Teenager accused of murdering Brisbane’s David Connolly with a 41cm knife has pleaded not guilty

A teenager accused of murdering a 43-year-old man with a 41cm knife last year has pleaded not guilty.

David George Connolly died after being stabbed by a then 17-year-old boy in Brisbane’s inner north in January 2023.

On Monday, the now 18-year-old – who cannot be identified – pleaded not guilty to murder at the start of a five-day trial in the Supreme Court in Brisbane.

The court heard the teenager carried a knife through the streets and delivered “a fatal blow” to Mr Connolly in the chest, leaving him to bleed to death alone on Newmarket Road in Wilston.

The prosecutor showed the jury the 41 centimeter knife allegedly used and told the court that the autopsy showed the cause of death was a stab wound to the chest.

The jury concluded that the depth of the wound was caused by “moderate to severe force” and that Mr Connolly “could have died within minutes” of the injury sustained.

Lawyers for the defendant told jurors there was no dispute that the teenager stabbed Mr Connolly and caused his death, but urged them to keep an “open mind” during the trial.

No witnesses to the incident

The prosecutor told jurors there were no direct witnesses to the stabbing, but some interactions between the boy and Mr Connolly were captured on CCTV footage around midnight on January 22.

The prosecutor claimed the footage shows the boy closely following Mr Connolly and the audio shows a man saying: “I’m going to finish you off” and “don’t f*ck with me”.

Prosecutors said the boy was stopped by police about 400 meters from Mr Connolly’s body “just minutes” after the stabbing.

Officers said they stopped the boy because he was running, but they did not see Mr Connolly’s body and were unaware of the stabbing.

One of the officers told the court they suspected the bulge under the teenager’s clothing was a knife.

The officer said they saw a little blood coming from the knife when they took it from him.

The jury was shown dashcam footage of the police car that stopped the teenager. In this footage, Mr Connolly can be seen on the ground and the boy is running.

Found an hour later

An hour later, Mr Connolly was found lying on a footpath by passers-by.

The jury heard from two of them who told the court that Mr Connolly was unresponsive and cold to the touch.

A first responder pronounced Mr. Connolly dead shortly after 2 a.m.

The defendant’s lawyer told the court the issue in the case was the “reason why” the boy behaved the way he did that night.

The trial before Judge Michael Copley continues.