An aboriginal man has had murder charges re-issued by police during a “complex” investigation into a fatal stabbing in the Victorian town of Morwell last year.
Kaiden Morgan, 18, died after being found with stab wounds on The Boulevard at about 10.25pm on September 27, and Tyrese Walsh, 20 was found with non-life threatening injuries nearby.
Two days later two males, 19-year-old Tyson Fenton and a 16-year-old who cannot be named because of his age, were charged with murder and intentionally causing injury over the incident, which was described as a machete attack at the time, but the charges against Mr Fenton were withdrawn on November 28.
Victoria Police said on Friday Homicide Squad detectives had re-charged Mr Fenton, who is due to re-appear in Latrobe Valley Magistrates’ Court on 26 March.
When Mr Fenton faced court in September over the first charges his lawyer said his client feared “retaliation in custody” and was a young aboriginal man with no criminal history.
An 18-year-old man from Morwell was also been charged with murder on December 12 as part of the investigation, which police described as “complex”. Police believe all parties allegedly involved in the incident are known to each other.
A day before the charges were re-issued Mr Morgan’s mother made a post on social media celebrating the removal of artwork linked to Mr Fenton’s family from Morwell and Traralgon train stations, and last year expressed anger after receiving Victims of Crime assistance program pamphlet featuring the same indigenous artist.
Mr Morgan’s death sparked protests calling for tougher action on knife crime, and family friend Jordan Banks said at the time that Mr Morgan, who was part of an indigenous dance troupe, was “a troubled kid” but “headed on a path to greatness”.
“He did wonders for the aboriginal community,” he said,
“(He) loved his culture and wanted to show the world. What happened was not deserved.”
Mr Banks blamed the state’s Labor government, which brought in a machete ban a month before the alleged murder, for not doing enough to keep violent criminals locked up.
“The government needs to wake up and stop letting these kids out on bail to reoffend,” he said.
Header image: Left, right, Kaiden Morgan (supplied).
The post Aboriginal man, 19, re-charged over alleged machete murder in Victorian town first appeared on The Noticer.
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