Chinese student on exchange program revealed as girl charged with murder over alleged stabbing
Emergency services were called to a house on Euston Close, Edgeworth, after reports of a stabbing at around 10.20pm on Monday night.
Police officers found a teenage girl with an injury to her torso, and she later died at John Hunter Hospital.
The girl is yet to be formally identified but she is believed to 14 years old, a NSW Police statement said.A 13 year-old who was arrested at the scene has since been charged with murder. She was refused bail and is set to appear in a Children's Court on Wednesday.
Both young teenagers were Chinese exchange students that arrived in the country from China on July 28, and had been set to return home late this month.
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THE DEATH of a Chinese exchange student allegedly at the hands of another at their host family's Lake Macquarie home, has rattled a Hunter school community. The two girls, aged 13 and 14, were on exchange at Newcastle Waldorf School in Glendale through Beijing Depu Cultural Exchange, a Chinese private limited company based in Beijing, which focuses on cultural exchanges between the East and West in education, architecture, and agriculture. The students had been in Australia since last week as part of a tour group. In a joint statement, Newcastle Waldorf School co-principals Peter Muddle and Tracey Ashton said they were deeply shocked and saddened by the tragic incident involving the two visiting Chinese students. "Our priority has been to ensure care and professional support is in place for our school community as well as for the visiting students and their carers who find themselves dealing with grief far away from their families," they said. "We have arranged extra counselling to support everyone through this very difficult time." Mr Muddle and Ms Ashton confirmed the visit was organised through an external tour operator, and the school had agreed to its request for the students to attend and experience classes. "The tragedy occurred at a residence where both students were billeted," they said. "Although the host family is not connected with our school, we are thinking of them as they too, must cope with this ordeal. "Our thoughts and compassion are with the students, their families, and everyone affected at this time." Emergency services were called to an Edgeworth home just before 10.30pm on Monday. Early investigations indicate the two girls and the couple hosting them had retired to separate bedrooms for the night when the woman hosting heard a commotion. When she entered the 14-year-old girl's bedroom, she found her with one stab wound to her torso, police said. 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The company organises travel for children and teenagers to "expose them to different cultures and languages". In Mandarin, "Depu" means the cultivation of virtuous seedlings. "Some of the targeted benefits are the inspiration to help shape their lives or the stewardship to form their worldview," Depu's website said. "The world is a stunning place, and experiencing it as a young person can trigger a more cultured, compassionate, and balanced personality." Posts on the company's Facebook page show Chinese students from the Hangzhou Manyuan Waldorf School visited the Newcastle Waldorf School earlier this year. THE DEATH of a Chinese exchange student allegedly at the hands of another at their host family's Lake Macquarie home, has rattled a Hunter school community. The two girls, aged 13 and 14, were on exchange at Newcastle Waldorf School in Glendale through Beijing Depu Cultural Exchange, a Chinese private limited company based in Beijing, which focuses on cultural exchanges between the East and West in education, architecture, and agriculture. The students had been in Australia since last week as part of a tour group. In a joint statement, Newcastle Waldorf School co-principals Peter Muddle and Tracey Ashton said they were deeply shocked and saddened by the tragic incident involving the two visiting Chinese students. "Our priority has been to ensure care and professional support is in place for our school community as well as for the visiting students and their carers who find themselves dealing with grief far away from their families," they said. "We have arranged extra counselling to support everyone through this very difficult time." Mr Muddle and Ms Ashton confirmed the visit was organised through an external tour operator, and the school had agreed to its request for the students to attend and experience classes. "The tragedy occurred at a residence where both students were billeted," they said. "Although the host family is not connected with our school, we are thinking of them as they too, must cope with this ordeal. "Our thoughts and compassion are with the students, their families, and everyone affected at this time." Emergency services were called to an Edgeworth home just before 10.30pm on Monday. Early investigations indicate the two girls and the couple hosting them had retired to separate bedrooms for the night when the woman hosting heard a commotion. When she entered the 14-year-old girl's bedroom, she found her with one stab wound to her torso, police said. NSW Ambulance paramedics worked to save the child's life, rushing her to the hospital in a critical condition, where she later died. Police arrested a 13-year-old girl at the scene, and she was taken to Toronto police station. Officers also seized a kitchen knife for forensic examination. Detectives charged the girl with murder late on Tuesday night. At Broadmeadow