Steven Dean Michael Walker-Ely pleads guilty to manslaughter of Birdsall Fa’apepele
A jury has voted to convict a Queensland man of murder, refusing to accept he was provoked by an attempted rape after he chased a man 660m before stabbing him 42 times.
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The family and partner of a man stabbed to death in a ferocious and frenzied attack and left alone on the roadside have shared their excruciating grief directly with his killer after a jury found him guilty of murder.
A wave of emotion rippled throughout the courtroom packed with loved ones of Birdsall Fa’apepele as they learned unanimous verdict at 12.11pm Friday with many breaking down in tears, overcome with relief after a confronting five-day trial in Mackay Supreme Court.
Steven Dean Michael Walker-Ely has been jailed for life and will spend at least 20 years behind bars before he can apply for parole.
This verdict indicated the seven men and five women, who deliberated for almost four hours, rejected Walker-Ely’s claims he had been provoked into losing self control because of allegations Mr Fa’apepele had tried to rape him.
“I’ve had more than 21,648 excruciating hours to think about what I could possibly say to the person responsible for taking my partner, my soulmate and the future I could have had with Birdsall,” Mr Fa’apepele’s partner of almost four years Kailey Prouse said, reading her victim impact statement in court.
“I still have no words, just an unimaginable amount of hate in my heart for you.”
Ms Prouse said her and her son’s world had been “tainted and turned upside down”.
Walker-Ely inflicted 42 stab wounds on Mr Fa’apepele in the early hours of December 14, after pursuing him for 660m from his caravan at The Park in Paget to a vacant block off Broadsound Rd where he unleashed his vicious and relentless attack.
Ms Prouse described how she had spent “an endless number of hours sitting, staring, reminiscing and crying at the very grounds of the place you showed no mercy in taking my partner’s life”.
She and Mr Fa’apepele’s loved ones sat through hour of confronting details of the injuries Walker-Ely inflicted that includes deep stab wounds, some up to nine to 12cm deep, across his head, face, neck, body, back and anus.
Mr Fa’apepele’s brother Tapu said it was difficult to put into words what he felt.
“We’ve been through so much as a family,” he said, describing how his life had “become meaningless at times” after his brother’s murder.
“I have moments where I can’t laugh or smile without feeling guilty or hurt like it doesn’t feel right.”
Sometimes he daydreams about his brother and thought about “the times where I’ve done him wrong and I try to fix it in my mind”.
“I think about my baby sister who was only five. She won’t remember who he was, she won’t remember his voice,” he said.
“You murdered the only person that made things fun for our family. You murdered my only older brother.”
Mr Fa’apepele’s sister Sharmagne told the court she and her family had been preparing for Christmas with extended family when they learned the devastating news.
“My phone kept ringing, I finally answered and... I got the call that something had happened to Birdsall,” she said, unable to hold back her tears.
“My hands started to shake and I dropped to my knees screaming.
“I felt alone and my whole world just fell apart and I never felt so much pain in my life before.”
She described what it was like to look upon her brother in his casket in the funeral home.
“This was an extremely traumatic thing to have to go through, seeing your loved one in a terribly state.
“Our brother was alone that night. He needed us, and he still needs us.
“We want to at least give him what he’s owed since that tragic night — justice.”
Ms Fa’apepele said the pain of his death hurt so much it almost broke their family apart, and how thoughts of her brother being helpless “kept me up at night”.
“Now I was forced to live with a horrific picture of my brother with multiple wounds, this is not the final memory I want to have,” she said.
She also read a victim impact statement from their mother Marfa, who was not present.
“Losing Birdsall has been the most excruciating pain I’ve ever felt in my whole life,” she said, adding her and her family’s lives had changed.
“The image of my son’s face as he was probably taking his last breath still haunts me.
“Every time I think about how helpless he was and how I wasn’t there to protect him makes me so sick.”
Even members of the jury were overcome with emotion as Mr Fa’apepele’s loved ones read their victim impact statements.
“The verdict makes plain that the only issue in the case, that is... the defence of provocation as being rejected entirely by the jury,” Crown Prosecutor John Phillips said.
