Thirteen witnesses will be compelled to give evidence over the alleged murders of two boys who were walking home from a basketball match.
Chol Achiek, 12, and Dau Akueng, 15, were allegedly set upon by a group of males at Cobblebank, in Melbourne's outer northwest, on September 6, 2025.
Eight young men, aged 15 to 19, have been charged with their murders and three of the accused faced Melbourne Magistrates Court on Tuesday afternoon.
Abel Sorzor, 19, Prince Conteh, 19, and Peter Addo, 18, each appeared on a video link from prison for the brief hearing where senior crown prosecutor Kristie Churchill requested an adjournment.
She told the court there was already a separate two-day hearing set down for March where 13 witnesses would undergo compulsory examination.
Compulsory examination hearings are most commonly used when a prosecution witness has refused to provide a written statement to the police.
Some of the witnesses were only relevant to certain accused and the defence lawyers would need time to review a transcript of the evidence before the next committal mention date, Ms Churchill said.
Magistrate Stephen Ballek agreed and allowed the longer adjournment to May 4.
Sorzor, Conteh and Addo were each remanded in custody to their next committal mention hearing.
The five other accused - all aged 15 and 16 - will face a children's court at a later date.
