Keith Kerinauia seeks to appeal of Declan Laverty murder conviction, despite missing 28-day deadline
A Darwin teenager who fatally stabbed bottle shop worker Declan Laverty is fighting to overturn his life sentence. See why the convicted killer is seeking to appeal the jury’s decision.
Police & Courts
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A Darwin teenager who was found guilty of murdering 20-year-old bottleshop worker Declan Laverty is attempting to appeal his life sentence.
On Tuesday, the NT Courts confirmed Keith Kerinauia had applied for an extension to the 28-day appeal period window, so the Darwin man could prepare his case.
In June, a Supreme Court jury found Kerinauia was not acting in self defence when he stabbed BWS Airport Tavern bottle shop worker Mr Laverty on Sunday, March 19, 2023.
Kerinauia was therefore found guilty of Mr Laverty’s murder, and sentenced to life in prison with a mandatory 20-year non-parole period.
The young Queensland man’s murder had a profound impact on the Territory, provoking mass anti-crime demonstrations and inspiring tough on crime law reforms through the parliament.
In August, the newly elected CLP Government passed ‘Declan’s Law’, a suite of amendments which removed the presumption of bail for ‘serious offences’, including violent crimes but also drug possession and stealing.
Throughout the high-profile two-week Supreme Court trial in June, the bottle shop CCTV was referred to as the “silent witness” to the entire tragedy.
However the NT Courts have ruled the critical 90-seconds of footage would not be released, due to an application to extend the 28-day appeal window.
A letter from the Northern Territory Legal Aid Commission Senior Public Defender Ambrith Abayasekara dated from July stated they were instructed to seek leave to appeal the murder conviction, despite being unlikely to meet the 28-day appeal period deadline.
It is not yet certain if the appeal will be accepted, however until the Supreme Court reaches its decision, no footage or other documents from the trial have been approved for release.
Throughout the trial defence barrister Jon Tippett maintained that Kerinauia did not intend to cause serious harm when he ran into the bottle shop armed with a 25cm blade.
The jury heard the then 19-year-old called out: “how about I stab you, you white c—t?”
Yet Mr Tippett maintained the drunk teenager only intended to “scare” the bottle shop worker and “did not intend” to kill or cause serious harm.
The jury heard that alongside a work-issued box cutter, Mr Laverty was also carrying a 8cm blade, which his mother Samara Laverty told him to carry “for his own protection”.
The footage appears to show Mr Laverty pull out the knife, assume a fighting stance before taking off his shirt and wrapping it around his arm.
It then appeared to show him engaging the teenager in a knife fight, and the jury was told Mr Laverty took the first swing.
Kerinauia told the Supreme Court jury he was “swinging wildly” after being “lunged at with a blade”.
“I thought I was going to die,” Kerinauia said while under oath at the stand.
The jury also heard from his friends, relatives and arresting officers who all said in the wake of the incident Kerinauia maintained he was acting in self defence.
But then-prosecutor Marty Aust argued it was not self defence to “callously” plunge the fishing knife 10.5cm into Mr Laverty’s chest, piercing his heart, and stabbing him another four times.
Currently Kerinauia faces a life sentence in prison, being eligible for parole by 2043.
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