“It was a horribly, brutal knifed attack with 42 sharp force injuries, gaping wounds to the neck and a particularly callous set of injuries to his anus, left on the side of Broadsound Rd alone.”
Barrister Saul Holt made no submissions because there was only one outcome for a murder conviction.
“This was a particularly brutal attack. The photographs show the extent of the wounds to that young man which are truly horrific, 42 stab wounds with a knife,” Justice Graeme Crow said.
“It is important to record the stab wounds were all over that young man’s body.”
Walker-Ely was jailed for life.
“We have had to remain silent about the accusations the now convicted murderer has made against Bird, we had to wait for the slow wheels of the justice system to turn,” Ms Prouse said outside court.
“Today you now know what we have known all along, the murderer lied.
“He silenced the only person who could say what happened that night.”
Ms Prouse said while it was the best outcome it did not stop the hurt.
“It doesn’t bring Bird back,” she said, describing him as a humble, loving and kind person.
“Birdsall was a victim and the jury did the right thing by him.
“The killer was given a life sentence but he gave us all one instead.”
Mr Fa’apepele’s supporters all thanked ad acknowledged the work by prosecution and police.
His sister Ms Fa’apepele said the outcome did not take away the grief.
“Our brother’s not here with us, we still mourn him, we still have to carry this grief with us every day,” she said.
“We were kind of preparing for the worst honestly... to hear the guilty verdict was a huge burden lifted off our shoulders.”
Murder or manslaughter? Jury to decide
A Mackay jury has been told they may never know what prompted a man to stab a stranger to death in a ferocious and frenzied attack on the side of a road, a court heard.
Crown prosecutor Josh Phillips and defence barrister Saul Holt have each laid their case before the jury, who must now determine if Steven Dean Michael Walker-Ely is guilty of murder after hearing from 19 witnesses over a three-day trial in Mackay Supreme Court.
The 36 year old has pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to manslaughter claiming he was provoked into losing self control because the victim, Birdsall Fa’apepele, had attempted to rape him and then repeatedly threatened to kill him in the early hours of December 14, 2021.
The court heard Mr Walker-Ely pursued Mr Fa’apepele for about 660m from his home, which was a caravan at The Park in Paget, to a vacant block of land off Broadsound Rd where he stabbed him 42 times on his head, neck, torso, back and anus.
The cause of his death was multiple stab wounds, the court heard.
Mr Walker-Ely, who called the police and said “I’ve murdered someone … he tried to rape me” has claimed he has no memory of the stabbing attack but does not deny he was responsible for all 42 injuries.
“The bottom line is you might never know precisely what triggers extreme violence,” Mr Phillips told the jury.
Mr Holt reiterated to the jury there was no doubt this was a murder but for the alleged provocation.
“He accepts that he is criminally responsible for the death of Birdsall Fa’apepele,” Mr Holt said, adding that provocation was a partial defence that reduces “what otherwise would be the crime of murder … to manslaughter”.
“I say on his behalf you would have no difficulty in concluding that in stabbing a person that way … that many times, there was an intention to kill or do grievous bodily harm in the moment,” Mr Holt said.
“The 42 stab wounds, the awfulness of those overwhelmingly demonstrates that it was a loss of self control.”
Mr Holt submitted if Mr Walker-Ely had not chased Mr Fa’apepele and instead had called the police instead to make an attempted rape complaint “no doubt Birdsall Fa’apepele would be on trial”.
“This is a strong case … for attempted rape in that context,” Mr Holt said.
“He made a clear and credible and immediate complaint to the police, the kind of think you’d expect a genuine victim of … a sexual assault to do.”
Mr Holt said his client’s account of what happened “that something awful happened in that caravan accords with just common sense and logic”.
“What other possible reason is there on the evidence to have chased this man that he didn’t know 660m down the road and stab him 42 times,” Mr Holt said.
“That just doesn’t happen out of the blue.
“There was no other explanation, nothing.”
Mr Holt submitted, “Is there literally nothing more rage inducing than a man who’s tried to rape you threatening to come back and kill you.”
He said the frenzied nature of the stab wounds as well as the sheer number of them “overwhelmingly demonstrates a loss of self control”.
