Teenagers who threatened to commit a massacre at a Riverland school were just venting at bullies, defence lawyer tells court

Two youths who threatened to kill a high school’s staff and students have “well and truly done their time” and should be released immediately despite the terror they caused, a court has heard.

Two youths who threatened to kill a high school’s staff and students have “well and truly done their time” and should be released immediately despite the terror they caused, a court has heard.

On Wednesday, defence lawyers told the Supreme Court that the duo’s so-called mass-murder plot was no more than a diary of revenge “fantasies” compiled by an “emo” teenager.

They conceded their clients had access to weapons including homemade napalm, but insisted the flammable liquid was being used to heat a metalworking forge, not to harm others.

Bill Boucaut SC, for the older youth, said the duo had uttered threats – while dressed, for Halloween, as “school shooters” – which they never intended to carry out.

“Threats of that nature are understandably going to cause significant concern in the community, and nothing I say ought to be taken as belittling that effect,” he said.

“But it has to be understood that this was nothing that was intended to be carried out.

“The period of time he’s spent in custody is long enough — I would urge the court to fashion a sentence that would enable him to be released immediately.

“He has, in my submission, done his time — well and truly.”

The two Riverland teenagers who threatened to commit a high school massacre.

The duo, now aged 20 and 17, were previously charged with one count each of conspiracy to commit murder, which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

They were also charged with a raft of offences including possession of body armour, machetes, knives and small hand blades called “bear claws”.

Prosecutors alleged they devised a plan over social media to massacre students and staff at a Riverland high school in an attack before the end of 2017.

They alleged the duo intended to use homemade explosives and napalm to block the school’s exits, then use firearms and hand-to-hand weapons to commit mass murder.

Last month, prior to their scheduled trial, the duo pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of aggravated threatening life, carrying a maximum 12-year jail term.

On Wednesday, the court heard community impact statements from the area’s deputy mayor and the school’s principal.

They said locals had been left shocked, distressed, angry and fearful by the threats — and the many concerning rumours they had sparked.

The principal, however, said the school had vowed it would “not be defined” by the incident.

Mr Boucaut, for the 20-year-old, said his client had no involvement in attempts to source firearms, nor in manufacturing body armour, a molotov cocktail and homemade napalm.

Those activities, he said, were carried out by the 17-year-old.

He said his client had been bullied since the age of 15, when he “adopted the emo lifestyle” and began “obsessively” talking about, and researching, school shootings.

He was also heavily using cannabis and alcohol at the time.

“He is different to what might be considered the average teenager in a country town,” he said.

The older defendant, who is now aged 20 and is represented by Bill Boucaut SC. Picture: Facebook

“He was wearing dark clothing, putting on dark makeup or eyeliner … he always liked heavy music which is part of the makeup of this particular type of young person.”

He said his client’s peers knew of his “unhealthy obsession” and bullied him as a result, increasing his feelings of anger and resentment.

“His peers simply regarded him as being weird,” he said.

“(The diary) was his mechanism for getting back at and dealing with a fairly entrenched regime of bullying that he was subjected to during his time at school.

“The various Facebook conversations with (the 17-year-old), the ramblings in his journal entries, were created at times when he was heavily intoxicated.”

The charged offence, he said, occurred on October 31, 2017 after the duo — drunk at the time — exploded the molotov cocktail and recorded it on their phones.

Soon after, they encountered two other teens and the 17-year-old said they were going to “shoot up the school” and “shoot students and teachers”.

Mr Boucaut said that conversation prompted rumours, fears and police investigations that resulted in the duo’s arrests.

“It cannot be disputed that was all part of a desire by the accused to reinforce threats they were already making,” he said.

“It reflects the grandiose ideas expressed, by him, in the diary entries and comments that he had made to other witnesses.”

Stephen Millsteed, for the 17-year-old, said his client had befriended and bonded with the 20-year-old over their mutual status as “outcasts” and tendency to binge-drink.

His client was never bullied, he said, but took on his friend’s “discontent” and interest in school shootings.

He said those factors heightened the younger boy’s own “disillusion” with the world.

The 17-year-old, he said, wanted the duo to be seen as “people to be reckoned with” and so tried to obtain firearms so they could pose with them for social media photos.

Mr Millsteed insisted none of that was connected to the 17-year-old’s love of building weaponry in his backyard shed.

He conceded the youth had built “crude” body armour out of shopping trolleys, many knives and a “blowpipe that fired needles” – but said that behaviour was not “furtive”.

“There’s an abundance of evidence that this has been his hobby since the age of 14 … one witness says (the youth) has always wanted to be a blacksmith,” he said.

“He’s also manufactured Ned Kelly helmets, selling one on the internet in August 2017.”

The napalm, he said, was not for an offensive purpose.

“He used various methods to maintain the heat in his shed needed to forge steel until he discovered how to make napalm,” he said.

“He found napalm was ideal for forging steel because of the intense heat it generates and the long period of time it remains flammable.

“It was in that context he made napalm, not for the purposes of causing harm to anyone.”

He asked his client be sentenced as a youth, not an adult, and be released immediately.

“He should be required to serve no more time in custody, as he has already spent 18 months in detention,” he said.

“Enough is enough … he should be able to go home and resume his life.”

Jim Pearce QC, prosecuting, said the threats had caused a “ripple effect” of terror throughout the Riverland.

He agreed the duo were “two troubled young men who clearly lost their way”, but said simply releasing them into the community was not the answer.

“They are going to be released sooner rather than later (and) there appears to be a disinclination to address alcohol and drug issues,” he said.

“The court ought to give earnest consideration to not just releasing them, but to placing them under supervision.

“They need ongoing assistance, rather than being left to their own devices to fall back into unwanted behaviour.”

Justice Kevin Nicholson remanded the duo in custody for sentencing next month.