11 hours ago
Cassius Turvey's mother Mechelle details trauma at sentencing hearing for son's murderers
WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains an image of a person who has died, used with the permission of their family.
The mother of murdered Indigenous schoolboy Cassius Turvey has delivered an emotional speech in court, saying her community was "thrust into a world of pain" due to the violence of her son's killers.
Cassius Turvey, 15, was walking with friends after school when he was chased into bushland in Perth's east and savagely beaten with a metal pole in October 2022.
Two of her son's killers — Jack Brearley and Brodie Palmer — are among those being sentenced in the WA Supreme Court over the next two days.
Cassius's mother Mechelle Turvey sobbed as she entered the court with family by her side, along with Detective Senior Sergeant Stephen Cleal who led the murder investigation.
Ms Turvey told the court the actions of the offenders amounted to racially motivated vigilantism.
"These young Aboriginal children were being confronted, chased and attacked, were racially vilified," she said in her victim impact statement.
While race was not alleged by prosecutors to have been a motive behind the attack, the court heard testimony that racial slurs were used by the offenders in the lead-up to the fatal assault.
Questions were raised at the time of the incident as to whether race was a motivating factor.
Crowds of thousands rallied across the community as racial tensions swelled against a backdrop of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Ms Turvey called for calm at the time, urging the public not to use her son's death as "a platform to blow your trumpets".
But delivering her impact statement to the court, Ms Turvey said it was difficult for her to ignore the factor of race.
"If anyone thinks their actions weren't racially motivated, many Australians would be left scratching their heads," she said.
The court previously heard Brearley was captured on CCTV and dash-cam recordings discussing his desire for revenge after his car windows were smashed.
Brearley, 24, and 29-year-old Palmer were found guilty of murdering Cassius, while 27-year-old Mitchell Forth was found guilty of manslaughter.
Two other offenders — Aleesha Gilmore and Ethan MacKenzie — are also being sentenced for assault and deprivation of liberty for incidents in the days leading up to Cassius's death, incidents prosecutor Ben Stanwix previously told the court were part of a pattern of targeting children with weapons.
"Their vigilante actions have left others with a void that can never be filled. We are left with the senselessness of this tragedy," Ms Turvey told the court.
"[I become] anxious when I see the colour green, the colour of Cassius's school shirt he was wearing when assaulted, the colour of the ambulance when I'd last seen my son's eyes open as he was rushed back into hospital."
Ms Turvey said she had been prescribed medication and received counselling to cope with her grief.
"There are no words that can fully capture the devastation of losing someone you love to violence," she said.
"Cassius was not just part of my life, he was my future.
"I will never see him grow older, never hear his voice again, never feel the comfort of his embrace … no parent should have to visit the grave of an innocent 15-year-old child who did nothing wrong."