The court heard Mr Walker-Ely’s DNA was found on Mr Birdsall’s penis, but Mr Holt said this was hardly surprising given Mr Fa’apepele had been naked and Mr Walker-Ely shirtless when the pair were involved in a “messy” fight inside the caravan in December.
Mr Phillips said there were three key points for the jury to consider: onus of proof, bad witness and ordinary person.
He told the court the burden of proof in relation to the defence of provocation was on Mr Walker-Ely.
“The defence has to prove the defence of provocation, that requires actual proof, not a suggestion of it,” he said.
Mr Phillips said the CCTV footage from a camera, that showed movement inside Mr Walker-Ely’s caravan at the time he said the attempted rape occurred, was some evidence of what occurred but “not very reliable”.
The court was able to see two shadows moving inside the caravan via a small lit window.
“It’s not about seeing movement it’s about interpreting what you can see,” Mr Phillips said, submitting Mr Walker-Ely’s account of what happened to police did not reconcile with the footage.
He labelled Mr Walker-Ely, who gave evidence in the trial, as a bad witness submitting his evidence was unreliable and incapable of meeting any foundations needed to prove there was provocation.
He said his evidence gave the impression “you weren’t getting reliable truthful evidence”.
“His memory is not very good for a memory critical to the defence.”
Mr Phillips also hit out at the “utter incredulity” of Mr Walker-Ely’s reason for pursuing Mr Fa’apepele – that he believed Mr Fa’epepele would return and kill him after he stabbed him once.
“There was no way he was coming back. He was injured, he was naked, you were armed. He was out of your van,” Mr Phillips said, adding it was critical that Mr Walker-Ely followed Mr Fa’apepele over a six foot fence, while still armed with the knife, “and then started to stalk”.
Mr Phillips said it was also unlikely that an “established heterosexual man in an unfamiliar park in a quiet van park where noise would travel would attempt to rape a well built man”.
“He’s a pretty bad choice for a victim,” Mr Phillips said.
Mr Phillips told the jury they needed to consider was whether or not an ordinary person could be provoked by those acts to form a murderous intent.
“The ferocity of the attack … its nature is just too much to excuse by reference to the defence of provocation,” he said.
The jury began deliberations at 3.24pm Thursday and will resume at 9am Friday.
‘Like a hunter stalks game’: Accused murderer chased victim across highway
Accused killer Steven Dean Michael Walker-Ely denied that he was intending to deliver “some street justice” to Birdsall Fa’apepele when he chased him 660m before stabbing him 42 times, causing his death.
The 36 year old was grilled for more than two hours in on day three of his supreme court murder trial with crown prosecutor Josh Phillips suggesting he pursued him “like a hunter stalks game”.
“You were so angry for some reason at Birdsall and you pursued him to the six foot fence out of anger,” Mr Phillips said.
Mr Walker-Ely has pleaded not guilty to murder, but guilty to manslaughter after stabbing Mr Fa’apepele to death in the early hours of December 14, 2021, claiming he was provoked into losing control because Mr Fa’apepele had tried to rape him in his home.
“I’m suggesting to you that he didn’t try to rape you at all,” Mr Phillips said.
“Well I’m suggesting that you’re incorrect,” Mr Walker-Ely said.
Mackay Supreme Court heard Mr Walker-Ely chased him from his home, a caravan at The Park in Paget, to a nearby vacant grassy block.
“You’ve pursued him from the edge of your patio and the safety of that, down the corridor to the six foot fence because you wanted to get even with him,” Mr Phillips said.
“You went over the six foot fence with that same thought in your head.
“You pursued him across the four lanes of the Bruce Highway/Broadsound Rd with that in your head.
“You called out ‘keep running f---ing c---’ with that same thought in your head.”
Mr Walker-Ely did not deny yelling those words but said the rest of the claims were “incorrect”.
“I’m not denying that it was said in anger, I am saying that it was … a result of the sexual violent attack on me and then the threats made to me afterwards,” Mr Walker-Ely said.
“So you pursued him like a hunter stalks game … and you gave him 42 stab wounds for having the gall to give you grief that night,” Mr Phillips said.
“I don’t think that’s the correct description … I don’t disagree with the stab wounds, I disagree with everything else,” Mr Walker-Ely said.
