Chilling last moments for teen allegedly slain over AirPods

A mother of an allegedly slain teen has broken down in court as her son’s grisly last moments, including photos of him battered and bruised, were revealed.

Two people have denied savagely beating a schoolboy to death during a dispute about a pair of headphones, as it was revealed photos were taken after the alleged attack.

Kayla Dawson, 22, and Richard Sione, 34, faced the first day of their trial in the NSW Supreme Court on Monday after pleading not guilty to murdering 16-year-old Jason Galleghan in 2021.

The teen was allegedly lured to a home in Doonside, in Sydney’s west, on August 4, 2021 by Ms Dawson before he was attacked by a group of adults and juveniles.

The crown claims Ms Dawson was “upset and crying” when she told the group Mr Galleghan had stolen her Apple AirPods.

Jason Galleghan was fatally attacked on August 4, 2021.

“Bring him over and we’ll talk to him,” Mr Sione allegedly responded.

The court heard Ms Dawson allegedly texted and called Mr Galleghan, who she had known for some time, to come to the house.

He was saved in her phone under the contact name “dog c***”, crown prosecutor Philip Hogan told the court.

He said some of the co-accused were searching the house for weapons and “talking about stomping on Jason’s head”.

“They (said they) intended to ‘completely f*** him up’,” Mr Hogan said.

Others in the group walked to the train station to collect Mr Galleghan and bring him back to the house.

“If youse f*** him up without me, I’ll kill youse all,” one of the eager youths said in a text.

The court heard the schoolboy was ushered into the house around 4pm and taken to the bedroom, where Mr Sione allegedly started yelling at him.

“Don’t mess with my family,” he allegedly shouted.

Richard Sione allegedly led the attack on the teen. Picture: Facebook

The court heard Mr Sione was often called “dad” because he was older than most of the group.

Mr Sione allegedly grabbed the teen’s hair, repeatedly punched him in the face, and demanded he take off his clothes.

While Mr Galleghan was in his underwear, the then-32-year-old allegedly kicked him in the face and stomped on his head while calling him a “f***ing gronk”.

The court heard after assaulting the teen for around 10 minutes, he left the house and told the assembled youths to “finish him off”.

Photos taken after the alleged assault showed Mr Galleghan looking at the camera with a bruised and bloody face while an assailant clutches a fistful of his hair and places a foot on his shoulder.

The crown prosecutor noted the teen had sustained “significant injuries” and had “clearly” been kicked in the face.

Kayla Dawson allegedly ‘encouraged’ the group of offenders to continue the attack. Picture: Facebook

Police allege Ms Dawson “encouraged” the continuation of the assault by others after Mr Sione left, and took videos of the savage beating on her phone.

At least one video of the assault was later uploaded to Instagram, the court heard.

The then-19-year-old then allegedly left Mr Galleghan injured and alone in the house as she walked down the street with her friends.

The court heard she became aware the teen was not breathing and did not have a pulse, but emergency services weren’t called until around an hour after she left the house.

“The crown relies on her conduct to show Ms Dawson was a party to the assault on the deceased,” Mr Hogan said.

After the alleged assault, Ms Dawson told police she had “set him up” to be “bashed”. 

She has pleaded not guilty to the offence due to “substantial impairment” and claims she participated in the alleged murder “under duress”. 

Ms Dawson told the group Mr Galleghan had stolen her headphones.

She admitted she ‘set up’ Mr Galleghan.

Mr Sione has also pleaded not guilty to an alternative charge of detaining the 16-year-old without his consent in order to obtain psychological gratification from assaulting him as retribution.

The court heard paramedics found no attempt had been made to “assist or resuscitate” the bruised and bloodied 16-year-old.

The savage assault left Mr Galleghan brain dead and dependent on life support for nearly two days before he was declared dead.

His mother Rachel broke down in tears during the first day of the trial for her son’s alleged killers.

A teenager who was sentenced for murdering Mr Galleghan took the stand on Monday to give evidence about the alleged roles of Mr Sione and Ms Dawson.

However, Acting Justice Robert Hulme found the short evidence he gave before lunch “had not been satisfactory” and his “attitude and answers” left much to be desired.

Rachel Galleghan became emotional after hearing details about her son Jason’s last moments. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Swift

Over the lunch break, the court heard the convicted killer had been held in the cells within earshot of Mr Sione and Ms Dawson.

“Although not in sight of the accused, he can hear things that are being said,” Justice Hulme said.

He also took issue with the witness having to look directly at the accused as he gave evidence in the courtroom.

“I’m not happy with the trial proceeding in the fashion in which it has today,” Justice Hulme said.

He adjourned the trial until Tuesday in hopes of securing alternative arrangements.