The killer of another man at a Brisbane leagues club has been found guilty – almost a year after the club in question similarly met an end.
In August 2018 33-year-old Levi Elliott and 35-year-old Adam Woodward were drinking with friends, separately, at the Brothers St Brendan’s Football Club.
A fight broke out between them at the front of the venue. Witnesses say Woodward, a well-known Rocklea rugby league player, initially got the upper hand before Elliott stabbed him, with a butterfly knife – 17 times. Woodward died at the scene due to a wound to his neck.
Facing Brisbane Supreme Court Elliott pleaded not guilty to murdering Woodward.
Crown Prosecutor Caroline Marco argued the defendant held animosity toward Woodward for a long time, and went to the club with the knife, intending to provoke a fight.
Elliott denied planning the murder, claiming he feared for his life and was simply defending himself.
The jury took less than two hours to find Elliot guilty of murder, and he was given a life sentence.
The historic Brothers St Brendan’s Leagues Club, established 1954, struggled with declining membership in the years that followed the murder of the popular local, and last November it had to sell off its gaming machine licences to pay an estimated tax debt of $185k.