Declan Laverty death: Darwin man faces court over alleged stabbing of Airport Tavern BWS worker

The teenager charged with the murder of a young BWS employee was out on bail at the time for his role in another alleged assault.

Declan Laverty, 20, had finished his shift at the Airport Tavern BWS drive-through bottle shop in Darwin just before 9pm on Sunday when he was reportedly stabbed several times.

Keith Kerinauia, 19, was charged with murder, aggravated robbery and breach of bail on Tuesday.

Darwin’s local court heard on Tuesday that Kerinauia is due to appear in court on April 13 on “an allegation of aggravated assault with a knife,” NT News reported.

Police will claim the 19-year-old was in a blue 2014 Toyota Camry, which stopped at Jingili just before closing time on Sunday night.

Another adult was initially refused, but returned to the store to make a legal purchase.

It is alleged that Kerinauia repeatedly stabbed Mr Laverty during the transaction.

Crown prosecutor Marty Aust asked that the case be relisted with Kerinauia’s other charges.

The 19-year-old was remanded in custody and no bail application was filed.

He will appear in court on May 24.

Meanwhile, two teenage men, ages 15 and 16, were each charged with two counts of aggravated robbery for their alleged involvement in previous incidents in Karama and Rapid Creek.

Both were due to appear in court on Tuesday.

Another man, aged 17, was arrested Monday night and charged with aggravated robbery over the alleged Rapid Creek incident and was released on bail to face trial in April.

None of the three underage teenagers charged with theft have been charged with the fatal stabbing of Mr Laverty in Jingili.

The investigation into the alleged stabbing and separate aggravated robberies continues.

Police are urging locals in Darwin to report using CCTV and dash cam footage of the movements of a blue 2014 Toyota Camry with Northern Territory registration CE71BI between 5pm on Sunday 19 March and 4am on Monday 20 March .

The vehicle is said to have been in the suburbs of Karama, Alawa, Coconut Grove, Jingili and Rapid Creek.

Meanwhile, broken family and friends continue to pay tribute to Mr. Laverty, who was looking for a new job when his life was cut short.

An uncle thanked everyone for the overwhelming support and messages.

“I appreciate every kind word said about him, and the gesture really makes me cry,” he wrote Monday night.

“To realize that people who knew him in Darwin, and those who didn’t, all had the very best things to say… I couldn’t be prouder.”

Friends of the family set up one online fundraiser to ease the financial strain on Mr Laverty’s mother, who wants to bring his body home to Cairns, in the far north of Queensland.

“He was just a young boy making an honest living and no one ever thought he wouldn’t return home,” the page reads.

“His mother would love to take him home for burial, but as you can imagine, that comes with a financial burden.

“She has dedicated her life to helping others, and it would be great if our wonderful community would do even a little bit to give back.

“As her friends, we struggled with how to help her, and thought this was a small way to ease her burden during this unimaginable time.

“If we raise additional money, we will make sure it goes towards his funeral expenses and any other way we can help the family through this terrible time.”

Mr Laverty’s father, who declined to be named, told Darwin radio station Mix FM on Monda that his son was looking for a new job because he ‘couldn’t deal with customers anymore’.

“A screwdriver was pulled on him just a few weeks ago,” the father said.

“One of the other members of staff was physically assaulted and was unable to return to work.

“They get attacked on that one quite often, as far as I know. He was looking for another job. He just couldn’t take it anymore.’

The doting dad said he came home Sunday night to find his son’s half-eaten dinner in the fridge.

He remembered Mr Laverty as a ‘wonderful, stubborn, strong lad’ who had moved to the NT from Cairns in Queensland two years earlier.

“He loved his football and he was very into music at the moment.

“He tried to put out some songs and worked in the pub at the airport for about 30 hours.”

The father called for an end to the violence in Darwin and said ‘something has to be done’.

“It’s going to be very bad for everyone there. Whether it’s my son or someone else.’

Mr. Laverty’s sister, Bridget, wrote a tribute on Facebook on Monday: “Declan, you were the best brother I could wish for.”

“Your silly smile, your love, your big head will miss you so much my brother, forever 20,” she said.

A man who was one of the first on the scene and tried to save the worker’s life described the worker as a “nice boy.”

The bottle shop is part of Airport Tavern, a popular pub described on its Facebook page as the heart of the community, which Jingili residents consider their local.

Both the tavern and the bottle shop remained cordoned off as crime scenes on Monday morning, with several police vehicles on the scene.

Mr Laverty’s death has sparked an outpouring of tributes from the hospitality industry and the Endeavor Group, which owns the tavern and bottle shop.

The tragedy has also saddened federal Senator Jacinta Price, whose Darwin office is adjacent to the tavern and bottle shop.

“This is very difficult to deal with. The victim of this heinous crime is the same age as one of my sons,” she said.

“We cannot continue to experience such horrific and inhumane crime and violence. The territorial government may be celebrating a victory in the second election, but the people of the NT continue to suffer.

“I can only imagine the pain this young man’s family is in. No more crime, no more violence, it must stop!’

It is the devastating message that no parent, sibling or loved one can imagine hearing and the grief will be immense.

NT Deputy Chief Minister Nicole Manison also described the incident as a tragedy and expressed her condolences to the victim’s family, friends and colleagues.