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Home / Rotorua Daily Post

Family fundraise to bring home Daytona James, killed in double shooting in Australia

Ellen Ransley
news.com.au·
18 Apr, 2021 11:37 PM3 mins to read

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Daytona James was one of two men shot dead in Caboolture on Saturday. Photo / Facebook

Daytona James was one of two men shot dead in Caboolture on Saturday. Photo / Facebook

The sister of a New Zealand man allegedly murdered in a fatal shooting north of Brisbane on the weekend has penned a touching tribute to her brother, questioning how she can "ever stop this wave of emptiness".

Kiwi father of two Daytona James, 23, was killed alongside 37-year-old Aaron Davis in Caboolture on Saturday night. Police were called to an address in Lower King Street at 5.17pm and found the two men suffering from gunshot wounds.

Despite being transported to Caboolture Hospital, they were both pronounced dead.

Adam Bird, 24, will face Caboolture Magistrates Court on Monday charged with the two men's murders. Police allege he left the scene and was found in Cornubia – 80km south of the crime scene – several hours later.

On Sunday, Detective Superintendent Ben Fadian said all three men were known to each other, but a motive was yet to be established.

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James's sister Phoenix Paul set up a GoFundMe in the aftermath, pleading for help to repatriate her brother's body to his homeland in New Zealand.

Taking to social media, Paul shared a photo of her brother, writing "tell me a story about the worst nightmare you've ever had".

"Fill that story with every little detail. Tell me I didn't fail to protect you, tell me you're right around the corner, tell me it's all just a dream," she wrote.

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"Brother, I can never be the same without you. How can I ever possibly heal a wound that I can't see, how am I meant to stop this wave of emptiness."

The family are hoping to raise AUD$10,000 to cover funeral and travel expenses to lay the man to rest "at home in Rotorua".

"We need any and all support to take him home from Brisbane back to New Zealand," the family wrote on GoFundMe.

"We want to provide more depth and details to his passing, once more becomes clear to us.

"It's hard having to reach out for help, but all we can say is that any help big or small is more than appreciated."

Some donors left touching tributes to the slain man, remembering him as "cheeky" and "always smiling".

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