An immigration detainee freed following a High Court ruling has been charged with murder over the death of a former Age photographer.
Footscray man Dominic O’Brien, 62, sustained critical injuries during an alleged altercation with the man near the corner of Nicholson and Paisley streets in the Footscray mall just before 10am on June 15.
The scene at Footscray mall on June 15.Credit: Penny Stephens
O’Brien died from his injuries in hospital on Saturday morning, almost a week later.
He worked as a photographer for more than 35 years, with credits including The Age, AAP, Reuters, The Australian, Mushroom Records and Warner Records.
The accused man, 43-year-old Friday Yokoju, fronted the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court last week, charged with intentionally causing serious injury.
Victoria Police on Monday evening revealed homicide squad detectives upgraded Yokoju’s charge to murder.
Police originally charged the accused man with intentionally causing serious injury, following the alleged assault. Credit: Penny Stephens
“The man is currently remanded in custody and will appear before Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on 20 October,” Victoria Police said in a statement.
The Age has confirmed that Yokoju was one of the immigration detainees released last November after a High Court ruling and was subject to electronic monitoring via an ankle bracelet.
The court last week was told Yokoju – whose shouting from the dock twice interrupted proceedings – was on bail at the time of the alleged altercation.
Former Age photographer Dominic O’Brien.Credit: Facebook
His lawyer requested that his client be urgently seen by a psychiatrist and said it was not his first time in custody.
Leigh Henningham, O’Brien’s former boss and picture editor at The Age during the 1990s, remembered him as an excellent team player.
“He was a very nice guy. It was a very close-knit team that we had back in those days,” Henningham said.
“He was a great photographer, and he was one of the first people to embrace and master the skill of Photoshop, which was a big transition from darkroom analogue to a digital world.”
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