A courtroom was told how a teenager, charged with the deadly stabbing of a showgrounds worker, had a deep interest in knives and even penned rap lyrics about the incident.
Uati ‘Pele’ Faletolu, aged 17, was on duty at Sydney’s Royal Easter Show when he was fatally stabbed in the heart by a 14-year-old on the night of April 11, 2022.
Due to his age at the time, the young defendant, whose identity remains protected, admitted to manslaughter charges today in the NSW Supreme Court at Parramatta.
During the hearing, it was revealed that the teenager had an obsession with knives, giving each of his blades unique names. Among them, the knife used in the incident was called ‘Barbie,’ prosecutor England explained to Justice Peter Garling.
Unfortunately, the knife has not been found.
England described the attack, saying, “The accused reached through a gap between two associates and stabbed the victim in the chest.”
“The accused fled quickly, before the deceased threw a punch. He left his associates.”
Bystanders tried to stem Faletolu’s bleeding, but he later died in hospital.
Defence barrister Sarah Talbert said the teen accepted his deliberate act caused Faletolu’s death.
“He does not accept he had intent to cause death or grievous bodily harm,” 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,” 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.
