AN AUSTRALIAN man will finally stand trial over the alleged murder of a British man who went Down Under “to make a better life for his family”.
David Summers-Smith, 30, is accused of stabbing County Durham man Royce Mallett to death in the regional town of Albury, New South Wales.
It is alleged that on July 8, 2024, David stabbed Royce to death outside a motel in what was described as a “random” attack.
Royce travelled to Australia in March 2024 to lay asphalt after struggling to get work at home.
He had gone to Australia to “make a better life for his family”, according to a GoFundMe page set up by his partner Caitlin O’Keeffe.
His mother, Felicity Mallett, told ITV last year that the fatal attack on her son was “random”.
She said: “It seems like a dream to us at the moment. It’s like watching a film and finding the person died or got killed at the end of the film.
“It’s not sunk into our head that he’s actually physically gone because we haven’t seen him since March.”
On Tuesday, David entered a plea of not guilty in the Albury Local Court to a single charge of murder.
He was committed to stand trial by Magistrate Ian Guy at the Supreme Court of New South Wales in Sydney.
The alleged killer made no application for bail and will appear before the Supreme Court on December 12.
The trial comes after numerous delays in the case which had seen it stay in the lower courts for well over a year.
Albury Local Court had previously heard that David suffers from a mental illness and it is understood both Royce and his alleged killer were known to each other.
Albury is a regional city on the border of New South Wales and Victoria, about three and a half hours north of Melbourne.
Witness Michelle told Border Mail: “I heard a commotion and I went outside. There were a few people around, one guy was trying to [apply pressure to the wound].
“As far as I know, what led up to it, he was sitting in his car with a mate, whatever’s happened, this guy’s got him in the heart.”
Another GoFundMe page set up to return the father-of-two’s body said: “Royce was a kind man with a good heart who went to Australia to make a better life for his family.
“He was an amazing father to his 2 young children who absolutely adore their dad.
“Words cannot describe how heartbroken we all are as a family, and we just want our Royce home where he belongs.”
The trial will take place only months after another British man was stabbed to death in Hungary.
The killer was caught dragging the 28-year-old victim down the corridor, leaving a pool of blood outside the apartment door.
A Scottish tourist was stabbed with a screwdriver in Valencia, Spain last month when he refused to give a cigarette to a passerby.
The victim suffered a punctured lung in the alleged assault.
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Two police officers rushed to the scene after a woman’s screams were heard by a nearby police patrol.
Valencia Policia Local arrested a 45-year-old man at the scene.