A long-serving Australian photojournalist has died following an alleged assault in Melbourne’s inner-west, prompting scrutiny over the systems governing immigration detainees released under federal supervision.
Dominic O’Brien, a respected former photographer for The Age, The Australian, and several major news and music organisations, sustained critical injuries during an altercation in Footscray on the morning of Sunday, 16 June. He died six days later in hospital.
The alleged assailant, Friday Yokoju, 43, was among the non-citizens released from immigration detention last year following a High Court ruling, and was reportedly being monitored electronically at the time of the incident.
A legacy of storytelling through photography
O’Brien, 62, was well-known in Australian media and music circles, with a career spanning more than three decades across AAP, Reuters, Getty Images, The Daily Telegraph, and Mushroom Records.
Described by colleagues as enthusiastic, curious, and technically ahead of his time, O’Brien embraced digital tools early in his career and was deeply committed to photojournalism as a craft.
“He really knew how to tell a story with pictures,” longtime colleague Dave Geraghty told the Herald Sun. “His work was widely published in all the major newspapers.”
Leigh Henningham, who served as The Age’s picture editor in the 1990s, remembered O’Brien as a collaborative and progressive voice in the newsroom. “He was one of the first to master Photoshop in a newsroom that was still moving away from the darkroom,” he told the publication. “He was a great team player, and it’s a tragic end to a life that made a strong contribution to Australian journalism.”
O’Brien also spent time photographing Indigenous communities in the Northern Territory, a body of work colleagues say reflected his respect for underrepresented stories.
The alleged crime scene. Photo: 9News
Incident raises broader accountability concerns
Court documents confirm that the alleged offender was one of the detainees released in November 2023 after a landmark High Court ruling found indefinite immigration detention unlawful in certain cases.
Yokoju was reportedly under surveillance via an ankle bracelet and had a history of custody.
During a court appearance this week, his lawyer requested urgent psychiatric assessment, noting this wasn’t his first time in the system.
Witness accounts, corroborated by unnamed sources close to the investigation, suggest O’Brien was unconscious when Australian Border Force officers arrived to update the accused’s monitoring device. They intervened after witnessing part of the attack.
“The other guy kept stomping on the victim’s face and didn’t stop until the Australian Border Force happened to pass by,” one witness said.
Police confirmed they are considering upgrading the charge, currently “intentionally causing serious injury” to reflect O’Brien’s death, pending the outcome of a postmortem. Yokoju remains in custody and is scheduled to reappear in court on October 20.
The Department of Home Affairs and Australian Border Force are expected to come under renewed scrutiny, particularly around the coordination and visibility of electronic monitoring programs.