Four men accused of murdering Ridleyton man Victor Codea have been found guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter.

Key points:

  • Victor Codea died from injuries after he was bashed on August 28, 2020 
  • He was lured to the front car park of Adelaide High School 
  • The four men charged over his death will be sentenced for manslaughter

Thomas Nicholls, Thomas Pinnington, Jeremy Sandell and Kain Mazomenos bashed the 24-year-old at the Adelaide High School car park in August 2020.

He died in hospital days later.

Prosecutors have previously told the Supreme Court that Mr Codea was attacked for a barrage of “bad reviews” targeting Mr Sandell on the social media platform Discord, which was used by those in the Adelaide drug trade to sell their products. 

In 2021, all four men pleaded not guilty to murder and Mr Sandell admitted to manslaughter.

Victor Codea was 24 years-old when he died. (Supplied: SA Police)

The Supreme Court was previously told that Mr Sandell was a former student at Adelaide High School and was familiar with the location.

Mr Sandell’s lawyer, William Boucaut KC, told the trial in November, that his client only intended to “rough up” Mr Codea and “send a message”.

“There can be no misunderstanding that the death of this young man was unnecessary,” he told the court previously.

“It was brought about by violence, by bullying conduct in the context of a druggy sub-culture, posturing violence, chest-thumping type of background, but all of those things do not elevate … manslaughter to murder.”

The Supreme Court heard Mr Codea’s family may provide victim impact statements for sentencing submissions.

“My starting point is Mr Nicholls and all accused should be here when submissions are made – even more so perhaps if victim impact statements are to be read,” Justice Kimber said.

Mr Nicholls’s lawyer asked if her client could appear via video link for his next appearance due to “back pain”.

“It causes him great discomfort and inconvenience … for that reason it causes him some disruption, physically,” she said.

Outside of court Mr Mazomenos’s lawyer, Nick Vadasz said although he was yet to read Justice Kimber’s comments he thought it was “the right decision”.

Mr Codea’s family declined to comment outside of court.

Posted