A Sydney man found guilty of manslaughter after an argument about hot chips on the Gold Coast has lost an appeal against his conviction.
Ricky Kevin Lefoe is serving an eight-year jail sentence for killing Brazilian national Ivan Susin over a fight about stolen food in Surfers Paradise back in 2019.
The court of appeal dismissed Lefoe’s bid to overturn his conviction today, after he was found guilty of the one-punch attack last year.
His Supreme Court trial was shown CCTV of the fight outside a Surfers Paradise kebab shop, which the court heard was sparked between the men’s friends over stolen hot chips.
Lefoe punched Susin when he tried to intervene and he died 10 days later from head injuries.
Lefoe appealed his conviction on three grounds, including a complaint that prosecutors urged the jury to consider a case of murder, not manslaughter.
This was dismissed by the Court of Appeal, which stated this claim was “bewildering”, finding that the prosecutor’s submissions were “relevant” and in “no way improper”.
Lefoe also argued that his guilty verdict was unreasonable, submitting “an analysis of the CCTV demonstrates that the conduct of Susin was extremely threatening and dangerous” and that he “was not an initial aggressor”.
The court of appeal judges also rejected this, stating in their judgement that Lefoe’s “characterisations of Mr Susin’s conduct and the threat he posed are grossly overstated”.
“The jury had independent evidence of… the CCTV footage” … and “may well have formed the view that [Lefoe’s] evidence was neither credible nor reliable, particularly having regard to the inconsistencies between … what was shown in that respect on the CCTV footage”.
Lefoe will be eligible for parole in 2027.
