Jacob Grieg refused bail after charged with teenager’s bushland murder

Jacob Greig, charged with the murder of a 15-year-old boy in outer Sydney bushland, allegedly threatened to ‘chop (his) f..king hand off’ and ‘slashed’ the teenager after a chance encounter, a court has heard.

Jacob Greig has been charged by police with the stabbing murder of a 15-year-old boy at a camp ground in Wilton. Picture: Facebook

The man charged with the murder of a 15-year-old boy in outer Sydney bushland allegedly threatened to “chop (his) f..king hand off” and “slashed” the teenager after a chance encounter, a court has heard.

Jacob Greig, 32, did not appear at Parramatta Children’s Court on Sunday where he was refused bail. He remained in remand and sat in silence over a livestream as police argued he “stabbed the teen during a physical altercation”.

A professional chef, Mr Greig was arrested after he attended Narellan police station shortly after 4pm on Saturday and was charged with murder.

Jacob Greig, who has been charged with the 15-year-old boy’s murder.

The teenager’s body was found at 7.25am on Saturday near Wilton Park Rd, Picton, off a nature reserve along the Nepean River in Sydney’s southwest. Police believe the victim was camping with “perhaps a dozen” others.

Magistrate Robert Rabbidge said there was partial footage and audio of the incident, where the alleged victim is said to have approached Mr Greig, who was a passenger in another person’s car, tried the handle for the back door and asked him for help.

“I’m trying to get home,” he is reported to have said.

Mr Greig is alleged to have responded suddenly, and “slashed the victim before returning to the vehicle”.

“I’ll f..king get you good,” he is reported to have said. “I’m going to chop your f..king hand off.”

The teenager, “bleeding profusely”, was allegedly followed by Mr Greig along the roadside. When Mr Greig got back into the car, the victim tried to jump on to it and rolled off, the court heard.

Left on the roadside, the teenager is said to have left a 30m trail of blood. His friends found his body lying in the grass the following morning.

A bloodied knife was found in a bin along Mr Greig’s path home, a police prosecutor said.

Mr Greig’s solicitor, Javid Faiz, called the case a “tragic incident”.

“Whatever has occurred … it’s tragic. It’s occurred to a 15-year-old,” Mr Faiz told the magistrate.

A locked gate on Wilton Park Rd leading to Maldon Suspension Bridge on the Nepean River, near where the body of a 15-year-old boy was discovered with stab wounds. Picture: Max Mason-Hubers/NewsWire

He told the court Mr Greig was the sole provider for himself, his wife, four-year-old child and a second child expected in one month, proposing a conditional home detention under the supervision of his aunt.

“We know that there’s some blood … about 30m from the roadway, we can see that there’s blood, it’s just not clear …(if it is a) result of laceration or a result of impact,” Mr Faiz said. “The victim jumps on top of the vehicle, and some impact has obviously occurred.”

Three members of the accused’s family, including his aunt, were in the court for the hearing. They were visibly distressed.

Mr Rabbidge refused bail.

“The facts are quite extraordinary and seem to show a considerable amount of powerful evidence,” Mr Rabbidge said. “It’s clearly an extraordinary case … Mr Greig is looking at many decades in prison.

“I must do my duty to the community and refuse him bail.”

The accused and the victim, whose identity cannot be published, were not known to each other. Mr Greig has a limited criminal record, the court heard.

NSW Police Acting Superintendent Tim Calman on Saturday said: “It’s a tragic event for this young person to be involved in.

“There would be evidence at the scene that indicates it happened in the area where this person has been located.”

Mr Greig will next appear at Campbelltown District Court on January 8.