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West Australian
18 hours ago
- West Australian
Jacob John Dwyer: Wooroloo shooting murder accused pleads guilty to lesser charge of manslaughter
A 37-year-old man has admitted shooting a young father in the head on Perth's outskirts, changing his plea on what was to be the first day of his murder trial. Police were alerted to an incident on Needham Road in Wooroloo at 7.20am on November 4, 2023, and found James Peter Deering on the side of the road with a bullet wound to his head. The 32-year-old was flown to Royal Perth Hospital, where he died the next day. Jacob John Dwyer — who was on home detention bail and being tracked by a GPS monitor — was swiftly arrested after a brief manhunt, which sparked a local lockdown. Dramatic vision showed armed police shouting at him to put his hands on his head as he knelt shirtless in the middle of the road. 7NEWS reported at the time that there had been an earlier confrontation at a Needham Road property when four men turned up, culminating with the occupant firing a gun. All four men got back in their car and fled, and only after driving a short distance did they realise one had suffered a serious head wound, the broadcaster reported. They pulled over and the driver began performing CPR, while two other passengers ran. 'Two men who were seen to run from the area into bushland had attended the scene with the victim, and fled the area on foot after the victim was shot,' police said after Dwyer's arrest. He pleaded not guilty to murder in May 2024, when prosecutor James MacTaggart said there was 'a lot to absorb' in the case. Dwyer was due to stand trial in the Supreme Court of WA on Monday but instead pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter. Represented by Mark Trowel KC, he waved to someone in the full public gallery as he was led away. A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for June 23. Shortly after the shooting, WA Police Commissioner Col Blanch said it was a 'very confined' incident involving 'people known to each other, in circumstances that were known to police'. Mr Deering was one of the State's rising cricket stars in his teens. As he clung to life in hospital, a fundraiser was set up on behalf of his partner Hayley Graham, who was described as having already 'endured tragedies this year that many will never experience in their lifetime'. 'Hayley is the mother of two wonderful boys who now have to face the reality of growing up without their father,' campaign organiser Carla Bennett said.
ABC News
22-04-2025
- ABC News
Cassius Turvey murder trial prosecutor labels accused killer Jack Brearley a liar
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. A man accused of murdering Cassius Turvey was a "liar" who had no justification in striking the teenager with a trolley pole, a prosecutor has told the jury which will decide his fate. Jack Brearley is one of four people accused of murdering the 15-year-old Indigenous boy, who suffered a head injury after being beaten in October 2022 and died 10 days later. Prosecutor Ben Stanwix has been giving closing statements in the long-running WA Supreme Court trial, during which Mr Brearley has admitted punching the schoolboy but claimed he acted in self-defence after the teenager stabbed him with a knife. Jack Brearley arrives home on the day he's alleged to have fatally assaulted Cassius Turvey. ( Supplied: Supreme Court of WA ) Mr Stanwix said that was not true, but even if Cassius Turvey did cut Mr Brearley with a knife, "good on him", because he was rightfully defending himself. Mr Brearley and his co-accused Brodie Palmer, Aleesha Gilmore and Mitchell Forth have all pleaded not guilty to murder. Brearley 'pleased with himself' Several witnesses have testified they saw someone matching Mr Brearley's description attacking Cassius in bushland in Middle Swan. Earlier, Mr Brearley denied using a pole to bash the teenager. Shopping trolleys without handles were found in an alley next to Jack Brearley's home after the incident. ( Supplied: Supreme Court of WA ) But Mr Stanwix highlighted a phone call after the incident, during which Mr Brearley allegedly admitted "smacking" Cassius with a pole, describing it as "very powerful" evidence. "He was laying in the field and I was just smacking him with a trolley pole so hard, he learnt his lesson," the voice in the phone call said. Photo shows A young boy wearing a basketball singlet smiles for the camera. The WA Supreme Court hears testimony from the teenager at the centre of a "love triangle" that sparked a series of events ending in the alleged murder of Perth schoolboy Cassius Turvey. Mr Stanwix said these were not the statements of a man who was defending himself, but the "words of a man who deliberately beat up a kid and was pleased with himself" and thought it was "pretty funny". He told the jury Cassius never had a knife, and that Mr Brearley had been cut by another boy at the scene. The 15-year-old would've been "terrified" after a "pole-wielding maniac just belted one of his mates up the road", he said. The "mate" Mr Stanwix was referring to was a teenage boy on crutches, who witnesses said was assaulted minutes before Cassius was hit. Focus on evidence, jury urged The prosecutor said that "if he did use the knife", it would've been a "reasonable response" from Cassius, who'd been chased some 200 metres away from the earlier confrontation. Prosecutor Ben Stanwix appealed to the jury to look at the "combined force of the evidence". ( ABC News: David Weber ) "He'd already run away," Mr Stanwix said, and "he was still being pursued by an unknown adult with a metal pole". He said within hours of the incident, Mr Brearley had his hair cut to change his appearance and had "tried to frame an innocent man". Photo shows A young man wearing a baseball cap looks down at his phone One of the four people accused of murdering Perth schoolboy Cassius Turvey takes the stand for the first time to give evidence at his trial in the WA Supreme Court. Mr Stanwix called on the jury to focus on the "combined force of the evidence" rather than trying to answer every question raised during the trial. 'Stupid boofheads' He said the accused had for the most part defended themselves by "pointing the finger" at someone else, but the case was "not just a one-man show". It was "collective stupidity" involving "boofheads" who were "egging" each other on. Mr Stanwix said they had a "common intention" to find, threaten or attack school-aged children. Cassius Turvey suffered severe head injuries in the attack and died 10 days later. ( ABC News ) The prosecutor said such a group could provide "safety in numbers" and a "warm, comfortable environment" for "really dumb ideas". In such an environment, getting metal poles to target kids "can seem like genius". Mr Stanwix's closing submissions are continuing before Chief Justice Peter Quinlan. Loading
