ACT: Police release images of possible witnesses to fatal attack

AAP General News (Australia)
08-10-2006
ACT: Police release images of possible witnesses to fatal attack

CANBERRA, Aug 10 AAP - Police are searching for six possible witnesses to a fatal attack
outside a Canberra nightclub.

Detectives investigating the death of 23-year-old Nato Seuala today released surveillance
footage of the people outside the city's Cube nightclub.

Mr Seuala, from the northern suburb of Ngunnawal, was stabbed in the head and stomach
outside the club at 4.45am on July 15.

He died in hospital three weeks later.

The nightclub's owner, 32-year-old Maurizio Gianpier Rao, from Kaleen, has been charged
with murder.

Police said they hoped the images of the six people, lifted from closed circuit television
footage, would provide further clues about the attack.

"None of these people are believed to be involved in the stabbing incident or the assault,
but they may have witnessed something in passing by the Cube nightclub around about the
time of the incident," Detective Acting Superintendent Brett McCann said.

The six people pictured in the footage include two men and two women, with the remaining
two unidentified.

Five other men have been charged in relation to the incident.

Three have been charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm, one with attempting
to pervert the cause of justice, and one with being an accessory after the fact to grievous
bodily harm.

Police are not expecting to lay any further charges but hope the images released today
would help the investigation.

"At this stage we're satisfied, on the information we have, that that is the number
of people that were involved," Supt McCann said.

"However information provided by these people or anyone else who may have heard or
seen anything subsequent to the incident would also be of significant value to police."

Detectives today also released a photograph of Mr Seuala in an effort to jog the memories
of possible witnesses to the attack.

AAP rp/sb/grc/nf

KEYWORD: CLUB (PIX AVAILABLE)

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