Two friends have admitted their roles in a horrific kidnapping incident in which a man was stripped naked and stabbed in the chest before being abandoned in the stairwell of a Mangerton unit block.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Aiden Lewis would have bled out on the evening May 4 last year if not for the quick thinking of neighbours who came to his aid after he screamed for help as he lay bleeding to death on the stairs inside the Phillips Avenue block.
He was rushed to Wollongong Hospital in a critical condition and barely had a pulse when he arrived in the emergency department, prompting nurses and doctors to begin CPR.
At the time he was not expected to live, court documents have revealed.
However, the 19-year-old miraculously survived, and managed to give police a statement just four days later from his bed in the ICU at St George Hospital.
Mr Lewis named at least seven people as being involved in the ordeal, including his ex-girlfriend, Talia Pfitzner and former friend, Brett Buddle.
Both Pfitzner and Buddle have since entered pleas of guilty to a charge of detaining a person in company with intent to commit a serious indictable offence, namely intimidation.
However, neither of the pair is accused of stabbing Mr Lewis, with police saying their involvement in the crime ended before Mr Lewis entered the Phillips Avenue building.
In documents tendered to the court, police said the violent confrontation was sparked by Mr Lewis allegedly taking $4,500 cash, an ounce of cannabis and a car from one of the co-accused on May 2.
The man had another co-accused contact Mr Lewis on May 4 and arrange for him to attend a home at Barrack Heights to discuss repayment.
However, Mr Lewis had been at the home for less than an hour when he was confronted by a group of people, which included Pfitzner and Buddle. He was bundled into a car and driven to the Mangerton address before being stripped naked and threatened.
Mr Lewis tried to flee but was chased into the unit block, where he was further confronted by three of the group, resulting in him being stabbed.
(Pfitzner and Buddle were not among that trio, with the Crown accepting their role was limited to being present when Mr Lewis was being detained outside the unit block and ended when he fled.)
Meanwhile, all those at the scene ran off before emergency services arrived.
The court heard police subsequently put phone taps on four of the group's mobile phones.
They were overheard speaking about a "change of plans" because Mr Lewis had survived the stabbing and had "dropped some names".
Both Pfitzner and Buddle remain on bail and will front Wollongong District Court early next year for sentencing proceedings.
The charge carries a sentence of up to 14 years' jail.
The Illawarra Mercury newsroom is funded by our readers. You can subscribe to support our journalism here.
