the unrest.

The trial continues on Thursday.

Ezekiel Narndu pleads not guilty to piercing 32-year-old in Wadeye manslaughter trial

A teenager pierced another man’s head with a metal pole as fresh violence broke out in a fractured community, a court has been told.

On the first day of his Supreme Court trial, Ezekiel Narndu pleaded not guilty to reckless or negligent manslaughter, and the alternative charge of committing a violent act causing death.

On Monday the jury heard the young Wadeye resident allegedly threw a steel bar into a crowd of 150 people on April 16, 2022, striking a 32-year-old man known for cultural reasons as Mr Tcherna.

Prosecutor Steve Ledek wore plastic blue gloves as he held up the thin bar allegedly thrown by Narndu.

“It is because of this,” Mr Ledek said.

“That’s what was hurled, that is what was thrown. That is what ultimately ended up killing (Mr) Tcherna.

“It’s not a spear, it’s not a gun, it’s not a weapon you can properly aim in a traditional sense.

“But if you know what you’re doing and you throw that in a way … if it hits somebody it’s going to make a difference.”

Wadeye man Ezekiel Narndu pleaded not guilty to reckless or negligent manslaughter for allegedly throwing a metal pole into a crowd on April 16, 2022.

The court heard the metal pole struck the 32-year-old man, leaving it protruding from his face as blood pooled on the dirt road.

The rod was allegedly removed by another person, before Mr Tcherna was taken to the local clinic, and then flown to Royal Darwin Hospital.

The 32-year-old passed away from severe head injuries three days later.

The court heard Wadeye had been a troubled community in the months leading up to the fatal skirmish, with unrest simmering between families.

Constable Jarvis Nolan was on a relief rotation in the West Daly region, when he and his partner observed mediation talks between leaders in Bottom Camp.

Constable Nolan said there was a crowd of 150 people at either end of the street, while the leaders talked at the centre.

Body cam footage captured men telling officers: “I don’t want to fight, that might make more problems”.

Constable Nolan said the atmosphere of peace shifted suddenly, when a younger man allegedly broke away from one side of the crowd armed with an axe.

Constable Nolan said the man, Solomon Bunduck, appeared “aggressive and threatening” so he pulled his taser.

“Don’t you f—king throw that at me c—t,” Constable Nolan was recorded saying.

He said suddenly a rebar pole clattered near him, thrown by an unknown person.

Constable Nolan said at that stage it was too unsafe for him and his partner to remain, and they retreated to the car.

Wadeye man Ezekiel Narndu pleaded not guilty to reckless or negligent manslaughter for allegedly throwing a metal pole into a crowd on April 16, 2022.

Defence barrister Beth Wild said from the point the officers returned to their car, it was “game on”.

“As soon as we got back in the car and we started driving, everything just ensued,” Constable Nolan said.

He said reinforced bars, rocks and culverts were thrown into the crowd, as women and children ran from the chaos.

Mr Ledek said two shaky mobile phone recordings captured the clash, and would form the “cornerstone” of the eight-day trial.

Mr Ledek said the videos allegedly captured Narndu throwing the metal pole as the crowd surged forward.

The final ringing sound of a metal clanging to the ground rang out before the video cut off.

But Ms Wild cautioned the jury to be careful in making assumptions about what they saw — and what was missed by the cameras — during the fatal skirmish.

“I ask you to keep an open mind until we hear all the evidence from all the witnesses,” she said.

Narndu also pleaded guilty to a separate charge of assaulting another man.

The jurors were told the trial was expected to last eight days and would resume on Wednesday.