By Erin Pearson
A teenage boy who murdered his mother to kick-start a grandiose plan to form an army to restore Christian values to Australia believed he was part of a child-led anti-communist movement, a court has been told.
Crown prosecutor Daniel Porceddu told the Supreme Court of Victoria the then 15-year-old and a 14-year-old school friend, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, texted each other about their desire to kill their parents before obtaining military gear and ration packs in preparation for taking over the Grampians, and then the country.
The court heard the boys believed they had received messages from God and intended to raise an army to assist with the killing of communists, first by recruiting other school friends and then committing acts of violence as part of a paramilitary operation.
Police at the scene of the killing.Credit: Joe Armao
To kick off this plan, the court heard, the teens believed they needed to take a car. They were said to have killed the 15-year-old’s mother, a 41-year-old woman, in her family home before fleeing in her white SUV in April 2023.
The victim’s son, now aged 17, a military history enthusiast who was suffering from a delusional disorder at the time, faced the Supreme Court on Wednesday after earlier pleading guilty to a single charge of murder.
The court heard police were initially called to the victim’s family home in Melbourne’s inner east about 11pm on April 5, 2023, after the older boy’s younger brother woke to his mother’s screams and ran to a nearby police station to raise the alarm.
When police arrived, Porceddu said, the 41-year-old was still alive and lying in a pool of blood on the floor of her bedroom, calling out for help. She told police her older son had caused her injuries but that she didn’t know why, Porceddu said.
She died at hospital soon after, and an autopsy found she had sustained 98 stab wounds and cuts caused by knives and a cricket bat.
The victim cannot be identified as it would identify her son, who cannot be named due to his young age. A police investigation found the two teenage boys had created a group called the Anti-Communist Front with an objective to stop communism.
Porceddu said the pair created a plan, called Operation Continuity, to take a car, drive to the Grampians and blow up a bridge before creating an army to take over Australia.
“The pair became obsessed with carrying out Operation Continuity,” the prosecutor said.
The woman was killed in April 2023.Credit: Joe Armao
Between October 2022 and April 2023, the pair planned out the operation, obtaining military gear, camouflage clothing and ration packs, sourcing fertiliser and trying to recruit other teenagers from their school, the court heard.
In January 2023, the pair had spoken about their anticipation of their plan and of “taking bodies” and killing, and talked about the younger of the two having visions, the court was told.
The victim’s son told his friend not to act prematurely on the homicidal rage “consuming” him, to pull himself together and not kill anyone too early, with the aim to carry out their operation in March or April that same year.
“Would you rather kill him now and have momentary satisfaction or rather wait and torture him for however long you want to and have much more satisfaction for longer,” one text message read.
On February 11, the victim’s son bought two machetes from an adventure store, but his mother later found the weapons and returned them. At school, the boys asked friends if they wanted to join their group, giving one a dark green bag to take home, which was later filled with camping and military supplies including World War II helmets and a tent, the court heard.
Credit: Louie Douvis
They told friends their plan was to eventually “spread the word of God” and planned to discuss this further at upcoming sleepovers.
On April 5, 2023, the final day of school for the term, the court heard, the two friends went to the victim’s home under the guise of a sleepover, the court heard.
They ate spaghetti bolognaise with the victim before she went to bed, telling her boyfriend on the phone that she’d “given the teens ice cream and that she loved him”.
About 10.30pm, Porceddu said, the victim’s youngest son was in bed when he heard his mother screaming “what are you doing, stop, stop” and “you’re killing me”. When he ran downstairs to check, his brother told him to go away but when he saw his mother covered in blood he ran to a nearby police station to get help, the court heard.
Soon after neighbours reported seeing two teenage boys in the victim’s white SUV crashing into walls in the car park as they attempted to drive, before fleeing the scene.
They dumped the car in St Kilda before later catching a train out of Melbourne.
They were later spotted walking along a road, dressed in camouflage gear and carrying large backpacks, by a country police officer who recognised them from an internal police alert.
Psychiatrist David Thomas, who assessed the victim’s son, said he believed the boy was suffering from a rare, delusional disorder at the time of the killing shared with the other teen, who also shared similar life experiences such as bullying.
Thomas said that without this, and the pair’s unique friendship, he believed the killing would never have occurred.
The psychiatrist said the victim’s son believed he was carrying out “God’s plan” and both boys believed they had received their own separate communications from God – encounters first shared with each other at a school camp – which bonded them further.
“That shared delusion would’ve evolved from that conversation,” Thomas said. “I think [the victim’s son] knew that [killing his mother] was wrong in the sense that it was illegal, but it was right also because that was what was expected of him by God. Everything that was done, was done in pursuit of his really irrational goal.”
More than a dozen friends and family members of the slain woman packed into the Supreme Court to listen to the case and read victim impact statements. The victim’s tearful mother told her grandson the killing had shattered her life.
“My grandchildren bring me the only joy – but that is sad because one is missing and he has broken my heart,” she told the court. “The sadness is present everywhere. I cannot make any sense of it.”
The victim’s father said whenever he saw little blonde girls in the community, he would break down in tears as memories of his slain daughter returned.
“I miss [her] determination, her smile and her drive to do the right thing,” he said. “A willingness to help anyone at any time.”
Other friends and family of the victim spoke of the enormous void left behind, of a humorous, motivated young woman who was independent and determined to give anything a go. All also spoke of how dedicated she was to motherhood and to raising her sons.
“What would she say about [her killer son]? She was so loyal to her boys. When this was happening it must’ve broken her heart that her own child could do such a thing,” the victim’s best friend said.
Defence barrister Amy Brennan said her client was neurodivergent and any time in custody would be particularly difficult, pushing for a longer parole period than usual.
The hearing continues.
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