‘I took his soul’: teen’s poem of Easter show killing
Rex Martinich |
A teenager accused of fatally stabbing a showgrounds worker had a fascination with knives and later wrote rap lyrics about the killing, a judge has heard.
Uati ‘Pele’ Faletolu, 17, was working Sydney’s Royal Easter Show when a 14-year-old boy stabbed him in the heart about 8pm on April 11, 2022.
The teen defendant, who cannot be named due to his age at the time, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the NSW Supreme Court at Parramatta on Monday.
But he pleaded not guilty to the murder of Mr Faletolu.
The prosecution did not accept this plea and the matter proceeded to trial.
Police found a series of entries in the notes app on the teen’s phone with poems and raps describing how he killed Mr Faletolu, prosecutor Michelle England SC told the judge-alone trial.
A note created on July 6 – titled ‘Aye’ – had the summary “F*** the beat. I didn’t beat him up. I took his soul”, Ms England said.
The boys were associated with rival gangs involved in Sydney’s so-called postcode wars: Mr Faletolu with the 67 gang, from the Doonside area, and his killer with the ‘Ready For Anything’ or RFA gang from nearby Mount Druitt.
The defendant stabbed Mr Faletolu as part of what he said was a “war” with 67 in which “he had to do anything” for RFA to remain with the gang, Ms England said.
“The accused’s self-stated animosity towards people associated with 67 was the motivation for the stabbing rather than any subjective belief that he may have been fearful of an unarmed male who he did not personally know,” Ms England said.
The teen texted “GG 67 motherf***er” after the stabbing and later wrote a rap “Should have worked at Maccas. Now he’s dead. We smoke him up.”
He had a “fascination with knives” and gave each of his weapons individual names including ‘Barbie’ for the knife used in the killing, Ms England told Justice Peter Garling.
The knife has never been recovered.
“The accused reached through the gap between two associates and stabbed the deceased in the chest,” Ms England said.
“The accused fled quickly, before the deceased threw a punch. He left his associates.”
Bystanders tried to stem Mr Faletolu’s bleeding, but he later died in hospital
Defence barrister Sarah Talbert said the teen accepted his deliberate act caused Mr Faletolu’s death.
“He does not accept he had intent to cause death or grievous bodily harm,” Ms Talbert said.
The stabbing was not reasonable but the teen believed he was acting in defence of himself or others, Justice Garling heard.
“The deceased had been talking about looking for people from Mount Druitt and had in fact fought with people from Mount Druitt the day before,” Ms Talbert said.
The teen’s judgement and self-control at the time were significantly affected by post-traumatic stress disorder, the judge was told.
The trial is due to run four weeks.
AAP
