Grieving mother Karen Henry says her son’s killers ‘worked the system’

On the day her son’s killers were sentenced, they smiled and winked for TV cameras. Karen Henry says they knew they’d worked the system and won.

Karen, Taylor and Addison with a picture of Nicholas Henry. Picture Dean Martin

Karen Henry knows her son’s killers will soon walk free from jail after their murder charges were downgraded to manslaughter, but she can’t accept it.

“They took a life, they should get life,” Ms Henry said.

“It depresses me every day that my son didn’t get justice.”

Her son Nicholas was just 18 when he was hunted down and stabbed to death in a Morwell street in the early hours of February 20, 2021.

CCTV footage showed Mr Henry’s killers, brothers Corey and Brayden Smart, Abraham Abas and a fourth unidentified offender, slowly trawling the streets for Mr Henry, believing that he may have broken into the car of Corey’s girlfriend.

They ran his van off the road, chased him on foot and cornered him.

Brayden Smart winks at the media as he is led into Supreme Court. Picture: Ian Currie

Corey Smart flashes a smile at TV cameras. Picture: Ian Currie

Completely defenceless, Mr Henry was stabbed eight times and left in the street to die.

He passed away from blood loss in hospital.

His mother is still shocked that the men responsible for her son’s death were not done for murder.

She said prosecutors broke the news to her about the charge downgrade a year into the criminal case, pointing to a lack of evidence over who dealt the fatal blow to her son.

Ms Henry said she had no say in the decision to drop the charges to manslaughter and felt powerless to fight it.

Abraham Abas also pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Nick Henry.

“It shouldn’t have mattered who gave him the final blow. They were all involved and all did it,” she said.

“I tried to appeal (the murder downgrade) but it could have taken years.”

Ms Henry believed her sons’ killers “worked the system” with delay tactics, including firing lawyers, to get themselves a better court outcome.

“The sentencing was appalling. It’s given them another chance to go and do it again,” Ms Henry said.

On the day of their sentence, in August 2023, Corey Smart smiled for the camera while his younger brother Brayden winked to the lens as they were taken into court to learn how long they’d spend behind bars for killing Mr Henry.

“All three are murderers in my eyes,” Ms Henry said.

Corey was sentenced to a minimum of five years jail, while Brayden and Abas both received minimums of 4.5 years.

Brayden and Abas will be eligible for release by August 2025, with Corey able to get parole by early 2026.