“And you were intending on least doing him grievous bodily harm if not kill when you when you delivered those blows,” Mr Phillips said, to which Mr Walker-Ely replied, “I disagree with all of that”.
WALKER-ELY ACCUSED OF MAKING UP GAY RAPE ATTEMPT
“You were not acting under any provocation to do any of this … no one had attempted to rape you … no one had threatened your life,” Mr Phillips said,
“And you pursued him intending on delivering some street justice.”
Mr Walker-Ely denied that, saying the claims were “incorrect”.
He told the court he had no memory of the moment he stabbed Mr Fa’apepele 42 times including multiple stabs to his anus.
“You don’t recall stabbing somebody 42 times?” Mr Phillips asked.
“No I don’t,” Mr Walker-Ely said.
“You don’t recall taking the knife across his neck and cutting him that way?” Mr Phillips said.
“You don’t recall any of the 42 stab wounds?”
Mr Walker-Ely said, “that’s correct, that’s what I’m saying.”
“You know he’s got injuries to his anus don’t you?” Mr Phillips asked.
“From this court case yes,” Mr Walker-Ely said.
“Are you seriously suggesting that you have no memory of putting that knife into his anus … into his face?” Mr Phillips asked.
“No I don’t,” Mr Walker-Ely said.
‘I DON’T RECALL IT’
The court heard the pair met after Mr Fa’apepele had walked passed Mr Walker-Ely’s caravan and they started talking.
Mr Walker-Ely also alleged Mr Fa’apepele looked at his penis when the pair went to the caravan park’s toilet block and then twice followed him inside his caravan, stating his intention to “f---” him.
The court heard he said this led to a physical altercation where he was pinned to the bed by Mr Fa’apepele but managed to escape, grab his knife and stab him in the chest.
The court heard it was alleged Mr Fa’apepele said he was going to kill Mr Walker-Ely prompting him to follow still armed with the knife, pursuing him over a six foot fence, across a four-lane roadway and onto the vacant block.
Mr Phillips asked if Mr Walker-Ely had a “full blank” of what happened next, to which he replied, “I’ve never said I wasn’t there, I’ve never said it didn’t happen, I’m telling you I don’t recall it.”
“So it is a full blank,” Mr Phillips asked, to which he responded “yes”.
Mr Phillips asked if afterwards Mr Walker-Ely had been concerned afterwards and had checked for a pulse after.
“I was concerned but I could see what had happened,” Mr Walker-Ely said.
“You could see all the injuries,” Mr Phillips asked him, to which he said “yes” and agreed he must have decided Mr Fa’apepele was already dead.
CALLED HIS MUM AFTER KILLING
The court heard Mr Walker-Ely walked by a Telstra phone box and returned to his caravan where he called his mother, the woman he had been seeing at the time and then triple-0.
He told the court he did not recall seeing the phone box.
Through the questioning Mr Walker-Ely repeated that his recollection of certain parts of that night was not crystal clear.
Mr Phillips questioned Mr Walker-Ely why he did not tell police that Mr Fa’apepele had threatened to kill him before the attack.
“I’m asking, did you think to say it,” Mr Phillips said.
“I wasn’t thinking straight I’d had a pretty bad night, that’s the worst night of my life,” Mr Walker-Ely said.
“The threat against your life you say was why you pursued him when he had already left your premises … why you pursued him over the six foot fence … why you went over four lanes of traffic?” Mr Phillips asked.
“The full pursuit was 660m.”
“This is all stuff I’ve agreed with,” Mr Walker-Ely said.
“All motivated by the threat against you,” Mr Phillips said.
“That’s correct.”
DENIED ORAL SEX COMMENT
Mr Phillips also questioned Mr Walker-Ely about a comment he allegedly made to the woman he had been seeing where he said he was interested in having oral sex with a man.
Mr Walker-Ely later said under questioning from his barrister he did not make that comment, stating the woman must have misunderstood.
Mr Phillips suggested Mr Walker-Ely was not being truthful, to which he replied “that’s incorrect”.
Mr Phillips also asked if Mr Walker-Ely had visited “a gay porn website” in relation to data taken from his laptop, to which he said “no” stating the laptop had initially been his mother’s and before that was a work laptop at her place of work.