Children's Court on Wednesday, the 13-year-old made no application for release on bail, and it was formally refused. Newcastle Waldorf School in Glendale offers a human-centred education based on Steiner principles. Depu, the Chinese company that placed the students in Newcastle, has an educational approach rooted in Waldorf education and 'Nature Pedagogy'. Depu was founded in 2012 in Beijing by Amerigo Sivelli, and originally focused on cultural exchange programs such as professional tours abroad and training. The Newcastle Herald has contacted Mr Sivelli for comment. The company organises travel for children and teenagers to "expose them to different cultures and languages". In Mandarin, "Depu" means the cultivation of virtuous seedlings. "Some of the targeted benefits are the inspiration to help shape their lives or the stewardship to form their worldview," Depu's website said. "The world is a stunning place, and experiencing it as a young person can trigger a more cultured, compassionate, and balanced personality." Posts on the company's Facebook page show Chinese students from the Hangzhou Manyuan Waldorf School visited the Newcastle Waldorf School earlier this year. THE DEATH of a Chinese exchange student allegedly at the hands of another at their host family's Lake Macquarie home, has rattled a Hunter school community. The two girls, aged 13 and 14, were on exchange at Newcastle Waldorf School in Glendale through Beijing Depu Cultural Exchange, a Chinese private limited company based in Beijing, which focuses on cultural exchanges between the East and West in education, architecture, and agriculture. The students had been in Australia since last week as part of a tour group. In a joint statement, Newcastle Waldorf School co-principals Peter Muddle and Tracey Ashton said they were deeply shocked and saddened by the tragic incident involving the two visiting Chinese students. "Our priority has been to ensure care and professional support is in place for our school community as well as for the visiting students and their carers who find themselves dealing with grief far away from their families," they said. "We have arranged extra counselling to support everyone through this very difficult time." Mr Muddle and Ms Ashton confirmed the visit was organised through an external tour operator, and the school had agreed to its request for the students to attend and experience classes. "The tragedy occurred at a residence where both students were billeted," they said. "Although the host family is not connected with our school, we are thinking of them as they too, must cope with this ordeal. "Our thoughts and compassion are with the students, their families, and everyone affected at this time." Emergency services were called to an Edgeworth home just before 10.30pm on Monday. Early investigations indicate the two girls and the couple hosting them had retired to separate bedrooms for the night when the woman hosting heard a commotion. When she entered the 14-year-old girl's bedroom, she found her with one stab wound to her torso, police said. NSW Ambulance paramedics worked to save the child's life, rushing her to the hospital in a critical condition, where she later died. Police arrested a 13-year-old girl at the scene, and she was taken to Toronto police station. Officers also seized a kitchen knife for forensic examination. Detectives charged the girl with murder late on Tuesday night. At Broadmeadow Children's Court on Wednesday, the 13-year-old made no application for release on bail, and it was formally refused. Newcastle Waldorf School in Glendale offers a human-centred education based on Steiner principles. Depu, the Chinese company that placed the students in Newcastle, has an educational approach rooted in Waldorf education and 'Nature Pedagogy'. Depu was founded in 2012 in Beijing by Amerigo Sivelli, and originally focused on cultural exchange programs such as professional tours abroad and training. The Newcastle Herald has contacted Mr Sivelli for comment. The company organises travel for children and teenagers to "expose them to different cultures and languages". In Mandarin, "Depu" means the cultivation of virtuous seedlings. "Some of the targeted benefits are the inspiration to help shape their lives or the stewardship to form their worldview," Depu's website said. "The world is a stunning place, and experiencing it as a young person can trigger a more cultured, compassionate, and balanced personality." Posts on the company's Facebook page show Chinese students from the Hangzhou Manyuan Waldorf School visited the Newcastle Waldorf School earlier this year. THE DEATH of a Chinese exchange student allegedly at the hands of another at their host family's Lake Macquarie home, has rattled a Hunter school community. The two girls, aged 13 and 14, were on exchange at Newcastle Waldorf School in Glendale through Beijing Depu Cultural Exchange, a Chinese private limited company based in Beijing, which focuses on cultural exchanges between the East and West in education, architecture, and agriculture. The students had been in Australia since last week as part of a tour group. In a joint statement, Newcastle Waldorf School co-principals Peter Muddle and Tracey Ashton said they were deeply shocked and saddened by the tragic incident involving the two visiting Chinese students. "Our priority has been to ensure care and professional support is in place for our school community as well as for the visiting students and their carers who find themselves dealing with grief far away from their families," they said. "We have arranged extra counselling