Jurrah led machete fight, court told

AFL star Liam Jurrah helped lead attacks on a rival group at a town camp in the Northern Territory in March and was armed with a machete when he struck his cousin, the Alice Springs Magistrates Court has heard.

Prosecutor Stephen Robson said the 23-year-old Melbourne player and two co-accused, Christopher Walker, 23, and Josiah Fry, 21, took part in a fight on March 7 at the Little Sisters town camp near Alice Springs.

The altercation allegedly began when Walker, who was released from prison on February 27 over the death of a man in the outback town of Yuendumu in 2010, confronted a group of people sitting around a campfire at Little Sisters town camp on the outskirts of Alice Springs nine days after his release, on March 7.

“I am here now. Anybody want to fight me? I am one of the murderers,” Walker said to the group, prosecutor Stephen Robson alleged.

Walker said he would get his family and come back, Mr Robson said.

Walker then allegedly left the camp and returned with a group, with himself and Jurrah at the front.

Jurrah is an initiated Warlpiri man who comes from Yuendumu.

During the fight that followed, Jurrah allegedly struck one man, Lemiah Woods, with a weapon that caused bleeding, and then chased Mr Woods to the front door of his home, the court heard.

At the door of the home Jurrah struck Mr Woods’ father, Murray Woods, while Fry struck Lemiah Woods with an axe, prosecutors allege.

Although the dispute broke up when police arrived, the two sides regrouped and called for reinforcements, Mr Robson said.

He said Jurrah was again among leaders when about 20 people later returned to Little Sisters and confronted what they considered an “enemy family”.

On the other side of the dispute, people from the nearby Hidden Valley town camp, including Jurrah’s cousin Basil Jurrah, boarded a vehicle and headed for Little Sisters.

Armed with a machete, Jurrah allegedly hit Basil Jurrah on the head, Mr Robson said.

Esau Marshall, who was called as a witness, said he saw Basil Jurrah on the ground being attacked.

“Liam Jurrah he had a weapon and he was hitting him (Basil),” Mr Marshall said.

Basil Jurrah was later taken to hospital with serious injuries that included facial fractures, the court heard.

Under questioning from defence lawyer Jon Tippett QC, Mr Marshall said many of the participants had been drinking and he was “half shot” but not fully drunk when the events took place.

Another witness, Allan Collins, said he saw Liam Jurrah and Walker chase Basil Jurrah and both hit him.

Mr Collins also said many of the people who went to Little Sisters had been drinking and some were partly drunk.

Jurrah, Walker and Fry have been charged with four counts of aggravated assault, one of being armed with an offensive weapon at night and one of unlawfully causing serious harm.

During the court hearing Jurrah sat quietly behind his counsel wearing a black suit and tie.

The committal hearing, expected to last three days, is a preliminary examination to see whether there is enough evidence for the case to proceed to trial.

Outside court police had to break up a loud shouting match between a few dozen people who were yelling at each other in the Warlpiri language.

Proceedings were temporarily adjourned during the day when witness Samuel White failed to appear in court.

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