THE step-father of Tafari Walton, who was shot dead by police a day after murdering Gabriella Thompson at Glendale in 2019, has described interrupting the brutal attack before wrestling with the 22-year-old and then attempting to provide first aid to Ms Thompson as she bled profusely from wounds to her neck.
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Walton's step-father, who cannot be identified, gave evidence on Wednesday during a coronial inquest into the deaths of Ms Thompson and subsequent police shooting of Walton, telling State Coroner Magistrate Teresa O'Sullivan he had gone around to the house to fix a hole in the wall when he heard Ms Thompson scream for help.
"[Walton] began to open the door when I heard Gabby yell out "help me"," the man said.
Walton then ran through the house, with his step-father giving chase before he found Walton in a bedroom standing over a bleeding Ms Thompson, who had rope loosely tied around her legs. The man said Mr Walton shouted "shut the f--- up" at Ms Thompson before assaulting her and he said he grabbed Walton and the pair wrestled.
He said Walton broke free and told him he had to leave the house because there was a man in the other room with a gun, a claim he said Ms Thompson immediately refuted.
Walton, he said, then began choking Ms Thompson and the step-father thought Walton was going to lunge at him with a weapon, either a knife or screwdriver, so he fled outside to call the police and get help from Walton's mother, who he said had typically been able to pacify Walton in the past.
But when Walton's mother's car was gone, he did not immediately call police, a decision that was repeatedly questioned by counsel assisting Jake Harris and Magistrate O'Sullivan.
"Gabby's family are here and want to know why you didn't call triple-zero straight away," Magistrate O'Sullivan said. "I did as soon as I could," the man replied.
Walton's step-father said he was about to call triple-zero when he saw Walton walk from the house towards Ms Thompson's car.
Walton, he said, told him: "She thinks she is dying", before getting in the car and driving away.
The step-father said he heard Ms Thompson call out for help and he found her in the doorway clutching her throat.
He tried to render first aid and found a towel to put pressure on the wounds while calling an ambulance.
Ms Thompson died about an hour later and Walton went on the run, ultimately being shot dead by police in a backyard at Glendale.
The inquests in Newcastle Coroner's Court are examining a number of issues relating to the murder of Ms Thompson and subsequent police shooting of Walton, including the adequacy of mental health treatment provided to Walton, the decision to grant Walton bail despite him being charged with stabbing another inmate while in jail and whether police took appropriate action in shooting Walton as he charged at them with a knife.
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