Kon Hsu Sein was allegedly stabbed to death by a group of four males in Kurunjang on December 20, 2024.
Cousins Ngor Agear, 24, and Myaker Myaker, 23, are among four people on trial in the Victorian Supreme Court after pleading not guilty to the 18-year-old's murder on Melbourne's western fringes.
Crown prosecutor Erin Ramsay said the alleged victim and two friends were headed for a party when they were confronted in a laneway.
Mr Sein's friends fled to safety but he was pursued into a nearby driveway and cornered by four males, three of whom were armed with machetes, Ms Ramsay told jurors.
Mr Sein's family wept in the courtroom as they watched and listened to CCTV footage showing surrounding streets.
The teenager suffered at least 20 machete injuries during the one-minute attack, Ms Ramsay said.
His skull was fractured and his left hand was hanging, she said she expected the evidence to show.
Mr Sein had a knife with him which was likely used to stab two of the alleged killers during the fight.
The four accused were seen on CCTV running back to a car, which drove off.
They arrived at a health clinic with Agear suffering an eye injury and the youngest alleged killer having a deep cut on his left arm.
Mr Sein died at the scene.
"The murder took place against a backdrop of rising tension between two groups," Ms Ramsay told the jury.
She said Mr Sein and his friends were associated with one group while the two youngest alleged killers, aged 15 and 17 at the time, were associated with another.Â
The juvenile accused cannot be named for legal reasons.
Agear and Myaker, then aged 22 and 21 respectively, are not alleged to have been associated with any groups.
But the elder cousin allegedly told a covert police operative the fight was about "beef" between two groups.
The crown case does not allege any single accused caused Mr Sein's death.
Instead, Ms Ramsay alleged the four were party to an agreement to commit murder or assault knowing it would probably lead to murder, and at least one of them caused his death.
Barristers for the youngest accused and Agear argued there was no agreement to kill or really seriously injure Mr Sein.
Even if there was some agreement, they said the pair did not have murderous intent.
Myaker and the second-youngest accused, now 19, denied being at the scene, their barristers said.
John Desmond said the only information placing his 19-year-old client there was the disputed testimony of his girlfriend's disapproving mother, who alleged he admitted the crime to her.
Barrister Michael McGrath said prosecutors needed to prove Myaker was involved in an agreement and intended to murder if he was there.
The trial continues.
18°C