'Drunk idiot': Man denies brutal stomp in fatal Oxford St, Darlinghurst brawl

Lawyers have grilled a man convicted of involvement in a fatal brawl, as a search for who threw the killer punch on a popular nightlife street continues.

Brayden Holten said he had a “gut feeling” his mates were involved in the inner Sydney scrap in April 2022 when he sprinted to join the fracas that led to the death of 23-year-old Evander “Woody” Tuala.

But Holten, who has been convicted over the affray, told an inquest he did not see who threw the fatal punch despite being metres from the incident.

Mr Tuala died from brain injuries after being knocked unconscious, falling and hitting his head on the footpath of Oxford Street in Darlinghurst.

Five people were convicted over the affray that surrounded the death.

But no one has been charged with the killing, leaving family members seeking answers.

Two groups of men became engaged in a fight at the Oxford Hotel on April 9, 2022, before they left the venue about 12.30am.

The groups interacted a second time in nearby Taylor Square minutes later, with footage capturing Mr Tuala collapsing after being struck.

Holten recalled a “push-and-shove” inside the venue before he and his friends were kicked out, and was shown video of him sprinting on the road and rounding a lamp post to join the fray when he heard the skirmish taking place outside.

“There was just a bunch of people yelling ... I had a gut feeling it was my mates,” he told the court.

But his memory of the night was sketchy, unable to recall several key details in the lead-up to the death.

Video showing Mr Tuala being punched and knocked down before being kicked while on the ground was played in court, drawing audible sobs from a distraught family member.

Holten denied being the person who kicked Mr Tuala or that he saw who did.

He was shown footage of him tying his shirt around his face and said part of his reasoning to do so was “to look intimidating”.

“I was being a drunk idiot that night, wasn’t I?”

Holten denied he and his four friends that had also been convicted for the affray had ever discussed who threw the killer punch.

After spotting the unconscious man, Holten said not offering him assistance was “one of my regrets”.

“I looked at him, pointed at him and said ‘someone help him’ ... I should’ve helped him,” he told the court.

“I was devastated - there was so much shit going through my mind.”

A CT scan soon after Mr Tuala arrived at St Vincent’s Hospital showed a number of fractures and a brain haemorrhage.

He had surgery that day but was later declared brain dead, with his life support turned off.

Another man convicted over the affray - Keidan Donovan-Phillips - is legally represented at the inquiry.