Youth faces sentence for murdering Laidley father Jamie Barlow, allegedly stabbed 44 times

A 16-year-old bragged on social media about his role in the alleged “mafia family”-style murder of a Lockyer Valley father, who was stabbed so many times his family was not allowed to see his body.

Jamie Barlow was allegedly murdered at his Laidley home in 2022.

A 16-year-old bragged on social media about his role in the alleged “mafia family”-style murder of a Lockyer Valley father, whose family expressed their “torment” after he was allegedly stabbed 44 times over a mere “rumour”.

Now 19, the boy faced Brisbane’s Supreme Court for sentence on Thursday after pleading guilty earlier this year to the murder of 48-year-old Jamie Barlow, along with the arson of his Laidley home.

It’s alleged Mr Barlow, 48, was stabbed 44 times and that his house was set ablaze on June 20, 2022, over a rumour that he had put out a hit on murder-accused Tahlia Healy.

Seven individuals, including the boy, were charged with murder in the days following.

At the boy’s sentencing hearing this morning, Crown Prosecutor Elizabeth Kelso said it would be alleged Ms Healy’s boyfriend Gabriel Jones had been the leader of the “vigilante group,” and had enlisted the boy as a bodyguard for Ms Healy.

The Crown allege the seven co-accused formed a “common purpose or plan to attend the house and cause serious harm” to Mr Barlow.

Justice Peter Davis said it was alleged the group, who called each other “family”, had acted like they were in a “mafia” movie – as if they were “living in the world of the Godfather”.

It’s alleged Ms Healy and her co-accused Charlotte Barratt were the “getaway drivers” who waited outside Mr Barlow’s home on Laidley’s main street on the night of June 20.

The five male co-accused allegedly cut power to the house and approached – two armed with knives and two with jerry cans.

It’s alleged Mr Jones stabbed Mr Barlow repeatedly after Mr Barlow came down the back stairs of the house to check on the power.

Ms Kelso said his “screaming and moaning” woke his partner, Stacey Vale, who then called triple-0 and ushered her two dogs to safety as the house was set ablaze.

The court heard Ms Vale’s pet cat and snake perished in the blaze, and the house was so extensively damaged that it was entirely removed from the property.

Ms Kelso read out a victim impact statement from Ms Vale, which detailed how the “emotional and mental distress” of watching her “soulmate” lose his “fight for life” had changed her own life.

She said she “still has nightmares about what happened” and was very wary of new people and venturing outside at night.

A statement from Mr Barlow’s sister Karen Barlow said it was “torture” to replay the events over and over again.

“Jamie died in horrendous circumstances. We’re all tormented at the thought of what he endured.”

Ms Barlow said her brother had been stabbed so many times that the family had not been permitted to see the body.

“The thought of it is unbearable and we are haunted by the horror of it,” she said.

“He lost his life over what – a rumour? It is a ridiculous reason, it is nonsensical.”

“How could you value a human life so cheaply? We cannot comprehend it.”

Ms Kelso said in the days following Mr Barlow’s death, the boy had “bragged” about the killing to other youths on social media, asserting that he was the one responsible.

When interviewed by police, she said the boy gave them an “elaborate” but “unsophisticated” story.

The court heard the boy also claimed he had heard an – entirely unsubstantiated – rumour that Mr Barlow had inappropriately touched Ms Healy when she was young, telling police that “all pedophiles deserved it”.

Ms Kelso submitted that the boy’s crime was “particularly heinous” and deserving of a penalty beyond the maximum for youths – 10 years.

She argued for a sentence closer to 14 years, but defence barrister Laura Reece submitted for a lesser sentence of nine years.

Ms Reece said her client had gained greater insight into his actions after conferencing with Mr Barlow’s family as part of the restorative justice process.

She said the boy had been drawn to the “almost cult-like” group of co-accused and their alleged “mafia family” attitudes in part due to his need for belonging and acceptance.

She said a psychologist report detailed his prior struggles with depression, anxiety and self harm – which he had masked with substance abuse.

Justice Davis said the co-accused’s alleged “fantastical kind of talk” might have been “dismissed as someone who’d watched too many movies” if it hadn’t culminated in what was alleged to be a “well-calculated attack”.

He said he would reserve his sentencing for a later date, which he said would not be before Christmas.

The youth’s co-accused include Nicholas Graeme Barnett, of Caboolture, Bailey Douglas Sinclair, of Ningi, Gabriel Humberto Jones, of Caboolture, Braiden Taylor Leslie Harris, of College View, Tahlia Healy, of Laidley, and Charlotte Laura Barratt, of Camp Mountain.

They have not entered any pleas and are expected to contest their charges at trial.