Slain Yirrkala teen’s father refused bail to attend sorry business after 16-year-old’s alleged murder
The father of a teenager slain in a large disturbance in Yirrkala last week has faced court on the same day as the man who allegedly murdered his 16-year-old son.
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THE father of a teenager slain in a large disturbance in Yirrkala last week has faced court on the same day as the man who allegedly murdered his 16-year-old son.
Gerard Bunumbirr Marika faced the Darwin Local Court on Tuesday charged with aggravated assault, property damage and causing serious harm.
His lawyer, Shane McMaster, applied for bail so Marika could participate in two weeks of sorry business in the remote community after learning of his son’s death on the news.
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Mr McMaster said Marika wanted to be released “strictly for sorry business” and would otherwise stay at home with his father, who is also a highly respected senior elder.
“The proposal is that as soon as he is to land back in Nhulunbuy there’ll be a ceremony that’ll take place at the scene of where his child was killed and then from there, go back to the house,” he said.
“Then the rest of the ceremony plans will be put in place, they’re already working on them but with regard to the specifics, obviously people are waiting to see what’s happening in regard to Mr Marika because he’s obviously playing a pivotal role in those ceremonies.”
But prosecutor Kylie Benson said Marika’s alleged offending arose from a “long ongoing feud between two families” and some of the charges against him were laid after he was earlier bailed on condition that he stay away from the area.
“The information I have from police, having spoken to the sergeant of the station out there this morning, is that things, through extensive work with police, have now somewhat calmed in the community,” she said.
“However they have received information that would suggest that if Mr Marika was to be released that those tensions would be inflamed again.”
In reply, Mr McMaster said the charges against his client would be disputed and he had only become involved in the earlier alleged melee “as a peacemaker”.
“Things clearly did get out of control because his wife was speared by one of the alleged complainants,” he said.
“He witnessed that, he ran over to her assistance and did engage in defence of another but not with a weapon.
“There were a number of people on both sides with weapons, all sorts of injuries on both sides but they had nothing to do with Mr Marika.”
In refusing bail, judge Tanya Fong Lim said while she had “great sympathy for Mr Marika at the death of his son”, the risk to the community in releasing him was too high.
The man police allege was responsible for the 16-year-old’s death, Anthony Djurrawut Mununggurr, also faced court on Monday charged with murder but did not apply for bail and will return to court in June.
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