Sliding door moments: The tiny decisions that led to the senseless slaying of Balin Stewart
The killing of 16-year-old Sunshine Coast schoolboy Balin Stewart is a tragedy of ‘what ifs’. These are the dozens of tiny decisions that resulted in the unthinkable.
Police & Courts
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The killing of 16-year-old Sunshine Coast schoolboy Balin Stewart is a tragedy of ‘what ifs’.
Dozens of tiny decisions made in the haze of teenage immaturity, hormones, hurt feelings, petty grievances and rumours that resulted in the unthinkable.
What if Balin and his female friend never sent those provocative videos?
What if the killer never took the bait, if he just stayed home playing XBox?
What if the boys never fought, if they had just let it be?
What if the killer hadn’t taunted Balin as he began to walk away after their first fight, telling him: “Good boy, go back inside”.
What if the killer didn’t bring a knife to the fight?
It’s that last question most of all that has haunted Balin’s parents since the night they saw their beloved son take his final breath on the verge outside their Buddina home on January 20 last year.
Parents Michael and Kerri-Lyn established the Balin Stewart Foundation in the wake of the tragedy with the primary goal of discouraging people, especially kids, from carrying knives.
Their campaign slogan is ‘Bin the Blade for Balin’ – they argue if a knife isn’t present, it cannot be used to such devastating effect.
The ordinary kitchen knife wielded by Balin’s 17-year-old killer directly pierced his heart, killing him within minutes.
His family say even if the wound had been inflicted inside the walls of a hospital, he could not have been saved.
Of the dozens of issues in dispute during the 10-day murder trial of Balin’s killer, the one undeniable fact was just how many lives were destroyed with that single blow. The packed public gallery of Court 18 was proof of that.
Every day, Balin’s parents bravely fronted up to the Brisbane Supreme Court to relive the horrifying details of their son’s death.
They were supported by dozens of people who came and went each day, determined to offer whatever support they could. This included Balin’s friends and their parents - many of whom were called to give evidence themselves.
And there was the teenage killer, supported by his father and other family members, whose life was also ruined by that fateful decision to arm himself with a knife.
Even the killer immediately understood the horror of what he had done - his remorse evident from the moment Balin fell to the ground.
He threw away the knife, called an ambulance, and went to the victim’s side, telling him: ‘Balin, hang in there.’
He later confessed to police when they arrived, telling them: “It’s me, I did it”.
Due to legislation that prevents the identification of child offenders and of children who are witnesses to a crime, the complicated dynamics of the relationship between Balin, his killer and the girl cannot be published.
But the trial heard there had been simmering tensions between the boys for some time, in part because of their respective relationships with the same teenage girl.
After returning from a party on the evening of January 20, Balin and the girl were in his room when they decided to send the other boy messages, in what she later told police was an attempt to “provoke him”.
The pair used Instagram to film and send a number of videos, including a shirtless Balin grabbing the girl from behind.
In another video played to the court, the girl could be seen groping Balin’s bare bum as he smiled at the camera.
The defendant responded with the words “Balin u wanna fight?”, prompting two more video responses to be sent from the girl’s phone.
It was at 11.14pm that night that the online dispute turned deadly with a single message sent from the killer’s phone that read “Come out”.
The court heard Balin and the girl went outside, not believing the other boy would really show up. But there he was – ready and waiting for a fight.
In the minutes that followed, the boys fought, separated for a time and then came back for a second clash – leading to the crucial moment when Balin was stabbed.
The 17-year-old boy took the witness stand in his trial, claiming he never meant to stab Balin. He said he threw a punch at Balin’s chest, without realising he was holding the knife in that hand.
But Crown Prosecutor Rebecca Marks was sceptical of his story in her closing address to the jury, referring them to the boy’s comments in which he said: “I’m going to kill him, I’m going to f***ing kill him.”
“(These) were the words (the defendant) spoke that night immediately before he deliberately plunged the knife into Balin Stewart’s chest area, killing him with that one strike,” she said.
“He (the defendant) was the aggressor the entire time that night. Actions speak louder than words, but on this occasion (the defendant’s) words spoke just as resoundingly.
“He wanted to kill, or at the very least cause Balin grievous bodily harm that night. He didn’t need much to set him on this path of anger and hatred – it had been brewing for some time.”
After 14 hours of deliberation, the jury found the teenager not guilty of murder on Friday evening, but convicted him by unanimous verdict on the alternative charge of manslaughter.
“There’s no winners out of this … our family is destroyed, I’m sure his (the killer’s) family is feeling as well. Regardless of the verdict, Kerri-Lyn and I still don’t have any peace,” Michael Stewart said outside court after the verdict.
“No person should go through this court process – it’s just brutal. Listening to how your son died over and over again … we’re going to have to mourn his death again after this experience.”
A sentencing date has not been set, the case will be reviewed on Wednesday.
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