Indigenous teen's killer appeals verdicts and sentence

Perth Now

4 days ago

One of the men found guilty of killing an Indigenous teenager, who was chased into bushland and violently bashed, is appealing his convictions and sentence.
Cassius Turvey, a Noongar Yamatji boy, died in hospital 10 days after he was deliberately struck to the head with a metal pole in Perth's eastern suburbs on October 13, 2022.
Jack Steven James Brearley, 24, and Brodie Lee Palmer, 30, were sentenced to life behind bars for murdering the 15-year-old after a 12-week trial in the West Australian Supreme Court.
Mitchell Colin Forth, 27, who was also accused of Cassius's murder, was found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to a total 12 years' imprisonment, eligible for parole after serving 10 years.
He has since lodged legal challenges against his convictions and manslaughter sentence imposed by Chief Justice Peter Quinlan.
The guilty verdicts were unreasonable and unsupported, and the nine-year sentence for manslaughter was excessive given the circumstances, court documents said.
Forth, who was convicted of six offences, was also given cumulative terms of one year and two years for two counts of deprivation of liberty committed on October 9 against two other youths.
Forth will be eligible for parole in January 2033 after his sentence was backdated to January 2023.
His other convictions for two counts of assault and stealing are for offences committed on October 9 and 13, for which he was handed concurrent sentences totalling five years and two months.
Brearley delivered the fatal blows on Cassius while "hunting for kids" because somebody had smashed his car windows.
He chased Cassius into bushland and knocked the teen to the ground and hit him in the head with a metal pole, causing bleeding in his brain that led to his death.
When delivering the sentences for the three men in June, Justice Quinlan said the trio had cut Cassius's life short in a horrendous and vengeful act of aggression, violence and brutality.
He said Forth was never the main offender in the shameful course of events but always there in the background.
"You were just following along in the excitement of trying to be a tough guy," the judge said.
"And you followed Mr Brearley all the way to a conviction for manslaughter."
Brearley will be eligible for parole after serving 22 years and Palmer after serving 18 years.
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