Closing arguments will begin this morning.
‘HE WAS GOING TO F--- ME: ACCUSED TELLS OF STABBING ATTACK
A murder-accused has detailed how the man he stabbed to death allegedly pinned him to a bed and tried to pull down his pants after stating “he wanted to f--- me, that he was going to f--- me”.
Steven Dean Michael Walker-Ely has pleaded not guilty to murder, but guilty to the manslaughter of Birdsall Fa’apepele in 2021 claiming he lost control after his victim allegedly tried to rape him.
Mr Walker-Ely has chosen to give evidence in the Mackay Supreme Court trial stating he had seen Mr Fa’apepele walking past his caravan where he was staying at The Park in Paget in the early hours of December 14.
He said the pair began talking, which became heated but quickly settled down and Mr Birdsall Fa’apepele apologised.
Mr Walker-Ely then said, “pretty quickly I got the idea he was trying to intimidate me” alleging there had been “just general confrontational behaviour” from Mr Fa’apepele.
The court heard when the pair went to the toilet Mr Walker-Ely claimed he noticed Mr Fa’apepele “looking down at my penis”.
“That’s when I became uncomfortable,” Mr Walker-Ely said.
Under questioning from barrister Saul Holt KC, Mr Walker-Ely said it was “unsettling”.
“I wasn’t comfortable in that situation,” adding he did not mention it and went back to his caravan when he said Mr Fa’apepele followed him inside uninvited.
He said he told Mr Fa’apepele to “get the f--- out of the caravan … it was a small space”.
Mr Walker-Ely said Mr Fa’apepele was dismissive of his concerns, telling him to “relax, it’s OK”.
He told the court the pair argued and he tried to “de-escalate the situation”.
‘THINGS GOT OUT OF HAND’
“Things had gotten out of hand … I wasn’t confident in getting physical with this guy in a small space,” he said.
The court heard Mr Walker-Ely had asked Mr Fa’appele “what do you want”.
“That’s when Birdsall told me that he wanted to f--- me, that he was going to f--- me,” Mr Walker-Ely said.
He told the court Mr Fa’apepele had dropped his pants as he stood up with his hands in front of him saying “it’s not happening”.
He said Mr Fa’apepele came at him and he was pushed back.
“I’d like to say I remember everything but I can’t,” Mr Walker-Ely said.
“It was extremely physical, it was terrifying … it was out of control,” he said.
Mr Walker-Ely claimed Mr Fa’apepele was naked.
“I remember being pinned down at one stage on me bed,” he said, adding he had been fighting back.
“I remember getting to the knife.”
He told the court he always kept his knife, which had been a gift, by his door.
‘STABBED HIM IN THE CHEST’
He said he got the knife and “stabbed Birdsall in the chest”.
“Everything sort of stopped …. There was distance between us again,” he said.
“I said get the f--- out of my caravan, get the f--- out of here.”
Mr Walker-Ely said as Birdsall was leaving he told him “I’m going to come back for this … I’m going to kill you for this.”
“I followed him … I believed he had all intention of coming back,” he said, adding he was scared, terrified and angry “about something happening to me in my own home”.
Mr Walker-Ely following Mr Fa’apepele for about 660m, including over a six foot high fence and four lanes of traffic, when the pair were face-to-face again, the court heard.
“I was angry yelling things at him, he was yelling things at me,” he said.
“I remember being told I’m going to kill you for this.
‘YOU SHOULD HAVE LEFT ME ALONE’
“I was saying you should have f---king listened to me, you should have left me alone.”
When they came face-to-face against Mr Walker-Ely said Mr Fa’apepele “came at me” saying it was messy and horrible.
He told the court the two became involved in a “little bit of a wrestle” and said he was scared and had “never experienced pure fear like I had that night.
“You had the knife,” Mr Holt ask.
“Yes I had it in my right hand,” Mr Walker-Ely, adding he did not remember actually stabbing Mr Fa’apepele.
“The next thing I remember I was on my knees next to Birdsall’s body … I dropped the knife.
“I don’t know if I was already crying or that’s when I started crying … that’s when things started getting real for me.”
