'Kindest heart': Family plead for answers over fatal Wollongong stabbing as police release CCTV
Family and police are appealing for information after a man was stabbed to death in Wollongong, NSW, earlier this year.
Emergency services were called to a unit on Crown Street at about 3.20am on Sunday, August 17.
Brandon Yates, 28, was treated at the scene for stab wounds to his chest and taken to Wollongong Hospital in a critical condition.
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Police are hoping to speak to an unknown bicycle rider about a fatal stabbing in Wollongong. NSW Police
He was later transferred to St George Hospital, where he died less than a week later on August 23.
Police are seeking a man they believe can assist with their investigation.
The man was last seen wearing dark clothing and riding a bicycle north along Hector Street, Wollongong, at about the time of the incident.
Superintendent Karen Cook said Yates was understood to have been in the Wollongong CBD on Saturday evening and later that night.
The victim has been since been identified as 28-year-old Brandon Yates. NSW Police
Police are still trying to piece together his movements between leaving the CBD and the moment of his stabbing, which investigators believe took place on Crown Street in the vicinity of the block of units where Yates was found.
Cook said Yates did not live at those units but had "associates" there and was a frequent visitor.
Yates had a cognitive impairment, and Cook said his family believed that may have been a factor in why he was targeted.
Shantelle Yates, Brandon's sister said they were extremely close and the loss of brother is still being felt dearly by his family, as they prepare to spend their first Christmas without him. NSW Police
"He was the most cheekiest, kind person that I knew. He had a good heart, wouldn't hurt anyone, he helped everyone … people took advantage of him because he had the biggest and kindest heart out there," his sister Shantelle said.
"Knowing that someone would take my brother's life for nothing … I have lost my brother, my best mate, losing my soul mate."
Rossilynne Yates, Brandon's grandmother, is urging anyone who has information to come forward.
"It's totally devastated us all, it all seems so senseless. We just want someone to come forward and give us closure, at least," she said.
Yates was known to police, but only for "minor offences", Cook said.
No weapon has been found.
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