Katie Walmsley and son Jayden Walmsley-Hume jailed for South Nowra murder of Taj Hart
Grieving family and friends donning ‘Justice for Taj Hart’ shirts filled every corner of the Supreme Court in Wollongong on Friday as his murderers – a mother and son – were each hit with lengthy jail terms for running the teen down and snuffing out his life in an instant.
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Grieving family and friends donning ‘Justice for Taj Hart’ shirts filled the Supreme Court in Wollongong on Friday as his murderers – a mother and son – each received more than two decades behind bars for running the teen down and snuffing out his life in an instant.
Mr Hart was just 18-years-old when he was murdered by Katie Walmsley and her son, Jayden Walmsley-Hume on February 24, 2022 on the NSW South Coast.
The revenge plot unfolded when Mr Hart was walking along Old Southern Rd, South Nowra, before Walmsley-Hume swerved a white Mitsubishi Triton ute onto the dirt, running the teen down and driving away, while his mother, Walmsley, sat in the passenger seat.
A four-week-long jury trial in the Supreme Court last year aired the details of the brutal killing, with the court hearing a witness heard Walmsley laugh “we got him good” after running the teen down.
“We’ve got to get the f—k out of here,” Walmsley-Hume replied.
The jury heard Mr Hart’s body hit the ute at great force, landing on the hood before flying off and hitting the ground.
He was rushed to Shoalhaven District Hospital, but was tragically pronounced dead shortly after arrival.
In the days following, Walmsley and Walmsley-Hume attempted to hide the killing, telling their insurer the ute hit a kangaroo before they left Nowra and stayed in a number of motels.
Following an extensive homicide probe, the pair were arrested at a Sydney motel on April 7, 2022 – 164km north of South Nowra – and charged with murder for the hit-and-run described by Crown prosecutor Kate Ratcliffe as a revenge plot, noting Walmsley and Mr Hart shared “hatred” toward each other.
They have remained in custody since.
Following their 2024 trial, a jury of 12 citizens found the duo guilty.
On April 24, 2025, weeks before their judgment on Friday, Mr Hart’s grandmother tearfully took the stand at a sentence hearing, saying she would “never get over” losing her grandson.
“I can never get the image of what they did to Taj out of my brain,” she tearfully told the court.
“It’s the Nevers which hurt the most.
“I’ll never see his smile again, never see him again.”
Justice Robertson Wright handed down judgment for the pair on Friday, saying they clearly “wanted him dead”.
“The motivation for the offending was a fugue like want for serious revenge,” he said.
“It was only when they saw Mr Hart and they realised that there was an opportunity to enact revenge, that the joint criminal enterprise crystallised.
“Mr Walmsley-Hume who wanted Taj Hart dead, deliberately drove off the road to run him down.
“He was hit from behind and he was effectively helpless.”
Justice Wright submitted Walmsley was just as culpable as her son, noting her comments after the impact with the teenager.
“She stuck her head out of the window to locate exactly where Mr Hart was,” he said.
Walmsley-Hume was ultimately jailed for 23 years, with a non-parole period of 16 years.
His mother was jailed for 21 years and six months, with a non-parole period of 15 years.
“There is nothing a sentencing can do to undo the harm a murder like this has done,” Justice Wright said.
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