By Emily Woods and Tara Cosoleto
A young woman has been told “it is time to go home” by a judge, as a jury found her not guilty of the murder of her boyfriend’s friend.
The woman, who can’t be named for legal reasons, was 17 years old when she fatally stabbed Seb O’Halloran, 18, at a Mildura property on October 21, 2023.
Seb O’Halloran died after being stabbed in Mildura.
O’Halloran had tried to intervene in a physical altercation between the woman and her boyfriend when he was fatally stabbed in the chest.
The woman, who used cocaine earlier in the night, had cut up her boyfriend’s clothes and slashed his tyres after learning he had cheated on her.
The boyfriend returned to their Mildura home with O’Halloran to break up with her and the pair argued.
During the altercation, the woman punched her boyfriend’s head and he pinned her down several times, the court heard.
O’Halloran died at this Mildura home.Credit: Nine News
She eventually grabbed a knife from the kitchen and approached her boyfriend but O’Halloran was in between them.
The woman told him to move and when he refused, she stabbed O’Halloran in the chest.
It was not disputed the woman stabbed O’Halloran but she was acting in self-defence at the time, her barrister Sharon Lacy told the jury.
The woman had been subjected to violence at the hands of her boyfriend and O’Halloran also had a tendency to act aggressively, Ms Lacy said.
“The defence position is she was in a house alone with two men,” she said. “She had reason to fear both of them.”
But prosecutor Jordan Johnston argued the woman stabbed O’Halloran with the intention to kill or cause him very serious injury.
Twelve jurors retired to consider the verdict on March 12 after hearing weeks of evidence, and returned with their decision just before 1pm on Wednesday.
“Not guilty,” the jury’s foreperson said, in response to both a charge of murder and the alternative charge of manslaughter.
Justice Rita Incerti thanked the jurors for their service and sent them away before addressing the young woman directly.
“This is the end of ...a very long journey,” the judge told her.
“You’ve got your family here, I’m not going to keep you waiting.
“It is time to go home.”
The young woman, who is now aged 19, burst into tears and hugged custody officers sitting next to her upon hearing the verdict.
Her family, who came to court to support her throughout the trial, also cried and hugged each other before embracing the woman in court.
She will walk from court a free woman.
AAP
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