AN autistic 14-year-old's body was curled in the foetal position as a Ballarat man allegedly struck him repeatedly in the head with an axe while warning other young children nearby would be next, a jury has heard.
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Darren Wilson, 34, showed no emotion in the Supreme Court in Melbourne on Wednesday as a witness who saw him allegedly murder the boy broke down while giving evidence.
Timothy O'Brien's body was found by police at a Scarsdale home on the morning of January 5 last year.
Wilson and a 16-year-old girl he considered his "new girlfriend" had lured Timothy's stepfather, Peter Williams, to the house out of a mutual desire to bash him.
The jury has heard Mr Williams was Wilson's first cousin and their relationship had deteriorated in the weeks leading up to Timothy's death.
The witness, who The Courier has chosen not to name, said she pleaded with Wilson and another man to stop their attack on Timothy.
EARLIER IN THE TRIAL:
"He (Wilson) told me to (expletive) off," the witness said.
"Something along the lines of '(expletive) off or your kids will be next'.
"I was screaming at him to stop it."
The witness said a child standing nearby also pleaded with Wilson not to hurt anyone else.
The witness said Timothy originally lay on his stomach, screaming and crying, while another man strangled him before allegedly using the blunt side of an axe hit him in the head.
That man was yelling "die (expletive) die", the witness said.
The witness said Wilson then came out of the house, looking angry and began punching Timothy.
She said one particular punch to the temple knocked Timothy out, before Wilson picked up the axe, turned it to its bladed side, and allegedly hit Timothy repeatedly in the head.
"He (Timothy) was making noises like he was asleep," the witness told the jury.
"He was making like a snoring, gargling noise."
The witness said a group of women had earlier driven to Mr Williams' Smythesdale home, with Wilson's "girlfriend" luring him back to her Scarsdale home by saying she was scared of prowlers.
The jury has heard Wilson was waiting at the home, wearing a pillowcase over his head, and jumped from a room and began bashing Mr Williams on arrival.
Crown prosecutor Andrew Tinney SC said in his opening address to the jury that Timothy went with his stepfather due to an "inseparable" bond between the pair.
The jury has heard Timothy, armed with a baseball bat, used it to first hit Wilson after he began assaulting Mr Wiiliams.
Wilson was knocked to the ground before another man approached Timothy.
Timothy also struck that man with the baseball bat before the man chased him out of the home and began the attack which would kill Timothy.
The trial before Justice Betty King continues.
