Men responsible for death of Perth schoolboy Cassius Turvey, 15, to be sentenced in WA Supreme Court

The mother of a Perth schoolboy has told a court the fatal attack on her son was racially motivated as her child’s killers learned their fate in court.

WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains an image of a deceased Indigenous person.

The mother of Perth schoolboy Cassius Turvey has told a court that it would take a lifetime to heal from her son’s senseless and violent murder by a group of vigilante adults.

Mechelle Turvey said the attack on her son was racially motivated and young Aboriginal children were racially vilified before they were chased down by her son’s killers, in a victim impact statement to the WA Supreme Court.

Five people involved in a series of events that led to Cassius’s horrific murder will learn their fate over the next two days for their role in a bunch of shocking crimes that rocked Australia.

The WA Supreme Court will hand down sentences to Jack Brearley, 24, and Brodie Palmer, 30, who were both found guilty of murdering Cassius, who was struck with a metal pole after school on October 13, 2022.

The 15-year old boy died from his injuries in hospital 10 days later.

Cassius’s death led to an outpouring of grief around the nation and sparked vigils attended by thousands of people.

Jack Brearley was found guilty of murdering Perth schoolboy Cassius Turvey along with his co-accused Brodie Palmer.

Mitchel Forth, 27, and Aleesha Gilmore, 23, were also charged with murder over Cassius’s death.

But a jury found Forth not guilty of Cassius’s murder but guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter.

Gilmore was found not guilty of both murder and manslaughter.

A fifth man, Ethan McKenzie, 21, was not charged with murder but faced other charges over a separate incident involving Brearley, Gilmore and Forth four days before Cassius was killed.

The jury found them guilty of all other charges, including the deprivation of liberty of two boys who were held against their will four days earlier.

Gilmore and McKenzie applied for bail for time already served ahead of sentencing in June, but bail was opposed by the state for both offenders.

The group denied all allegations related to a series of events in the lead-up to Cassius’s death.

Detective Senior Sergeant Stephen Cleal supports Mechelle Turvey, the mother of Cassius Turvey, before her son’s killers are sentenced in the WA Supreme Court. Picture: Emma Kirk/ NewsWire

Ms Turvey was visibly distraught as she made her way into court with Detective Senior Sergeant Stephen Cleal ahead of sentencing.

Ms Turvey read out an emotional and heartfelt victim impact statement to the court before her son’s killers were sentenced.

She said her son’s senseless and violent death had irrevocably shattered the lives of many people who knew Cassius.

She said children who should be enjoying the joys of childhood had been thrust into a world of pain and fear by the heinous acts committed by the accused that extended beyond the immediate victims.

“The actions of the convicted tore at the very fabric of our society leaving wounds that will take years, decades and lifetimes to heal and recover,” she said.

“My son was a respected, bright, loving and compassionate individual whose life was cut short by a vigilante group of adults who took his life into their own hands.”

Ms Turvey told the court the accused indiscriminately targeted Swan View Senior High School students and their actions left fear for the safety of all children in their community.

Ms Turvey said the young Aboriginal children were racially vilified before they were confronted, chased and attacked, and any Australian would scratch their head at people who thought their actions were not racially motivated.

Ms Turvey’s victim impact statement said the accused’s actions tore at the fabric of society and would take lifetimes to recover from. Picture: Emma Kirk/ NewsWire

“They glorified their intentions to cause immense harm,” she said.

“Their vigilante actions have left us a void that can never be filled.

“We are left to grapple the senselessness of this tragedy and the devastating consequences of their unlawful behaivour.

“Cassius was only a baby, a gentle giant who will forever be 15.”

Cassius’s mother said she would never get to see her boy grow into the remarkable person he was destined to become after his life was unjustly taken.

“Cassius was respected at school by his teachers and peers in his community, a true leader and good friend. He started a lawn-mowing community project to show youths, but particularly Aboriginal youths, could be productive and successful community members,” she said.

Ms Turvey said her world shattered the day Cassius was murdered and she now lived in pain every single day.

“It is not just the absence of his presence, the emptiness in moments we were supposed to share and the unbearable weight of knowing he did not get to live the life he deserved,” she said.

“The trauma of his death is something I carry every day. I will never see him grow older, never hear his voice again and will never feel the comfort of his embrace.

“The irreversible impact of this crime has not just had an impact on me but everyone who loved him. No person should have to visit the grave of an innocent 15-year-old child who did nothing wrong.

“Cassius’ life mattered. All kids matter.”

CCTV footage showing Aleesha Gilmore in the ‘moments of mayhem’ that occurred at her home on the afternoon Cassius was killed.

Throughout the trial, the court was told Brearley delivered the fatal blows, but his co-accused all shared a common purpose when they set out that day.

The violence was sparked days earlier on October 9, 2022, when Gilmore’s teenage brother became involved in a love triangle.

Gilmore’s brother feared he would be mobbed, so Gilmore – along with her boyfriend Brearley, Forth, and McKenzie – drove through suburbs in Perth’s east looking for the boys who had threatened him, the court was told.

The jury was told how the group of 20-somethings chased down a group of children – unrelated to these events – and snatched two of them off streets in Perth’s east on October 9, 2022.

The two boys were forced into their car at knifepoint and held against their will.

One of the boys told the court that he tried to flee on foot but was chased down, punched, kicked and stabbed on a suburban street in Swan View before he was forced to get into their car.

CCTV captured Jack Brearley (red top) and Mitchell Forth (black clothes, red shoes) drag a young boy down a suburban street in Middle Swan four days before Cassius was killed.

Three days later, Brearley’s car windows were smashed by a group of schoolchildren in retaliation.

The court was told Gilmore’s brothers contacted her about fights that were planned and people who threatened to run through their house if they failed to show up on October 13, 2022.

She and her co-accused were at Palmer’s house in the Perth hills when she started receiving the messages from her brother.

CCTV footage captured Brearley saying, “Somebody smashed my car – they’re about to die,” before they left in Palmer’s car.

They drove to Gilmore’s home, where the group collected weapons and tore handles off shopping trolleys in an alleyway next to the house, loading them into Palmer’s car.

They took off with the common goal of looking for school kids.

The jury was told the three men – minus Gilmore, who had got out after an earlier argument with Brearley – pulled up near a group of about 20 kids.

CCTV shows Gilmore, Brearley, Forth and Brodie Palmer at Palmer's Parkerville home drinking alcohol shortly before Cassius Turvey is attacked.

Armed with metal poles, the trio abused the children and accused them of smashing their car windows.

The court was told as one child was shoved to the ground and assaulted, the others, including Cassius, scattered into the bushland to try to escape the men.

Brearley chased after and caught up with Cassius, knocking him to the ground and striking the 15-year old twice with a metal pole.

Cassius managed to walk to his group of friends after he had been attacked despite suffering head injuries – including a laceration to his forehead and split ear – as they had gathered a short distance away at a nearby TAFE.

Cassius died in hospital 10 days after he was struck with a metal pole,

Paramedics arrived and treated Cassius, who was transferred to the Perth Children’s Hospital and sent home on October 18, but he was readmitted to the Midland Hospital after he suffered seizures hours later.

He died in hospital days later.

Brearley denied all allegations against him and said it was Cassius who stabbed him first, then blamed Palmer for inflicting the fatal blows to the schoolboy.

Palmer maintained he was in his vehicle when the fatal attack happened and heard Brearley call out he’d been stabbed. He claimed he saw Cassius covered in blood when he approached them.

Originally published as Men responsible for death of Perth schoolboy Cassius Turvey, 15, to be sentenced in WA Supreme Court