The court heard he went back to his caravan and called his mother, the woman he had just started seeing and then called police.
FAMILY HEAR OF 42 STAB WOUNDS
Cross examination under crown prosecutor Josh Phillips is currently under way.
Loved ones of Mr Fa’apepele also had to endure horrifying details of the 42 stab wounds that ended his life, as the last of the crown witnesses gave evidence.
Forensic pathologist Li Ma, who performed the autopsy on Birdsall Fa’apepele, detailed each injury for the jury including deep stabs – some between six centimetres and up to 12cm deeps, across his body.
The wounds, located on his head, neck, chest, back and anal region, struck major veins, his lung, liver, spine, pelvic cavity, caused rib fractures and resulted in 200ml of blood being found in his right chest cavity and 250ml of blood in the pelvic cavity.
Ms Ma told the court there should not be any blood in those to locations.
She said Mr Fa’apepele’s cause of death was “the multiplicity of the stab wounds”.
The trial continues.
CHILLING CALL TO TRIPLE-O PLAYED
DNA from murder accused Steven Dean Michael Walker-Ely was found on the genitalia of the man he stabbed to death by the roadside, a court heard.
Fifteen witnesses have given evidence as the Mackay Supreme Court murder trial enters its second day.
Mr Walker-Ely has pleaded not guilty to murder, but guilty to manslaughter claiming his victim Birdsall Fa’apepele had tried to rape him when he lost control and stabbed him 42 times in his neck, body and anus, killing him.
On Tuesday morning the jury viewed graphic images of Mr Fa’apepele’s body by the side of Broadsound Rd as well as images of the bloodstained knife used.
He was killed in the early hours on December 14, 2021 after Mr Walker-Ely chased him about 660m from his caravan at The Park in Paget, on Farrellys Rd.
Mr Walker-Ely triple-0 call was also played in court during which he said “I’ve, I’ve murdered someone” before directing emergency services to his address.
“My name’s Steve Walker,” he told them.
“I don’t know the guy’s name, he tried to rape me, I chased him.
“If someone could come here and just talk to me now, that would be good.”
“How did you murder him?” the call operator asked.
“I stabbed him, a whole heap of times,” Mr Walker-Ely said.
“Have you still got the knife on you?” the operator asked.
“No it’s still with him, with the body. I walked home, I calmed down, I called my mum.”
Before hanging up Mr Walker-Ely asked the operator to tell police “I’m not aggressive, I’m owning up to what I’ve done and I’ve had time to calm down”.
The court heard there was no evidence suggesting the two men had known each other before this night.
Mr Fa’apepele was at the caravan park after a fight with his girlfriend and had organised to stay with a workmate, who also lived at The Park.
However that mate had fallen asleep before he arrived.
The court heard another resident of The Park had seen Mr Walker-Ely and a man, Mr Fa’apepele, “sitting amicably” outside the defendant’s caravan about 1.15am to 1.20am – they were both shirtless but wearing pants.
‘INTERESTED IN GIVING ORAL TO GUY’
The court heard there was forensic evidence to suggest Mr Walker-Ely’s DNA was on Mr Fa’apepele’s “penis, his foreskin and shaft of his penis, his left thigh and his right thigh”.
A woman who had just become sexually involved with Mr Walker-Ely three days before the killing told the court that during a topic involving sexual boundaries, he told her “he was interested in giving oral to another gentleman but in no way was he gay”.
She told the court it was just a discussion and was not about anyone in particular.
Defence barrister Saul Holt suggested Mr Walker-Ely “never said he was interested in giving another guy a blow job”.
The woman replied, “He did say he was interested in doing it … he didn’t want to identify as gay.”
Under questioning from Mr Holt the woman said Mr Walker-Ely had always been “deeply respectful” whenever they were intimate.
The court heard they had spent time together on December 13 but she went home about midnight or 12.30 because she had work the next day.
The pair shared some text messages and then she received a phone call from him about 2am or 2.30am December 14.
“He said please remember me the way that you’ve known me or please remember me the way that I was,” she told the court.
The court heard there were several phone calls between the two and she had pressed for more information and “he said that he had killed someone”.
