A violent brawl at a Sydney house party which ended in the death of an 18-year-old man is believed to have begun after a minor incident.
Tafuna Taumalolo, 18, and a 17 year-old boy have been charged with the alleged murder of Alex Ioane at a birthday celebration in Sydney's south west on Friday night.
The pair were formally denied bail at Campbelltown Court this morning, where riot police officers were called to guard the courtroom.
A fight broke out during the party at the Ingleburn house and spilled out onto Chester Road where dozens of people got involved.
Paramedics found Mr Ioane in the middle of the road having suffered critical head injuries before he was taken to Liverpool Hospital where he later died.
Several items were seized from surrounding areas including a golf club, a baseball bat and wooden and metal poles which were all sent away for forensic examination.
Two friends of Mr Ioane came to Campbelltown Court today but said the victim's family were too upset to leave the house.
Supporters of Mr Taumalolo also attended the hearing.
The owner of the property told the ABC he was shocked by the alleged murder and was renting out the rooms in the house to different people on accommodation sharing site Air BnB.
A man who was staying at the property with a colleague said they returned to the house to find dozens of people pulling punches and swinging weapons at each other.
"It was crazy, I feel sorry for the owner — it's not his fault — he was just renting out the rooms," he said.
"We called the police because there were guys with masks on, carrying bats and getting out of cars."
A large number of police attended the fight, including the Public Order and Riot Squad, the Dog Unit, Police Rescue, Police Transport Command, and officers from other South-West Metropolitan Region Police Area Commands.
"Obviously with 50 to 80 people in the location it was a volatile situation," Detective Chief Inspector Michael Moroney said.
Both men charged with Mr Ioane's murder are due to appear in court again at the end of July.