to support everyone through this very difficult time." Mr Muddle and Ms Ashton confirmed the visit was organised through an external tour operator, and the school had agreed to its request for the students to attend and experience classes. "The tragedy occurred at a residence where both students were billeted," they said. "Although the host family is not connected with our school, we are thinking of them as they too, must cope with this ordeal. "Our thoughts and compassion are with the students, their families, and everyone affected at this time." Emergency services were called to an Edgeworth home just before 10.30pm on Monday. Early investigations indicate the two girls and the couple hosting them had retired to separate bedrooms for the night when the woman hosting heard a commotion. When she entered the 14-year-old girl's bedroom, she found her with one stab wound to her torso, police said. NSW Ambulance paramedics worked to save the child's life, rushing her to the hospital in a critical condition, where she later died. Police arrested a 13-year-old girl at the scene, and she was taken to Toronto police station. Officers also seized a kitchen knife for forensic examination. Detectives charged the girl with murder late on Tuesday night. At Broadmeadow Children's Court on Wednesday, the 13-year-old made no application for release on bail, and it was formally refused. Newcastle Waldorf School in Glendale offers a human-centred education based on Steiner principles. Depu, the Chinese company that placed the students in Newcastle, has an educational approach rooted in Waldorf education and 'Nature Pedagogy'. Depu was founded in 2012 in Beijing by Amerigo Sivelli, and originally focused on cultural exchange programs such as professional tours abroad and training. The Newcastle Herald has contacted Mr Sivelli for comment. The company organises travel for children and teenagers to "expose them to different cultures and languages". In Mandarin, "Depu" means the cultivation of virtuous seedlings. "Some of the targeted benefits are the inspiration to help shape their lives or the stewardship to form their worldview," Depu's website said. "The world is a stunning place, and experiencing it as a young person can trigger a more cultured, compassionate, and balanced personality." Posts on the company's Facebook page show Chinese students from the Hangzhou Manyuan Waldorf School visited the Newcastle Waldorf School earlier this year.
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16 hours ago
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Legal issues arise in the prosecution of a 13-year-old Chinese girl for murder
The prosecution of a 13-year-old Chinese girl for the stabbing murder of a fellow exchange student at Lake Macquarie will present extraordinary challenges for the state's justice system. The prosecution of a child, who is also a foreign national, for murder is believed to be unprecedented in Australian legal circles. "There are certainly examples of children being prosecuted for murder, but I have never heard of a Chinese girl in a situation like this. It's quite extraordinary," Professor John Anderson from the University of Newcastle's School of Law and Justice said. Australia's youngest killer, known as SLD, was convicted of killing three-year-old Courtney Morley-Clarke on the Central Coast in 2001 when he was just 13. He was released from prison in March this year after serving 22 years in custody. For children over the age of 10 and under the age of 14, the common law presumption of doli incapax (incapable of wrong) applies to criminal offences - that is, children do not possess the necessary criminal intent to be held responsible for their actions. This means the law presumes they cannot distinguish between right and wrong in a way that would make them legally culpable for a crime. This can be rebutted by the prosecution if it can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the child understood their actions were seriously wrong. "If you look at the James Bulger case in England, those boys were 10 and 11 when they were prosecuted. There was a doli incapax argument raised in that case, but it was overcome," Professor Anderson said. "Prosecuting a 13-year-old does raise lots of other issues in the criminal system in terms of establishing criminal responsibility, but it's not impossible. Certainly, a 13-year-old can be criminally responsible. In addition to her age and nationality, the girl's fitness will be a further complication for prosecutors. Magistrate Andrew Eckhold noted that the girl, who can not be named, appeared to be"severely unwell" and was taking "an extraordinary number of medications" when the case was mentioned in Broadmeadow Children's Court on Wednesday. "Depending on what the mental health issues are, and if there is any psychiatric evidence, it then becomes a question of whether they (the defence) can raise the mental health defenses to murder, of which there are two - the mental illness defense or the defense of substantial impairment by mental abnormality, which is only available to murder, and would reduce murder to manslaughter if it was successful," Professor Anderson said. Ultimately, the case will be determined in the NSW Supreme Court. Newcastle-based lawyer Drew Hamilton said he believed that, given the recent push by NSW Chief Justice Andrew Bell to bring justice to the regions, there was a fair chance a future trial would be held in Newcastle. Specialist resources will also have to be provided to ensure the girl is appropriately represented. "As a Chinese foreign national and young