Tragic alleged stabbing death of teen Seb O’Halloran sad tip of Mildura crime iceberg

Bored teens are trading stolen supermarket grocery items for Nikes and phones in rural Mildura, where Covid killed off many ‘good, clean, fun’ youth venues, and crime rates have soared.

Crime in the Victorian rural city of Mildura — where 19-year-old building apprentice Seb O’Halloran was last month allegedly stabbed to death by a 17-year-old girl — has surged in recent years, to make it one of the state’s worst crime hotspots.

The regional city by the mighty Murray River, famous for its sunshine, citrus groves and grapevines, is now ranked among Victoria’s highest crime areas, after reported incidents skyrocketed.

A mecca for holiday-makers, foodies and wine lovers, the arrival of Mildura as a crime centre came as a surprise to some.

Others say it’s been a steady decline.

The sunny, rural city of Mildura is now ranked among Victoria’s highest crime areas.

Director of the Mildura City Heart traders association, Danielle Hobbs, said bored and disengaged teens frequently gathered in the town’s centre and sometimes caused trouble.

Nicking items from shops to later trade between themselves was a relatively recent phenomenon traders were talking about, Ms Hobbs said.

Trading stolen supermarket items, including meat, for branded sneakers like Nikes was reportedly a popular switch, she said.

While criminal activity and anti-social behaviour were not exactly new in Mildura — since Covid, kids had appeared more disconnected and aimless.

It hadn’t helped that Covid lockdowns had killed off some of the town’s most popular kids’ activity venues, Ms Hobbs said.

”We lost House of Bounce, Inflatable world, Rollerama, the go-kart track, the Aqua Coaster water slide — lots of the sorts of places tweens and teens might hang out just closed in Covid, and some never opened again,” she said.

Drugs, Ms Hobbs said, had “always been an issue in Mildura”, which is why the town had fought so hard for a rehab centre.

“Mildura has a long history of drugs, from growing marijuana in the ‘70s and ‘80s through to now … it’s no secret that towns like Griffith and Mildura act as the crossovers between Adelaide, Sydney and Melbourne,” she said.

The area on the mighty Murray River is a mecca for tourists.

Mildura Rural City Council acting general manager of healthy communities, Cheree Jukes, said the council was working closely with local agencies to increase safety through more CCTV, public lighting and better transport.

Youth crime was closely linked to a region’s level of social disadvantage, and Mildura was ranked seventh in Victoria on that scale, Ms Jukes said.

“If our region is to reduce crime we need to reduce social disadvantage, which is why Mildura Rural City Council is working closely with other agencies and our community to ensure more children have the best start in life,” she said.

A 17-year-old girl was in October this year charged with murder, after 19-year-old motocross rider and building apprentice, Seb O’Halloran, was killed in Mildura.

Seb was understood to have been partying at a local nightclub when he got a call from a friend asking for help, and left to assist.

He was allegedly stabbed while trying to break up an argument between his mate and a girl.

Seb O'Halloran was a motocross champion.

Seb’s father Mark O'Halloran and brother Jack. Picture: Jason Edwards

Crime data shows Mildura ranked as one of Victoria’s worst regions for criminal activity from April 2022 to March 2023, with 1043 felonies.

The number of property and deception offences — including break-ins, robberies, arson and property damage — skyrocketed to 497, which was the highest figure seen for the area since the April 2016 to March 2017 reporting period.

Ms Jukes said the council was part of numerous youth programs and services aimed at supporting disadvantaged young people in the region, including initiatives designed to help schools support at-risk children and teens.

“(These included) working with the manager of our CBD, Mildura City Heart, to provide youth engagement school holiday programs, including during the January school holidays.

“Partnering with Aligned Leisure and Hands Up Mallee to offer free public swimming pool access at Red Cliffs and Merbein during summer for young people up to 17,” she said.

“Partnering with organisations including Hands Up Mallee, Sunraysia Community Health Services and Mallee District Aboriginal Services to deliver a Hoops Basketball program each school term, aimed at 12 to 17-year-olds.”