Chris Bradley: Murder accused tried to perform CPR on DJ after assault, court hears
Updated
A man charged with the murder of a popular Byron Bay DJ at a Christmas Day party will remain behind bars after bail was overturned by a Sydney court.
Javen O'Neill, 24, was previously granted bail by the Lismore Local Court over the death of 28-year-old Chris Bradley, known as DAD BOD in the music community.
The crown contested this through what is called a detention order in Sydney's Supreme Court, with Mr O'Neill's family from Western Australia in attendance.
The court was told the pair were talking to each other in the kitchen of the house when Mr O'Neill allegedly punched Mr Bradley with a closed fist before he fell to the floor.
The court heard one witness told police Mr O'Neill said: "He was being a f*****g smart ass. Oh f**k, I've f****d up".
But the court also heard Mr O'Neill's girlfriend saw them swearing and they seemed to grapple with each other.
In arguing for bail, Mr O'Neill's defence counsel said his client tried to perform CPR on Mr Bradley and told him, "come on, you can do it".
The court heard Mr O'Neill waited for emergency services to arrive at the scene and spoke with them.
The defence told the court the two men had a friendly relationship and there was no suggestion of hostility held by Mr O'Neill towards Mr Bradley.
The counsel also argued against the strength of the Crown's case, telling the court witness accounts "have aspects of reliability and credibility that should be considered".
But the crown prosecutor Jason Rafeeq argued against bail telling the court two witnesses saw Mr O'Neill punch Mr Bradley.
"They're not having some massive hallucination on cocaine," he told the court.
He told the hearing that the accused had an "underlining short fuse" and he is a Muay Thai boxer.
"It's his training and skill...how he knew the punches could affect the person," he said.
In making his decision, Justice David Davies considered the strict bail conditions Mr O'Neill would live under and his family's support network, but also the prosecution's evidence.
"I would have concerns that the respondent if released would continue to commit serious offences," he said.
He set aside bail in approving the detention application and the matter will return to court later this month.
Topics: law-crime-and-justice, crime, murder-and-manslaughter, courts-and-trials, sydney-2000
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