Camper killed in axe attack remembered as ‘lovely, quiet young man’

A man who died after allegedly being struck with an axe at a remote NSW campground has been remembered as lovely, quiet and a charmer, as the man accused of attacking him fronted court over his murder.

Ahwen Kohn, 26, was refused bail on Tuesday charged with murder over the man’s death near Bellingen in the state’s north.

The 33-year-old victim was camping at the Little Styx River Campground on Point Lookout Road at Ebor on Sunday night when he was allegedly attacked.

A 25-year-old woman drove the wounded man to nearby Thora to get help, but he died by the time paramedics arrived.

The woman was also treated for bruising to her neck, telling police she had allegedly been assaulted as well.

Kohn was also charged with choking and assault offences in addition to murder after being arrested at Ebor about 11.30am on Monday.

The three people were known to each other, NSW Police Superintendent Chris McKinnon said on Monday.

“They were camping together,” McKinnon said.

Kohn was arrested on Waterfall Way, a popular tourist drive between Armidale and Bellingen, after getting a lift from the scene, McKinnon said.

He was refused bail in court on Tuesday when he appeared via audiovisual link from custody, and is next due to appear before Armidale Local Court on April 22.

Magistrate Miranda Moody described the allegations as “brutal” and “most serious indeed”.

The court heard the 25-year-old woman told police she was assaulted by Kohn when she suggested they call the man an ambulance, before she convinced Kohn to let her drive to a nearby town.

A separate witness who Kohn asked for a lift to the main road told police he was inquiring about off-track areas.

“(Kohn) referenced an argument occurring, but didn’t elaborate and said ‘You don’t want to know’,” police prosecutor Sergeant Mark Sinclair said in court.

Defence lawyer Matthew Spicer suggested strong bail conditions could warrant his release, along with the fact he had minimal relevant criminal history.

The magistrate said the latter fact potentially made the allegations worse.

“There’s a real concern a man with no record would allegedly commit an offence as serious and as brutal as this one,” she told the court.

Thora General Store owner Paul Creighton told the Herald on Tuesday he had given CCTV footage to police of the man and the woman arriving near the shop after the alleged attack, as well as a couple of locals who came to assist.

The “lovely, quiet young man” who died, had recently been living in the park near the store and would come in regularly to buy food.

“He was very quiet, never hurt anybody, he was always funny, he’d ask every question about how much everything was,” Creighton said.

“He was a charmer, he was lovely.

“He wasn’t poor but … was quite happy to live out of his car and a tent and just roam around.”