Full judgment on tragic death of Parkwood teen Jack Beasley explains ‘not guilty’ verdict
Jack Beasley’s death has been condemned as a “senseless tragedy” by the judge who issued a not guilty verdict to three teens alleged to have been involved. But why did she make her ruling?
Police & Courts
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A casual attitude to violence now held by some young people prior to 17-year-old Jack Beasley’s fatal stabbing in tourism hub Surfers Paradise was “unsettling”, a judge has said.
The comment comes in Justice Soraya Ryan’s reasons for finding three men not guilty of manslaughter and two counts of grievous bodily harm in the Supreme Court in Brisbane.
WHAT IT WAS LIKE INSIDE THE COURT ROOM
In finding the trio not guilty, Justice Ryan said: “Decent members of the community observing this trial could not help but be struck by the senseless tragedy of it all, and the unsettling insight it offered into the casualisation of violence among some of our young people.”
It was alleged a group of five boys – known during a trial as the Woodridge Group – were in Surfers Paradise when Parkwood teen Jack was fatally stabbed near the Surfers Paradise IGA on December 13, 2019. It occurred about 8pm as shocked restaurant diners watched on from across the road.
One of Jack’s friends, Ariki Waiariki-Katuke, also 17, was stabbed in the back and chest, leaving him with a punctured lung, it was alleged.
The group of five were aged between 15 and 18 at the time and the four youngest cannot be named for legal reasons.
Ma-Mal-J Toala and two teens – aged 16 at the time of Jack’s death – pleaded not guilty on May 16 to manslaughter and two counts of grievous bodily harm. Toala, who was 18 at the time of the stabbing, and the two teens were acquitted on Thursday.
Justice Ryan acquitted the three men, including Ma-Mal-J Toala on Thursday. It was after a week and a half long judge-only trial held in May.
“This trial was about whether any of the three defendants are to be held criminally responsible for the unexpected, fatal, knife violence of their companion,” she said.
Justice Ryan said she was not satisfied that death or grievous bodily harm were “probable consequences” of a fight the group had planned.
She was not satisfied a then-15-year-old member of the group’s action in stabbing Jack and Ariki was a plan the three men acquitted also shared, she said.
“I was therefore not satisfied, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the defendants bore criminal responsibility for (the 15-year-old’s) unexpected knife violence, causing Jack’s death and Ariki’s injuries,” Justice Ryan said.
In her reasons, Justice Ryan described the CCTV vision played to the court and found the Woodridge Group had arrived on the Gold Coast from Woodridge via public transport - and they were aware the youngest had a knife after it was used at a barbecue.
She also found the Woodridge Group were looking for a fight and had been staring at Jack’s group when the crossed paths earlier.
“The Woodridge Group wanted to fight with Jack Beasley’s Group,” she said.
“As far as they were concerned, there was nothing else to do at Surfers Paradise.
“Members of Jack Beasley’s Group made it plain, more than once, they had no interest in a fight with the Woodridge Group.”
Justice Ryan said the Woodridge Group did not intend the attack to result in serious harm.
“I could find nothing in the words or conduct of any defendant or in any evidence to suggest that the group attack they had in contemplation was the sort of attack which carried, objectively, as more than a substantial possibility, death or grievous bodily harm, as outcomes,” she said.
Justice Ryan found the Woodridge Group wanted to fight for the sake of it and the brawl they embarked upon was “a scrappy sort of fist fight”.
“To say that something tragic may possibly happen in a fist fight is not enough to render the defendants criminally responsible for (the 15-year-old’s) unexpectedly violent behaviour using a weapon they had not anticipated would be used in the fight,” she said.
Justice Ryan said she was not persuaded death or grievous bodily harm were “substantially possible” outcomes of the violence the defendants had contemplated.
The youngest of the five charged – now 17 – pleaded guilty on May 9 to murder and two counts of committing a malicious act with intent.
A second teen – now 19 – pleaded guilty in April to manslaughter and two counts of grievous bodily harm. The two teens who pleaded guilty will be sentenced at a later date.
‘Not guilty, not guilty, not guilty’ – Devastated parents speak out
“Not guilty, not guilty, not guilty.”
