Boy, 17, charged with murder after man stabbed to death near Wilston home

The case against a 17-year-old boy charged with the murder of a 43-year-old Wilston man has been mentioned in court, while Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk called for a heightened police presence.

Detectives have charged a boy with the murder of man who was stabbed to death less than a kilometre from his home in the up-market inner-Brisbane suburb of Wilston.

The Burpengary boy, 17, was charged with murder on Sunday afternoon and had his case briefly mentioned in Brisbane Childrens Court on Monday morning.

He did not appear and there was no application for bail.

The victim has been identified as David George Connolly, 43, of Wilston.

A 17-year-old Keperra girl has been charged with assaulting police. She has been denied police bail.

The 17-year-old girl’s matter was also mentioned in court today, however media were not permitted to remain in the courtroom.

Acting Magistrate Scoines, who had earlier allowed media to remain for mention of the alleged killer’s case, said she was privy to information about the girl that increased her concern for her in relation to the media’s presence.

Speaking to the media about the alleged murder this afternoon, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk called for a heightened police presence, declaring “it’s unbelievable these things are happening”.

She said community safety was “absolutely paramount”, and “we need to see more police patrols out there”.

“We announced a whole range of sweeping changes and that legislation is being drafted,” Ms Palaszczuk said.

The Opposition has repeatedly urged the state government to recall parliament to introduce new youth crime laws but Ms Palaszczuk insisted the legislation will be ready on “day one” when MPs sit again on February 21.

“They are going to be strong but also the consultation is happening now and they will be ready to be introduced on day one,” she told reporters on Monday afternoon.

“And if you (the Opposition) want to fast track them, the best thing the opposition can do is agree with us.”

Detectives on the scene at Wilson where a man was found deceased on the footpath on Newmarket Rd.

Detective Superintendent Andrew Massingham confirmed the man was found “collapsed” in the early hours of Sunday on Newmarket Rd, Wilston, believed to have been stabbed.

He was found with critical injuries and died at the scene.

A homicide investigation was launched shortly after the “horrific” discovery about 1.40am.

“We believe he was stabbed near to where he fell,” Det Supt Massingham said, adding that it’s believed he was stabbed shortly after midnight.

He said it was unclear where the victim had walked from, but it appeared he was walking back to his home.

“The circumstances are not clear in terms of what led up to it,” Det Supt Massingham said.

“Whether it was a robbery or whether it was a disagreement in relation to something else, we simply don’t know.”

Det Supt Massingham said “these scenes are horrific”.

“These cowardly attacks are abhorrent, no place for them in society,” he said.

Det Supt Massingham said the 17-year-old boy had been taken into custody after earlier being intercepted with a 45cm knife, described as a “small machete”.

Police had been patrolling Newmarket Rd, near Lamont Rd, when they found the teen at 12.18am. The boy was seen running in a westerly direction along Newmarket Rd.

The area at Wilston where a man died following an alleged wounding incident.

He was questioned by police when they found the knife, in a sheath hidden beneath the boy’s clothing, Det Supt Massingham said.

“This knife went from one side of the body to the other, it’s in excess of 40 centimetres in length,” Det Supt Massingham said.

He said a short time later a 17-year-old teen girl appeared and told police she was in a relationship with the boy.

The teen girl was arrested after she allegedly became aggressive and assaulted a police officer, Det Supt Massingham said.

Detective Superintendent Andrew Massingham described the scenes as “horrific”. NewsWire / Sarah Marshall

He said the teens were taken to a “place of safety”, as is police procedure when locating juveniles. One of the teens live there. The boy was issued a notice to appear for the knife and the girl for the alleged assault.

About 90 minutes later at 1.40am, the body of the Wilston man was found on Newmarket Rd, directly opposite the Wilston train station.

In relation to the teen being found with the knife, Supt Massingham said it was “apparent at that stage that he may have been involved in something nearby”.

Police described the scenes as “horrific”.

“The police made certain inquiries at that time but were unable to clearly identify what that may have been,” he said.

“And it wasn’t until the location of the man an hour and a half later that that suspicion was further heightened.”

Opposition Leader David Crisafulli said the government must do more to address youth offending.

“How did we reach the point where young offenders feel so above the law they carry around a knife nearly half a metre long?” Mr Crisafulli said, speaking in respect of the allegations.

“Everyday we see more examples of why parliament must be recalled to debate the crime epidemic gripping this state.

“Queenslanders are living through the cost of the Palaszczuk Government’s decision to water down our laws.”

The man was found on the footpath on Newmarket Rd opposite the train station.

A Palaszczuk government representative said new legislation to combat youth crime would soon be introduced to parliament.

“As the police investigation is continuing and the exact circumstances of the tragedy are yet to be determined, the government is unable to comment on the specific incident,” they said.

“Queensland has some of the toughest youth crime laws in the nation and the Premier has already announced reforms to make them even tougher.

“This includes amending the Youth Justice Act so courts must take into account previous bail history, criminal activity and track record when sentencing youth offenders.

“Consultation on the tough new laws is underway and legislation will be introduced into parliament next month.”

Police are investigating the suspicious death of a man at Wilston on Sunday morning. Picture: Nigel Hallett

Det Supt Massingham said the man was stabbed and that preliminary investigations indicated the man had been in “some altercation with persons prior to his death”.

“It is important that we identify those persons and we believe that passing traffic will hold the key to that mystery,” he said, as he appealed for anyone with dashcam footage in the area between 11pm and 2am to contact police.

Det Supt Massingham said the information from the 17-year-olds was “limited” but that they were known to police.

He said there was no evidence the man knew the two teens.

In addition to a crime scene at Wilston, police also declared a crime scene at Keperra.

Det Supt Massingham said the Wilston victim was a local resident who owned a unit in Wilston and lived alone.

Police praised paramedics for tirelessly working in attempting to save the man’s life.

In court on Monday, the 17-year-old boy’s lawyer sought a full brief of evidence and an adjournment.

Acting Magistrate Leanna Scoines, who allowed members of the media to be present because the youth did not appear, ordered the police brief be available from March 6.

The boy was remanded in custody and the matter adjourned to February 13.

In an unrelated incident, a second police investigation was established at Slacks Creek after a man sustained “serious” injuries in an alleged wounding after an altercation with a group at Paradise Rd about 1.50pm.

Paramedics, including the High Acuity Response Unit, rushed the man to the Princess Alexandria Hospital in a serious condition.

A police spokeswoman said the man had received an alleged stab wound following an altercation with a group who later left the scene in a vehicle.

Both incidents remain under investigation.

Originally published as Boy, 17, charged with murder after man stabbed to death near Wilston home