person, she would be considered extremely vulnerable," Mr Hamilton said. "She would need additional assistance from an experienced legal team, qualified interpreters, juvenile justice officers and allied health professionals. If found guilty, further questions would arise as to whether the girl would serve her sentence in Australia or whether she could be transferred to China. "Australia does have prisoner exchange programs with certain countries, but I think it would go over to the Foreign Minister. That would bring in very different types of negotiations," Professor Anderson said. The prosecution of a 13-year-old Chinese girl for the stabbing murder of a fellow exchange student at Lake Macquarie will present extraordinary challenges for the state's justice system. The prosecution of a child, who is also a foreign national, for murder is believed to be unprecedented in Australian legal circles. "There are certainly examples of children being prosecuted for murder, but I have never heard of a Chinese girl in a situation like this. It's quite extraordinary," Professor John Anderson from the University of Newcastle's School of Law and Justice said. Australia's youngest killer, known as SLD, was convicted of killing three-year-old Courtney Morley-Clarke on the Central Coast in 2001 when he was just 13. He was released from prison in March this year after serving 22 years in custody. For children over the age of 10 and under the age of 14, the common law presumption of doli incapax (incapable of wrong) applies to criminal offences - that is, children do not possess the necessary criminal intent to be held responsible for their actions. This means the law presumes they cannot distinguish between right and wrong in a way that would make them legally culpable for a crime. This can be rebutted by the prosecution if it can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the child understood their actions were seriously wrong. "If you look at the James Bulger case in England, those boys were 10 and 11 when they were prosecuted. There was a doli incapax argument raised in that case, but it was overcome," Professor Anderson said. "Prosecuting a 13-year-old does raise lots of other issues in the criminal system in terms of establishing criminal responsibility, but it's not impossible. Certainly, a 13-year-old can be criminally responsible. In addition to her age and nationality, the girl's fitness will be a further complication for prosecutors. Magistrate Andrew Eckhold noted that the girl, who can not be named, appeared to be"severely unwell" and was taking "an extraordinary number of medications" when the case was mentioned in Broadmeadow Children's Court on Wednesday. "Depending on what the mental health issues are, and if there is any psychiatric evidence, it then becomes a question of whether they (the defence) can raise the mental health defenses to murder, of which there are two - the mental illness defense or the defense of substantial impairment by mental abnormality, which is only available to murder, and would reduce murder to manslaughter if it was successful," Professor Anderson said. Ultimately, the case will be determined in the NSW Supreme Court. Newcastle-based lawyer Drew Hamilton said he believed that, given the recent push by NSW Chief Justice Andrew Bell to bring justice to the regions, there was a fair chance a future trial would be held in Newcastle. Specialist resources will also have to be provided to ensure the girl is appropriately represented. "As a Chinese foreign national and young person, she would be considered extremely vulnerable," Mr Hamilton said. "She would need additional assistance from an experienced legal team, qualified interpreters, juvenile justice officers and allied health professionals. If found guilty, further questions would arise as to whether the girl would serve her sentence in Australia or whether she could be transferred to China. "Australia does have prisoner exchange programs with certain countries, but I think it would go over to the Foreign Minister. That would bring in very different types of negotiations," Professor Anderson said. The prosecution of a 13-year-old Chinese girl for the stabbing murder of a fellow exchange student at Lake Macquarie will present extraordinary challenges for the state's justice system. The prosecution of a child, who is also a foreign national, for murder is believed to be unprecedented in Australian legal circles. "There are certainly examples of children being prosecuted for murder, but I have never heard of a Chinese girl in a situation like this. It's quite extraordinary," Professor John Anderson from the University of Newcastle's School of Law and Justice said. Australia's youngest killer, known as SLD, was convicted of killing three-year-old Courtney Morley-Clarke on the Central Coast in 2001 when he was just 13. He was released from prison in March this year after serving 22 years in custody. For children over the age of 10 and under the age of 14, the common law presumption of doli incapax (incapable of wrong) applies to criminal offences - that is, children do not possess the necessary criminal intent to be held responsible for their actions. This means the law presumes they cannot distinguish between right and wrong in a way that would make them legally culpable for a crime. This can be rebutted by the prosecution if it can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the child understood their actions were seriously wrong. "If you look at the James Bulger case in England, those boys were 10 and 11 when they were prosecuted. There was a doli incapax