Teen guilty of killing ‘close friend’ has sentencing adjourned awaiting psychiatric report

A teen who pleaded guilty to stabbing his “close friend” to death will have to wait to find out his fate after his sentencing proceedings were adjourned.

The 16-year-old will have to wait another week to learn his fate after killing his friend in Bagot community. Picture: Katrina Bridgeford.

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A TEENAGER who pleaded guilty to stabbing his “close friend” to death in Bagot Community will have to wait to find out his fate after his sentencing proceedings were adjourned today.

The 16-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, appeared in the Darwin Supreme Court after pleading guilty to manslaughter in February.

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Chief Justice Michael Grant told the court the matter had to be adjourned as he was still waiting for a doctor to complete a psychological assessment on the defendant.

Crown prosecutor Matt Nathan SC said the prosecution was unable to make submissions about sentencing until the report is completed.

“This was a spontaneous act of violence which had catastrophic consequences,” he said.

“There is very little information about how we ended up here.

“If there’s an underlying disorder, there needs to be a plan in place.”

The boy’s lawyer, Marty Aust, said his client has a “trauma background” and a diagnosis of foetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD).

Mr Nathan said in a previous court appearance that a witness “observed the offender holding a knife in his right hand and saw him stab the victim to the centre of his chest using a backhand motion” on the night of May 19, 2020.

The matter was adjourned to May 28.

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