How LNP new youth crime laws would have affected triple fatal

The LNP’s new youth sentencing terms could have jailed a Maryborough teenager for three times longer than old laws allowed. The revelation comes ahead of this week’s sentencing of the teen.

The crash on Saltwater Creek Rd on April 30 claimed the lives of Kelsie Davies, 17, Michale Chandler, 29, and Sheree Robertson, 52.

A 14-year-old boy facing between five and seven years in detention for causing a crash that claimed the lives of three women in Maryborough could have faced a maximum term of up to 20 years under the state government’s Adult Time, Adult Crime legislation.

On Thursday, Queensland Premier David Crisafulli introduced an array of new laws promising harsher penalties for child offenders.

These laws could have made all the difference to the Fraser Coast community had they been in place leading up to the horror triple fatal of April 2023.

On April 9, that year, a 13-year-old boy known to police as being part of a teen car stealing ring, was picked up in Hervey Bay by a co-accused in a stolen car.

He drove himself and others to Maryborough at speeds of about 200kph.

While multiple departments would not be drawn on whether he was charged for the events of April 9, it is understood he was on bail leading up to the horrific crash that took three innocent lives three weeks later.

TRIPLE FATAL VICTIM IMPACT STATEMENTS: The grieving family of nurse Sheree Robertson (left), crash survivor Kaylah Behrens (centre with husband) and Susan Marquis (right), mother of Kelsie Davis, 17 outside Hervey Bay Magistrates Court.

On that night, driving at more than 200kmh in a stolen Mercedes, the same boy caused the crash that killed 52-year-old nurse Sheree Robertson, youth pastor and occupational therapist Michale Chandler, 29, and 17-year-old dancer and Riverside Christian College graduate Kelsie Davies.

He has pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing their deaths and will be sentenced on December 5.

Under the existing laws, his maximum penalty would be seven years for a youth offender.

Under the new laws, that could be 20 years.

Had Queensland’s tougher laws already been in place, the boy would likely not have been free to do what he did.

The teen has also been charged with unlawful use of a motor vehicle as the car he was driving was stolen from a Maryborough home, where he jumped into the driver’s seat after the owner left it idling in their driveway.

Unlawful use of a motor vehicle is another charge that has had an increased maximum sentence, going from five years (if sentenced by a judge, one if sentenced by a magistrate) to 10 years.

The Making Queensland Safer Bill 2024 means juvenile offenders who commit some of the most serious crimes will now face the same penalties as adult offenders.

The document released this week tables 24 common and serious offences that have had their maximum penalty extended.

A photograph showing how crushed the cars involved in the Maryborough triple fatal were.

Pastor’s touching tribute to church members

The Maryborough pastor who knew three of the four women involved in the April 2023 crash this week made a heartfelt statement in remembrance of his associates and friends, saying he was still “saddened and distraught that we lost two young ladies with so much future”.

Reach Church Maryborough Pastor Darron Hayhoe worked closely with Michale Chandler and Kelsie Davies to support Maryborough youth, before their shocking deaths.

Both members’ absence from the church in the past 19 months has been noticeable, Pastor Hayhoe said.

“They’ve left a massive hole, not just in our organisation, but in our families,” Pastor Hayhoe said.

Kelsie Davies and Michale Chandler both worked closely with Pastor Darron Hayhoe and youth at Reach Church Fraser Coast

“I’ve known Michale since she was 13-years-old as she grew up in a youth ministry I ran in Townsville many years ago.

“Me and my family lost a daughter and a sister, and people that we were super close with.

“We still struggle with it today.”

Pastor Hayhoe also called for more support from the community for the families who had their lives changed forever in that crash.

“More concern needs to be for the families,” he said.

“People need to understand that this is not just a one or two year thing; this is a life-long journey that these guys are on.

“We need to keep them in our thoughts and prayers.

“We are there for them in whatever way we can be.”

Pastor Hayhoe declined to comment on court proceedings.

The Making Queensland Safer Bill 2024 will be considered by a parliamentary committee before being debated by parliament in December.

Mr Crisafulli has promised the laws will be in place before the end of 2024.

Originally published as How LNP new youth crime laws would have affected triple fatal