A Mangerton man left his girlfriend's ex-partner bleeding to death after he stabbed him in the chest on the stairs of a Mangerton unit block, a court has heard.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Cruz Angel Austin, 28, pleaded guilty to wounding a person with intent to cause grievous bodily harm during an appearance in Wollongong Local Court on Wednesday.
The agreed set of facts said the violent assault in May stemmed from the victim, Aiden Lewis, taking $4500, an ounce of cannabis and a car from Austin's friend Luke Levvell, who has pleaded guilty to his role in kidnapping Lewis hours earlier.
On May 4, Lewis was told to meet Levvell at a Barrack Heights home to return the property he took and to work out an agreement to pay back the money.
When the 19-year-old Lewis arrived at the home, he was told by Levvell's friends to "sit the f**k down, You're not leaving".
Fearing for his safety, Lewis sent messages to his mother asking for help telling her he was being held "hostage".
His mother tried to find Lewis but was unsuccessful. She called police but they could not assist as they did not his location.
Levvell arrived at the house sometime after 8pm, before he dragged Lewis to his car.
Levvell's friend Brett Buddle, who has pleaded not guilty to his role, and another man allegedly got into the car.
They allegedly drove Lewis to a unit block on Phillips Avenue, Mangerton where Austin, another man Robert Cockburn and two women, including Lewis former girlfriend, meet the car.
Austin was dating Lewis' on-again-off-again girlfriend at the time.
Lewis was forced to take off all his clothes and was told he would be taken to a tunnel.
When the group of people began to walk Lewis down the street, he ran away towards a unit block with Austin and Cockburn allegedly giving chase.
Lewis started banging on doors asking for help fearing Austin had a knife once he was inside a unit block on Phillips Avenue.
Cockburn, who has been charged but is yet to enter pleas, allegedly wrestled with Lewis in the stairwell.
Lewis fell to the ground before Austin arrived on the stairs and tried to stab him but missed.
Austin, on a second attempt, stabbed Lewis once in the chest before Levvell arrived and kicked Lewis in the head.
A bleeding Lewis crawled up the stairs calling for help before a neighbour opened his door at about 8.45pm.
The neighbour saw Lewis lying on the floor, covered in blood and clutching his chest before he called Triple 0.
The phone call recorded Lewis say "Cruz Angel Austin" was the person who stabbed him.
Another neighbour came into the stairwell to help Lewis and placed pressure on the stab wound.
Other neighbours saw the group of people running out of the unit block and splitting up.
A police officer arrived on scene to find Lewis was bleeding, naked, pale and had very shallow breathing before paramedics got to the scene.
Lewis was in a critical condition after sustaining a full-depth stab wound to his chest which had punctured his right lung and several arteries.
The court documents said Lewis was not expected to survive.
When Lewis arrived at Wollongong Hospital, he barely had a pulse and underwent emergency surgery to his lung and arteries before he was stable enough to be flown to St George Hospital where he was operated on again.
Meanwhile, police established a crime scene where fingerprints matching Levvell were found.
On May 8, Lewis provided a statement to police from within the intensive car unit.
Six days later, Austin was arrested and charged but he denied he was involved in the stabbing or detaining Lewis.
Levvell, Buddle and Cockburn were arrested on May 20, September 30 and December 30, respectively.
They were all charged with take/detain person in company with intent to commit serious indictable, to which Levvell pleaded guilty. Buddle pleaded not guilty and Cockburn is yet to enter pleas.
A sentence date will be set when Austin appears in Wollongong District Court on May 21. Levvell will next be in court on May 7, with Buddle set for arraignment on May 4.
We depend on subscription revenue to support our journalism. If you are able, please subscribe here. If you are already a subscriber, thank you for your support.