Wallabies Star Toutai Kefu and Family Victims of Brutal Home Invasion
Former Wallabies player Toutai Kefu and his family endured a horrific home invasion in 2021 that left them fighting for their lives. His wife Rachel recounted the traumatic incident during the sentencing proceedings in the Brisbane Supreme Court this week.
On August 16, 2003, Toutai Kefu played his 60th test match for the Australian national rugby union team, and their daughter Madison was born. But 18 years later, that date became a nightmare for the Kefu family when two teenage boys, armed with a cane-cutting sickle, broke into their home in the inner-Brisbane suburb of Coorparoo.
Rachel Kefu was awoken by car doors around 3 a.m. and found the two intruders inside the house. They demanded the car keys, threatening to kill Mrs. Kefu if she did not “f**king shut up.” When Toutai Kefu confronted the teens, one of them struck Rachel with the sickle, leading to a violent struggle. Toutai was stabbed in the torso, their son Joshua sustained deep cuts on his back and arms, and their daughter Madison was also injured.
In her victim impact statement, Rachel Kefu said she has been in a constant state of hypervigilance since the attack, experiencing vivid flashbacks and haunting memories of her family fighting for their lives. She described the graphic images that continue to replay in her mind, including the sight of her son covered in blood and her husband’s hand inside his own stomach, trying to stop the bleeding.
The Kefu family’s neighbor, Ben Cannon, came to their aid and managed to pin down one of the intruders until the police arrived. Two other teenage boys, aged 15 and 13, who were involved in the earlier car theft, have already been sentenced to two-and-a-half years’ detention.
Calling for the maximum sentence to be handed down, Rachel Kefu emphasized that the perpetrators, now 15 years old, are old enough to understand the consequences of their actions. The sentencing of the two older boys is set to continue on Tuesday before Justice Peter Davis.
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