Dean Webber, 19, (pictured) blindly stabbed two men who broke into his home on September 30, 2018
A teenager who fatally stabbed two home intruders will never have to take the stand at an inquest into the deaths after a surprising Supreme Court ruling.
Diesel fitter Dean Webber, then 19, stabbed Tom Davy, 27, and his friend Corey Christensen, 37, after they tried to enter his home in Alva Beach, north Queensland on the night of October 1, 2018.
The pair had been looking for Mr Davy’s injured girlfriend Candace Locke – who went to Mr Webber’s home seeking help after dislocating her shoulder in a quad bike accident.
The Queensland Supreme Court on Thursday upheld Deputy State Coroner Jane Bentley’s ruling in October Mr Webber would only have to give evidence in writing due to the trauma he had suffered.
Mr Davy’s mother hit out at the ruling and said Mr Webber’s mental state should not excuse him from fully answering for his actions that night.
The original decision came after the inquest heard he had experienced PTSD from the stabbing and therefore shouldn’t have to testify in person.
Candace Locke (pictured) took refuge at Mr Webber’s house on September 30, 2018. The group of men then allegedly broke into the property
Mr Webber stabbed Tom Davy (left), 27, and friend Corey Christensen (right), 37, after they tried to come into his house in Alva Beach, north Queensland, on October 1, 2018
‘We feel that the person who has taken those two lives should be questioned to explain,’ Heather Davy told The Courier-Mail.
The 27-year-old’s brother Josh described him as ‘a beautiful young man in the prime of his life just discovering Australia’.
‘Our beautiful son Tom was a person Australia or the world cannot afford to lose,’ his father Neil said.
The family of the two men had challenged the move not to force Mr Webber to testify, but their hopes of dismissing a judicial review were ended on Thursday morning by Acting Supreme Court Justice Anthony Rafter.
Lawyer Rebecca Fogerty, who represents Mr Davy’s family, had said they wanted the cross-examination process to be as easy as possible for Mr Webber.
‘It’s an important consideration that if the witness is required to give evidence in person, that he does not have to go through that process anymore than he absolutely needs to,’ Ms Fogerty said, according to the Cairns Post.
‘This is of course a tragic situation for everybody involved and we are very conscious of the fact that for Mr Webber the process of giving evidence will be a very distressing one.’
Mr Davy has hit out the decision not to force Mr Webber to take the stand (pictured: Mr Christensen’s wife)
The Alva Beach stabbings have been shrouded in mystery since they shocked Queenslanders two years ago.
Ms Locke had arrived at Mr Webber’s door asking to be let in on the night of the stabbing.
Mr Davy and Mr Christensen are then believed to have come banging on the door of Mr Webber’s house looking for Ms Locke around 12.30am on October 1, 2018 before being fatally stabbed in the frenzied chaos moments later.
Both men died at the scene, and Mr Webber received no charges after it was deemed he was acting in self-defence.
A coronial inquest was launched into the deaths of Tom Davy, 27, and Corey Christensen, 37. Mr Webber (pictured) was excused from giving evidence in person because of his PTSD
Mr Davy’s mother earlier told the Townsville Bulletin, her son was the ‘most beautiful person’ and a ‘gentle giant’.
The aircraft engineer loved being in the water and had only just moved to Queensland before he was killed.
The family had known about Ms Locke as the pair had dated for four months before but had never met her.
She has since remained distant from the family.
Source: Daily Mail Australia | World News
