Court hears Footscray murder accused, 12, has ‘special needs’

A 12-year-old girl charged with the stabbing murder of a woman will apply to be released from custody, with her lawyer saying her health conditions meant juvenile detention was “not appropriate”.

Police at the scene of the stabbing at the former Royal Hotel in Footscray. Picture: Andrew Henshaw

A 12-year-old girl charged with murder has faced court over the Footscray stabbing death of a woman, 37, where she asked a magistrate, “Where am I going?”

The girl sat in the dock between two female security guards where the court heard she’d soon apply for bail in the Supreme Court because juvenile detention was “not appropriate”.

That anticipated application came because the girl experiences an array of conditions including anxiety and had other special needs, the court heard.

It’s understood the girl — one of the youngest Victorians to be charged with murder — had been under the state’s watch in residential care for years.

Her defence lawyer said he intended to list an application for bail at a higher court and seek to have the girl moved from juvenile detention to “a secure welfare placement”.

“In terms of custody management in the interim, there is a raft of them bearing in mind her age, her intellectual and other disabilities which are in part touched on in the remand summary,” the lawyer said.

Police at the scene of a fatal stabbing in Footscray which happened in apartments above the Royal Hotel. Picture: David Crosling

Bail applications on a charge of murder can’t be heard in the Magistrates Court as it has no jurisdiction, and instead must to be put before a Supreme Court judge.

The court heard authorities would be asked to note that the girl had “special needs that are exceptional in this case”, and she’d need to see a custody nurse.

The magistrate asked the defence lawyer, “Is self harm a risk?”

“Yes, Your Honour,” he replied.

Earlier, when the girl entered the court flanked by two security guards, the magistrate told her, “there’s a lot of things we’re going to be talking about today”.

“I just ask you to sit there, listen, if you want a break, tell us,” His Honour said.

She sat looking forward for the duration of the hearing, and at one point stretched her arms behind her head.

When the hearing was over and the court set down dates for future hearings, His Honour turned to the girl in the dock.

“What’s going to happen is,” he explained, noting that “the police will take you back downstairs” where her lawyers would speak with her, and she’d be returning to court next Friday on a link from custody.

“Where am I going?” she asked the magistrate, who replied that she’d be going with the police.

“Juvenile?” she confirmed, before putting her head down and asking no further questions.

The magistrate assured that it would only be a short drive.

“It’s not far away,” His Honour said.

She was remanded in custody, and walked out of court with the officers.

The magistrate permitted the public release of charge sheets to the media, but said he would redact the victim’s name to prevent her family from being put under “any more pressure”.

It comes after the girl was arrested at Footscray’s Royal Hotel building on Barkly St, where a woman was found dead in her home about 2am on Thursday.

Homicide police charged her with murder later that evening.

She will return to court next Friday for a forensic procedure application, with a further committal mention listed in January.