Pack of killers chased down teen before stabbing him in Morwell street

A pack of vigilante killers chased a teen down a Morwell street screaming “this is what rats get” before stabbing him to death.

Nicholas Henry was stabbed eight times in a matter of seconds during the attack.

A pack of vigilante killers chased down a teen screaming “this is what rats get” before stabbing him to death in the street in a case that rocked the Latrobe Valley.

Brothers Corey and Brayden Smart, then aged 23 and 20, and Abraham Abas, then aged 18, pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of 18-year-old Nicholas Henry in Morwell in February 2021.

During a Supreme Court plea on Friday it was revealed for the first time that a fourth male was involved in the savage attack but is yet to be identified or charged.

The court heard Mr Henry, a “kind-hearted” and “caring” young man, was hunted down by the killers after Corey Smart’s girlfriend’s car was broken into outside Morwell RSL.

Corey Smart.

Brayden Smart.

Mr Henry’s van was forced off the road by the offenders’ vehicle, causing it to crash into a fence.

The teen, from Churchill, fled on foot and was chased by the four offenders who yelled “you dog, you rat… this is what rats get” before he eventually fell to the ground and was surrounded.

In the space of just 24 seconds, Mr Henry was stabbed eight times to the back and buttocks and beaten with an object, believed to be a pipe.

The court heard Mr Henry was left completely motionless and later died at Latrobe Regional

Hospital due to blood loss caused by a severed major artery.

Prosecutor David Glynn described the killing as a “kind of vigilante behaviour”, telling the court it was “motivated by revenge and taking the law into their own hands” based on a belief Mr Henry broke into Mr Smart’s girlfriend’s car.

“(Mr Henry) did not fight back. He was utterly helpless,” Mr Glynn told the court.

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

The Smart brothers and Abas were initially charged with murder but their charges were downgraded to manslaughter following a sentence indication for a guilty plea.

Karen Henry sobbed in court as she heard how her son was chased down and killed.

Ms Henry said her son had a wonderful heart and she is haunted by the knowledge he was alone and scared when his life was brutally ended.

“He will never become the man he should have been,” she said.

Mr Henry’s father Ian Pope said he has nightmares where he hears his son screaming out to him for help.

“(That) I was not there to protect him kills me,” Mr Pope told the court.

“The viciousness and brutality shown to my son was unmerciful… (they showed) a complete disregard for human life.”

The court heard the Smart brothers had a difficult childhood involving heavy drug use and violence.

Abas also had a traumatic upbringing, with his father and grandmother being killed by rebels in Sudan before he fled to a refugee camp.

His lawyer David Cronin said he faces potential deportation following prison.

The men will be sentenced at a later date.