A Warwick man has been jailed for 17 years after he admitted fatally stabbing 20-year-old Zijae Jones on Horseshoe Bay.

Dahny Simons-Outerbridge, 19, pleaded guilty to a charge of manslaughter in connection with the May 2024 death of Mr Jones.

He also admitted charges of possessing a firearm and ammunition in connection with a separate incident that took place in November 2024.

At a hearing yesterday, the Supreme Court heard that on May 23, 2024, Mr Jones was involved in an altercation at Bailey’s Bay Cricket Club with associates of Simons-Outerbridge.

At around 3.15pm the following day, police received a series of 911 calls regarding an altercation involving several males, including Mr Jones at Horseshoe Bay Beach in Southampton.

The court heard that during the altercation, Mr Jones was seen to make a “gun sign” to a group of people including Simons-Outerbridge.

The defendant subsequently stated that because of the interaction he was afraid that Mr Jones would bring a gun.

Mr Jones left the area, but returned around 15 minutes later and there was another confrontation.

Cindy Clarke, the Director of Public Prosecutions, said: “The defendant states that during this confrontation he saw that the deceased had a knife which resulted in the defendant chasing the deceased. This was caught on CCTV footage.

“The defendant’s position is that he did this to keep the deceased away from his friends.

“On the CCTV footage, the defendant can be seen to strike the deceased to the ground with his fist. When the deceased quickly gathered himself and stood up, he can be seen to raise his hand and hit the defendant on his back.

“The deceased was then stabbed several times by the defendant in quick succession.

“The defendant’s position is that at this time he still believed the deceased had a knife and he continued in the fear that the deceased may have had a gun.”

Ms Clarke said that after the stabbing, the defendant and the victim were seen to run in different directions.

When police arrived on the scene, they saw lifeguards driving a beach cart with the victim in the back. He was taken to King Edward VII Memorial Hospital by ambulance, but succumbed to his injuries at 5.51pm.

It was later confirmed that Mr Jones had been stabbed six times, with the fatal blow puncturing his heart.

At around 4.45pm, officers attended a Southampton home where they arrested Simons-Outerbridge, who was found to be dressed in black clothing covered in sand and had a cut to his finger which was bleeding profusely.

While Simons-Outerbridge denied a charge of murder, Ms Clarke said his plea for the lesser offence of manslaughter was accepted on the basis of provocation.

In a victim impact statement, Mr Jones’s mother said her son’s death had destroyed his family and noted that his brother was a witness to the fatal altercation.

She said: “No sentence will ever bring my son back. Nothing will undo the damage you caused, but a long sentence acknowledges the seriousness of your action and the permanent devastation left behind.

“My son’s life mattered. My family’s suffering matters, and your decision deserves real consequences.”

Months later, on the evening of November 25, 2024, police executed a search warrant at the defendant’s home in Warwick.

During the search, officers noticed a black shoulder bag in a freezer which was found to contain a black handgun with five rounds of ammunition in its magazine.

Ms Clarke said Simons-Outerbridge was wholly to blame for the offences and noted that the fatal stabbing was committed on a public holiday in an increased penalty zone with children in the area.

However, she said that he should receive credit for his guilty plea, his youth and his lack of prior convictions.

Simons-Outerbridge was sentenced to five years in prison for manslaughter and ordered to serve the mandatory minimum of 12 years behind bars for possessing a firearm.

Both sentences were ordered to run consecutively, resulting in a total sentence of 17 years behind bars.

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