Two boys found guilty of murder of Angus Beaumont at Redcliffe

Two teens found guilty of the fatal stabbing of a 15-year-old boy on a Redcliffe street had five pages of criminal history between them, it has been revealed, as Angus Beaumont’s father called for juvenile offenders to be identified.

Two boys have been found guilty of murdering 15-year-old Angus Beaumont, who was fatally stabbed through the heart on a Redcliffe street in 2020.

The jury retired to consider the verdicts in the trial of the two teens - aged 16 and 17 - at 12.40pm on Wednesday and returned guilty verdicts just after 11am on Thursday.

Angus Beaumont’s mother Michelle Liddell cried and said “Oh God” after she heard the guilty verdicts and his father Ben Beaumont said “rot in hell you feral scum” and “who’s laughing now?”.

Justice David Jackson will sentence the two boys, who were 14 at the time of the offence, after considering pre-sentence reports, including psychological reports.

The maximum sentence for a juvenile convicted of murder is 10 years’ jail, unless the crime is considered particularly heinous.

Redcliffe teen Angus Beaumont suffered a fatal stab wound at Redcliffe in 2020. Picture Supplied

The 14-year-olds were captured on CCTV slapping hands, as if congratulating each other, after one stabbed Angus Beaumont, plunging the knife 14 centimetres into his chest, through his heart.

Outside court Angus’s mother said the verdict was “bittersweet”.

“It doesn’t bring our son back,” Michelle Liddle said.

“I feel like it wasn’t just a win for us. It’s a win for other victims of juvenile crime.

“We’ve got to see laws changed.”

Angus’s father, Ben Beaumont, who had watched CCTV footage of his son’s murder during the trial, said: “Watching them kill our son and then run off and high five each other for a job well done, well I didn’t see any high fives in there today.

“The evidence was there, no matter what the lead up was, they robbed and killed my son.

“The laws have to change to imprison these children, these violent offenders.

“Concurrent sentencing doesn’t work, anonymity doesn’t work.

Michelle Liddle and Ben Beaumont outside Brisbane Supreme Court. Picture: John Gass

“They want to put their stuff up on YouTube and Facebook and everywhere, let them show it, the names of the two.

“No anonymity and no concurrent sentences for juveniles.”

Speaking of the repercussions of their son’s murder, Ms Liddle said: “This is what happens, people like us are created, victims’ families are created and it’s just not fair.”

The Crown case was that on the night Angus was killed the two murderers were armed with knives and had been following Angus’s friend, who had earlier sold them drugs, to rob him.

Shortly before he was stabbed, Angus armed himself with a knife given to him by his friend, whom he tried to defend.

“Our son, if he had of lived, he would have been in trouble, he would have been grounded, we would have driven him up to the police station,” Ms Liddle said.

“He wouldn’t have been allowed out again.

“We don’t have that luxury.”

Crown prosecutor Christopher Cook said one of the child murderers had a three-page criminal history and the boy who stabbed Angus had a two-page criminal history.

As one of the boys was being led out of court, to the cells, he called out “love you Mum”.

Angus Beaumont died after a knife blade penetrated 14 centimetres into his chest and went through his heart, on March 13, 2020, the Supreme Court heard during the murder trial.

In his closing address to the jury, the Crown prosecutor said Angus Beaumont had been trying to help a friend get away from the two accused, who were trying to rob the other boy.

He said the pair attacked Angus on two fronts, before one stabbed him in the heart.

“Moments after (one boy) … stabs Angus Beaumont … his mate slaps his hand … they congratulate each other and then they are off,” Mr Cook told the jury.

He said earlier the two 14-year-olds had bought cannabis from Angus’s friend at a skate park, but they pursued him to Anzac Ave, Redcliffe, knowing he had more drugs and knives.

The jurors were shown a series of CCTV video images from the night.

Mr Cook said Angus ended up on Anzac Ave and decided to take a stand, to get the defendants away from his friend.

He said Angus, who had knuckle dusters on one hand and was given a knife by his friend shortly before the confrontation with the other two, did not initially raise his knife.

He said when Angus took three steps, telling the boys to “f--- off’’, the knife in his hand was by his side, and he then took three steps back.

Mr Cook said there was a fight, Angus hit out at one of the boys, who also had knives, but missed and by the time he raised his hand with the knife the other boy had already pounced.

“They attacked him, two on one, and fought together and as Angus Beaumont’s attention was on one of them, the other boy stabbed him,’’ Mr Cook said.

“He went to stab him again, Angus fell to the ground, they killed him.’’

Mr Cook said the boy who stabbed Angus intended to cause at least grievous bodily harm and there was no legal reason to justify the killing.

Doug Wilson, defence counsel for the boy accused of stabbing Angus, said his client was a victim of an unprovoked attack, after the earlier dispute with the boy who sold the drugs had de-escalated and the boys were not trying to rob him.

Jacob Robson, defence counsel for the other boy, said the stabbing happened so quickly and his client could not have known his friend would decide to use his knife on Angus.