argument raised in that case, but it was overcome," Professor Anderson said. "Prosecuting a 13-year-old does raise lots of other issues in the criminal system in terms of establishing criminal responsibility, but it's not impossible. Certainly, a 13-year-old can be criminally responsible. In addition to her age and nationality, the girl's fitness will be a further complication for prosecutors. Magistrate Andrew Eckhold noted that the girl, who can not be named, appeared to be"severely unwell" and was taking "an extraordinary number of medications" when the case was mentioned in Broadmeadow Children's Court on Wednesday. "Depending on what the mental health issues are, and if there is any psychiatric evidence, it then becomes a question of whether they (the defence) can raise the mental health defenses to murder, of which there are two - the mental illness defense or the defense of substantial impairment by mental abnormality, which is only available to murder, and would reduce murder to manslaughter if it was successful," Professor Anderson said. Ultimately, the case will be determined in the NSW Supreme Court. Newcastle-based lawyer Drew Hamilton said he believed that, given the recent push by NSW Chief Justice Andrew Bell to bring justice to the regions, there was a fair chance a future trial would be held in Newcastle. Specialist resources will also have to be provided to ensure the girl is appropriately represented. "As a Chinese foreign national and young person, she would be considered extremely vulnerable," Mr Hamilton said. "She would need additional assistance from an experienced legal team, qualified interpreters, juvenile justice officers and allied health professionals. If found guilty, further questions would arise as to whether the girl would serve her sentence in Australia or whether she could be transferred to China. "Australia does have prisoner exchange programs with certain countries, but I think it would go over to the Foreign Minister. That would bring in very different types of negotiations," Professor Anderson said. The prosecution of a 13-year-old Chinese girl for the stabbing murder of a fellow exchange student at Lake Macquarie will present extraordinary challenges for the state's justice system. The prosecution of a child, who is also a foreign national, for murder is believed to be unprecedented in Australian legal circles. "There are certainly examples of children being prosecuted for murder, but I have never heard of a Chinese girl in a situation like this. It's quite extraordinary," Professor John Anderson from the University of Newcastle's School of Law and Justice said. Australia's youngest killer, known as SLD, was convicted of killing three-year-old Courtney Morley-Clarke on the Central Coast in 2001 when he was just 13. He was released from prison in March this year after serving 22 years in custody. For children over the age of 10 and under the age of 14, the common law presumption of doli incapax (incapable of wrong) applies to criminal offences - that is, children do not possess the necessary criminal intent to be held responsible for their actions. This means the law presumes they cannot distinguish between right and wrong in a way that would make them legally culpable for a crime. This can be rebutted by the prosecution if it can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the child understood their actions were seriously wrong. "If you look at the James Bulger case in England, those boys were 10 and 11 when they were prosecuted. There was a doli incapax argument raised in that case, but it was overcome," Professor Anderson said. "Prosecuting a 13-year-old does raise lots of other issues in the criminal system in terms of establishing criminal responsibility, but it's not impossible. Certainly, a 13-year-old can be criminally responsible. In addition to her age and nationality, the girl's fitness will be a further complication for prosecutors. Magistrate Andrew Eckhold noted that the girl, who can not be named, appeared to be"severely unwell" and was taking "an extraordinary number of medications" when the case was mentioned in Broadmeadow Children's Court on Wednesday. "Depending on what the mental health issues are, and if there is any psychiatric evidence, it then becomes a question of whether they (the defence) can raise the mental health defenses to murder, of which there are two - the mental illness defense or the defense of substantial impairment by mental abnormality, which is only available to murder, and would reduce murder to manslaughter if it was successful," Professor Anderson said. Ultimately, the case will be determined in the NSW Supreme Court. Newcastle-based lawyer Drew Hamilton said he believed that, given the recent push by NSW Chief Justice Andrew Bell to bring justice to the regions, there was a fair chance a future trial would be held in Newcastle. Specialist resources will also have to be provided to ensure the girl is appropriately represented. "As a Chinese foreign national and young person, she would be considered extremely vulnerable," Mr Hamilton said. "She would need additional assistance from an experienced legal team, qualified interpreters, juvenile justice officers and allied health professionals. If found guilty, further questions would arise as to whether the girl would serve her sentence in Australia or whether she could be transferred to China. "Australia does have prisoner exchange programs with certain countries, but I think it would go over to the Foreign Minister. That would bring in very different types of negotiations," Professor Anderson said.
