Jury finds Albany brothers Joel and Anthony Coyne not guilty in nine-day trial for 2021 Stirling Terrace brawl

Brothers Joel and Anthony Coyne have walked free after a jury found them not guilty at the end of a nine-day trial in the Albany District Court, prompting sighs of relief and tears from family members as the verdict was handed down on Thursday. Albany brothers Anthony Willis Coyne, 29, and Joel Derek Coyne, 33, faced a trial by jury for their involvement in a violent brawl on Stirling Terrace in 2021 that left two men fighting for their lives. The pair were tried together on charges of endangering the life, health or safety of a person and being armed or pretending to be armed in a way that may cause fear. The jury retired to consider a verdict on Thursday morning and about three and a half hours later returned not guilty verdicts to each of the two men’s respective charges. The events of the early hours of July 18, 2021, were rehashed in court over nine days, recounting the life-threatening injuries suffered by two men following the melee. Paul Hayward was left with permanent damage to his right hand and Russell Wynne, a former WAFL player, was left unable to walk or talk after he was hit by a car and suffered critical injuries. Anthony Coyne was accused of jumping on Paul Hayward’s head and kicking him twice while he lay on the ground. It was also alleged that he brandished a knife, to cause fear, at Rameka Kelly and Britney Ford. Joel Coyne was accused of brandishing a pole in order to scare away potential attackers and also hitting Paul Hayward over the head with the weapon. The brothers didn’t deny their identities in the CCTV footage but say their actions were in self-defence because they were heavily outnumbered. Family members let out sobs of relief and there was an outpouring of emotion as the brothers walked free. Paul Kenneth Hayward is due to appear in Perth District Court on October 11 on one charge of intent to harm, omitted to do any act that it was the person’s duty to do or did any act as a result of which the life, health or safety of any person was or was likely to be endangered. He has pleaded not guilty to the charge and will face a trial for his actions in the 2021 brawl.