Crown prosecutor Brendan Queenan began Wednesday's committal hearing into the Bar Beach shooting murder with a warning: no one knew what the key witness was going to say.
As it turned out, Ja'Rell Warren De Jong said almost nothing.
The 19-year-old, who was in the back seat of a stolen Volvo when the two men in the front are accused of murdering Ekampreet Singh Sahni, could not remember anything about that night.
Where was he? Don't remember.
Who was he with? Don't remember.
What did he do? Don't remember.
Even after being given documents where he had admitted to possessing firearms around the time of the shooting and shown videos of him holding the guns, De Jong had trouble remembering.
Asked who the other men were in the videos, De Jong couldn't be sure.
"My eyes are a bit f---ed, ay," he said.
"So I can't really see properly.
"It's blurry."
And in relation to the night of April 23 last year, when De Jong was captured on video in the back seat of the Volvo an hour before the shooting, he had no recollection.
Questioned by Mr Queenan about whether he was the person holding a black pistol, De Jong replied: "Yeah, I guess so. I think. That is what I've signed so, I guess. "I don't recall. But I signed it so it must have been, I guess."
All up, while members of Ekampreet's family watched from the public gallery of Newcastle Local Court, De Jong answered some variation of "don't remember" or "can't recall" more than 50 times under questioning from Mr Queenan.
When he was done, lawyers for the two men accused of murdering Ekampreet had no questions for De Jong.
Ekampreet was gunned down in the car park on Memorial Drive about 11.40pm on April 23 last year.
Police have said a group of people were fighting in the car park when a white SUV drove up, a man armed with a firearm got out, fired, and fled in the vehicle.
Accused gunman Decklen Deaves-Thornton, 22, and alleged getaway driver Jack Kennedy, 25, have both been charged with murder.
The pair are expected to plead not guilty and be committed for trial next week.
De Jong, considered one of the key witnesses in the case, had been ordered to attend court and be cross-examined by prosecutors after he had refused to give a statement to police.
Prosecutors had pushed for the committal hearing and had hoped that De Jong's evidence might provide some fresh information before the matter was committed to NSW Supreme Court.
The Newcastle Herald previously reported that De Jong had avoided a jail term after he filmed himself holding a pistol in the back seat of a car about an hour before the two men in the front are accused of murdering Ekampreet.
In August last year, De Jong became the third person charged in relation to the shooting after investigators seized and analysed a number of mobile phones.
De Jong had been captured in four mobile phone videos holding either a silver revolver or a 30-30 calibre rifle in the days and hours leading up to the shooting at Bar Beach.
In one video filmed on April 15, 2025, De Jong is holding a silver revolver before the camera flips around to show Kennedy walking into the room and then pans over to a rifle lying on the bed.
In another video filmed the next day, De Jong is holding the 30-30 calibre rifle that was on the bed, a still frame showing distinctive yellow tape on the handle.
Another video taken by De Jong shows him in the back seat of a stolen Volvo at 10.45pm on April 23 - about an hour before emergency services were called to the Bar Beach car park.
De Jong is holding a pistol and the video allegedly shows Deaves-Thornton in the front passenger seat and Kennedy driving.
All three men are wearing gloves, according to an agreed statement of facts.
Police say a bright yellow colour visible between the front passenger seat and centre console is the 30-30 calibre rifle.
About an hour later, a group of people were fighting in the Bar Beach car park when police say the Volvo pulled up and Deaves-Thornton got out with a rifle.
Deaves-Thornton is accused of using the rifle to jab Ekampreet in the chest before shooting him once.
Kennedy is also charged with using an offensive weapon with intent to intimidate after police allege he also got out of the car before the shooting.
Ekampreet died at the scene, while those in the car fled and quickly torched the Volvo at Tingira Heights.