They are the words the mother of fatally stabbed Gold Coast teenager Jack Beasley cannot get out of her head.
Three men were on Thursday acquitted of having any criminally responsibility for the knife violence which led to the death of the 17-year-old.
Ma-Mal-J Toala, now 21, and two teens – now 18 – were found not guilty in the Supreme Court in Brisbane of manslaughter and two counts of grievous bodily harm.
The decision left Jack’s parents Brett and Belinda Beasley “devastated”.
Brett Beasley told reporters outside of court: “We are absolutely gutted.”
He was unable to speak further directly after court, but Mr and Mrs Beasley sat down with the Bulletin later in the afternoon.
Mrs Beasley said through tears her initial reaction to the verdict was “devastated”.
“Just to keep constantly hearing that not guilty, not guilty, not guilty,” she said. “For the three charges for each of them.”
Mr Beasley added: “It was heartbreaking. It was absolutely.”
The acquittal came after more than a month of deliberation by Justice Soraya Ryan following a week-and-a-half-long trial in May.
It was alleged a group of five boys were in Surfers Paradise when Parkwood teen Jack was fatally stabbed near the Surfers Paradise IGA on December 13, 2019. One of Jack’s friends, also 17, was stabbed in the back and chest, leaving him with a punctured lung, it was alleged.
The group was aged between 15 and 18 at the time and the four youngest cannot be named for legal reasons.
Ma-Mal-J Toala and two teens – aged 16 at the time of Jack’s death – pleaded not guilty on May 16 to manslaughter and two counts of grievous bodily harm. Toala, who was 18 at the time of the stabbing, and the two teens were acquitted on Thursday.
The youngest – who is now 17 – pleaded guilty on May 9 to murder and two counts of committing a malicious act with intent.
A second teen – now 19 – pleaded guilty in April to manslaughter and two counts of grievous bodily harm. The two teens who pleaded guilty will be sentenced at a later date.
Justice Soraya Ryan said prior to acquitting Toala and the two other teens: “This trial was all about whether any of these three defendants could be held criminal responsible for the unexpected knife violence of their accomplice.”
She said she would publish her full reasons for the trio’s acquittal.
The Beasleys said they would continue their work with the Jack Beasley Foundation and campaigning against knife crime.
“We are still concentrating heavily on the ‘detect knives, save lives thing’ that we do and ‘live your life without a knife’,” Mr Beasley said.
“It’s just so important and I’d really love to see some sort of system, some sort of detection system being introduced at Helensvale train station.”
Outside of court, a lawyer for one of the teens Michael Gatenby said it has had an “immeasurable” affect on his client and his family.
“They were young and it’s a tragic accident,” he said.
“Hopefully if anything comes out of this it is that young people stop using knives in Surfers Paradise.”
Mr Gatenby said the three found not guilty were not the key players: “These boys although they had been involved weren’t involved in the stabbing itself.”
During the trial in May, Toala’s barrister Catherine Morgan told the court her client’s involvement was limited to striking a member of Jack’s group with a Gatorade bottle.
Ms Morgan said there could not have been a plan between Toala and the rest of the defendants as Toala did not appear to interact with others. She told the court the stabbing of Jack and his friend was the “escalation of violence well beyond the common purpose” of the defendants to have a fight.
Ms Morgan told the court the stabbing of Jack and his friend was the “escalation of violence well beyond the common purpose” of the defendants to have a fight.
Defence barrister Matt Hynes, instructed by Gatenby Criminal Lawyers, said during the trial his client, who was 16 at the time, only jumped into the fight to help another of the defendants who was in a two-on-one fight.
He said his client only tried to throw one punch, which did not connect, before fleeing.
“Even if some members (of the group) held the intention for a common unlawful purpose (to fight), there is no absolute clear evidence that my client was part of the intended assault,” he said.
During the trial, defence barrister Gregory McGuire, acting for one of the teens, said Jack’s death was “tragic” and “unnecessary”.
He said his client had lagged behind the others when they began to pursue Jack’s group and that if he did become part of a plan to fight it was only after he caught up to the group.
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