She agreed there was emotion in his voice when he said “I’ve killed someone”.
STABBED 42 TIMES: SHOCK ALLEGATIONS REVEALED
An accused killer has claimed he stabbed a stranger about 42 times, taking his life, because he lost control after his victim allegedly tried to rape him.
Lawyers for Steven Dean Michael Walker-Ely have alleged he was provoked into losing control and chasing Birdsall Fa’apepele about 660m metres before knifing him to death next to a highway in the early hours of December 14, 2021.
Mr Fa’apepele’s body was found on vacant land near the Bruce Highway, near a Paget caravan park, about 3am on December 14, 2021.
He had been stabbed multiple times including the neck, chest and anus.
Mr Walker-Ely is charged with his murder, to which he pleaded not guilty in Mackay Supreme Court on Monday but guilty to Mr Fa’apepele’s manslaughter.
Crown Prosecutor Josh Phillips said the guilty plea for manslaughter was not accepted.
“I’ve murdered someone,” the court heard these were words Mr Walker-Ely told the triple-0 operator minutes after stabbing Mr Fa’apepele.
“I don’t know the guy’s name he tried to rape me and I … chased him.
“I chased him down so yeah if someone could come now
“I stabbed him … a whole heap of times.”
Mr Phillips told the jury “at least 42 times actually” before revealing graphic details about the stab wounds that included slicing open Mr Fa’apepele’s neck including his windpipe, oesophagus and left jugular vein, stabbing his abdomen cutting the liver and inferior vena cava – a major artery and damaging his ribs and cutting into his right lung.
“Severe force with the knife was required to go through those bony structures,” Mr Phillips said.
The court heard Mr Fa’apepele was also stabbed in the anus.
‘VICTIM TRIED TO RAPE HIM’
“What won’t have escaped your attention is (Mr Walker-Ely’s) claim that Birdsall tried to rape him,” Mr Phillips said, adding Mr Walker-Ely told police Mr Fa’apepele had pinned him down, “touched his bum”, but had not penetrated him.
Barrister Saul Holt KC for Mr Walker-Ely said his client had told police, “he tried to pin me down … yeah he wasn’t successful but he f---ing had a good crack at it”.
The court heard there was no question the Mr Walker-Ely dealt the fatal blows to Mr Fa’apepele, but the real issue was whether or not he had been provoked.
“When Steven Walker-Ely spoke to the police repeatedly in the early hours of 14 December 2021 he told them the truth, the absolute truth about what happened on that day,” Mr Holt told the jury in a brief opening.
“At 2.47am Steven Walker-Ely called triple-0 and said in essence … ‘The guy tried to rape me, I chased him down, I stabbed him and a whole heap of times, I calmed down and I called my mum.”
DEFENCE OF PROVOCATION
Defence are alleging Mr Fa’apepele tried to rape Mr Walker-Ely in his caravan.
“This case … only is about the defence of provocation and the defence can prove to you on the balance of probabilities that what would otherwise be murder, and let’s be clear it would otherwise be murder, can be reduced to manslaughter because of the legal defence of provocation,” Mr Holt told the jury.
“If you kill someone and it would otherwise be murder, that can be reduced to manslaughter if you act under what’s called provocation in our law.
“Provocation is when you lose self control in circumstances when is ordinary person could also lose self control and kill a person.”
Mr Holt said there were four questions to be answered: was Mr Walker-Ely provoked, did he lose the power of self control as a result, could an ordinary person have lost the power of self control in those circumstances and was he deprived of self control at the time he stabbed Mr Fa’apepele to death on the side of the highway.
“Is there a more provocative act than trying to rape someone in their own home?” Mr Holt asked the jury.
“This was a loss of self control from a victim of an attempted rape.”
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Originally published as Steven Dean Michael Walker-Ely pleads guilty to manslaughter of Birdsall Fa’apepele
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‘He fell asleep’: Dangerous driver in court for head-on smash
A smelter worker wiped away tears as he was sentenced for crashing his car into two families, with the cause of the smash now revealed.
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Central Qld woman to front court for serious drugs, weapon allegations
A woman with multiple drugs charges is expected to be sentenced by Queensland’s chief justice next month.
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