In the moments before Pasawm Lyhym was murdered near a busy Melbourne train station he desperately tried to protect himself with a nearby shopping trolley.
Then he ran for his life.
But the 16-year-old, who was unarmed, barely made it 20 metres before a teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, caught him and stabbed him twice in the back with a kitchen knife, fatally wounding him on May 17, 2023.
Pasawm Lyhym died after being stabbed in Sunshine earlier this month.
On Friday, Supreme Court judge Justice Michael Croucher called for an end to knife crime in Victoria, and said he intended to sentence the teenager to 13 years’ jail, with a non-parole period of eight years.
The proposed sentence, which would result in the teenager, who is now 19, being held in a youth justice centre for an extended period, could be formalised next Friday after a hearing before the state’s adult parole board in the coming days.
The judge wiped away tears as he described the destruction Lyhym’s death had wrought on his family.
“To lose a loved one so young, just a boy of 16 ... in such terrifying circumstances is unfathomable,” he said. “Their agony, I fear, will be lifelong.”
The teen, who was 17 at the time, pleaded guilty to the stabbing murder.
The court previously heard the fatal stabbing was the culmination of escalating tensions between two groups of teenagers from different schools.
It ended in the after-school brawl at Sunshine train station. Another three teenage males were also arrested and charged over the fight.
Croucher frequently paused to wipe his eyes with a tissue and compose himself as he read out harrowing victim impact statements from Lyhym’s family.
Lyhym’s sister described how her brother’s murder had left a profound void in her heart, a wound that was so deep, she said, words could not adequately express her anguish.
Thoughts of what her brother endured in his final moments caused her such a sorrow and pain it felt as if her “heart was wrapped in spiked metal strings”.
Lyhym’s parents said their world had been shattered. The laughter that once filled their home has been replaced by tears and heartbreak.
“I hope no other family experiences this pain,” they said.
Croucher described it as a “horribly sad” case in which Lyhym and his killer were both so young and had their lives ahead of them.
“Some cases seem to grab hold of you more than others,” he said.
He took aim at rampant knife crime in Victoria, telling the court: “No good can come from carrying weapons like these.”
“It just has to stop,” he said.
Psychologists who assessed the killer noted he had a low intellect, PTSD and cognitive deficiencies, which meant he was easily influenced by his peers and more prone to impulsive or reactive behaviour.
Croucher said the teenager expressed remorse for his actions and the judge formed the view he acted on impulse, possibly with an intent “to harm or wound”, but not to kill Lyhym.
He also noted the teenager had pleaded guilty to murder and had the support of a loving family and several of his current and former teachers, who often visited him in jail.
Croucher recommend the teenager spend the majority of his sentence in youth justice detention rather than adult prison to enable him to continue his studies and give him the best prospects of rehabilitation.
“I’m terribly sorry for your loss,” Croucher told Lyhym’s family, who sat in court and wept throughout the hearing.
“It is a horrible thing nobody should have to go through.”
The teenager is also expected to be sentenced to a six-month good behaviour bond for injuring another teenager during the train station brawl.
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