Vyleen White murdered for a ride in her 15-year-old car
A selfless grandmother was stabbed to death in front of her granddaughter for a brief ride in her car, police will allege.
A selfless, kind-hearted Queensland grandmother was stabbed to death in front of her six-year-old granddaughter for a brief ride in her car, police will allege.
Five juveniles were in custody Monday in connection to the killing of Vyleen White at a suburban shopping centre west of Brisbane, with police confirming it would be alleged the motive was to steal her 2009 Hyundai Getz.
It’s believed the former religious instruction teacher, 70, did not try to fight back before she was stabbed in the chest and left to die in a pool of her own blood in the centre’s underground car park.
A witness said her distraught granddaughter went upstairs, crying out: “My grandma is dead.”
Detectives are investigating whether youths involved – who were recorded dumping the stolen car a short time later – were members of associates of any gangs.
The alleged murder has renewed calls for tougher action and consequences for youth crime. Queensland premier Steven Miles was forced to defend his government’s justice crackdown after state opposition leader David Crisafulli called for a rewrite of the Youth Justice Act.
It follows the tragic deaths of Brisbane couple Katherine Leadbetter, 31, and Matthew Field, 37, and their unborn child, who were killed in a hit-and-run by an intoxicated teen in a stolen car on Australia Day 2021, and Brisbane mother Emma Lovell, 42, who was allegedly fatally stabbed by two 17-year-olds in a Boxing Day home invasion in 2022.
In the hours before the death of Ms White, she had continued her longstanding practice with her daughters of praying for others in need.
“They always pray for others, and she had that morning, I believe. She was always putting someone else before herself,” family friend Katherine Lameree said.
A 15-year-old boy handed himself in to Ipswich Police Station on Sunday night and has been charged with unlawful use of Ms White’s Hyundai.
He appeared at Ipswich Children’s Court on Monday, where bail was rejected.
Police subsequently arrested three 16-year-old boys and a 15-year-old boy on Monday.
Detective Acting Superintendent Heath McQueen said police would allege “sadly the motive was to steal a Hyundai Getz”.
He added: “This is senseless violence. It’s a callous, cowardly and violent crime.
“I don’t think there is any suggestion at all that this victim fought back, she was taking her granddaughter to the shop.“
He was confident those responsible would face justice.
“I won’t rush the investigation. I will take my time and ensure what we do is meticulous and thorough so that when we do charge somebody with murder, we make sure we have a brief of evidence that will withstand the scrutiny of the judicial system.
“We will look at … whether or not these persons are affiliated or link themselves with any gang.”
Fellow shoppers say they heard Ms White’s granddaughter shout for help in front of an Aldi at the Town Square Redbank Plains Shopping Centre.
It was about 6.10pm, still daylight.
Local doctor Ademola Afolabi followed the girl down to the underground carpark.
Ms White was lying in a pool of blood, unresponsive, and could not be revived.
“There was no pulse. We tried some CPR, but there was nothing. They didn’t give her a chance,” Mr Afolabi told The Courier-Mail.
More than 40 detectives were working on the case, and would be relentless in pursuing anyone involved in the “abhorrent” killing, police commissioner Katarina Carroll said.
“If anyone thinks they are going to escape this, they will not escape this,” Ms Carroll said.
“We will hunt these people down until we bring them to justice to be held to account for what they have done.
“This is an innocent woman. And even the truest and hardest detectives find it very difficult, very difficult, to deal with a situation like this.”
Amid an outpouring of community grief and anger over the stabbing, state opposition leader David Crisafulli blamed inadequate youth justice laws.
“It should never become normal that we should ever accept a situation where this can happen at a suburban shopping centre,” Mr Crisafulli said.
“That little girl has gone through something no young child should have to go through.
“This can’t continue, and the issue is the Youth Justice Act, it has to be rewritten.”
Premier Steven Miles accused the LNP of playing politics with the “awful murder”.
“My focus today is on the family of that victim, on our police who are searching for that offender, and on a community that is grieving,” he said.
Ms White’s Facebook page shows her donating to underprivileged kids in Africa.
Ms Lameree has started raising money for her family with GoFundMe.
She said Ms White’s daughters wanted her “legacy to be remembered, of how much of a kind-hearted selfless woman she was, how she thought of everyone in and around her community and how she loved her grandchildren and loved her family and would help anyone”.
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