How Maryborough became epicentre of youth crime crisis

A horror triple fatal allegedly caused by a 13-year-old boy in a stolen car made Maryborough the epicentre of the state’s grief and anger surrounding the ongoing youth crime crisis. Here is how the tragedy unfolded.

A horror triple fatal allegedly caused by a 13-year-old boy in a stolen car made Maryborough the epicentre of the state’s grief and anger surrounding the ongoing youth crime crisis in late April early May 2023.

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

It also left Kaylah Behrens fighting for life in hospital.

The community experienced a mix of shock, anger and heartbreak as it came together to mourn the lives so senselessly lost and to question the circumstances that led to the tragedy.

Ms Davies, Mrs Chandler and Ms Behrens, all members of Reach Church, were coming home from seeing a movie, while Ms Robertson was a nurse, driving home to Hervey Bay after working a shift at the Maryborough Hospital.

The alleged driver of the stolen Mercedes-Benz, a 13-year-old boy, sustained minor injuries to his foot.

He was taken to hospital but released shortly after and taken to the Maryborough watch house where he was charged with three counts of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death and one count of unlawful use of a motor vehicle.

A heartfelt card dedicated to Michale Chandler at the crash site on Saltwater Creek Road.

Families speak out after horror crash

After the loss of her beloved daughter, Susan Marcus, the mother of Kelsie Davies, said the 13-year-old boy driving the car that hit the car her daughter was travelling in must now turn “his life around and lead a life worthy of the three taken”.

“We are so angry,” she told the Courier Mail

“He (the boy who is charged with dangerous driving causing death) needs to wake up.”

Kelsie, who in 2022 graduated from Riverside Christian College, was a talented dancer and emerging church and community leader under the guidance of Mrs Chandler, a dedicated wife, mother of two and physiotherapist.

“Kelsie deserved better.”

The grieving mother’s feelings were echoed by Lisa Latimer, the sister of Ms Robertson.

Facebook image of Michale Chandler with husband Matthew. Michale died in the triple fatality that left Maryborough shocked, angry and devastated.

“This tragic accident should never have happened,” Ms Latimer said

“She was just coming home from work and her life was taken.

“It seems so pointless … we’re just so devastated.

“Two other families are going through the same thing (and) it’s a tragic way to have their lives ended.”

Describing her sister as “boisterous and straight to the truth”, Ms Latimer said it had just been Ms Robertson and her son Ben, 19, for most of his life.

“(Sheree) was loud, she had an enormous heart,“ she said

“She loved animals and loved her job – you’d hear her before you’d even seen her.

“If someone had nowhere to go, she would bring them in, feed them and just about give them her last dollar.

“She had the biggest heart.”

Dramatic first court appearance

Court proceedings started, and the 13-year-old boy’s parents were heckled and abused as they left the Maryborough courthouse after his first appearance on May 1, 2023.

“Idiots. Idiots. Shameful parents,” a heckler shouted as he followed them down the street after they left the courthouse where their 13-year-old son appeared before a closed court.

“Three people are dead.”

On Tuesday, May 2, his charges were mentioned for the second time in as many days.

Multiple media organisations made applications to sit in the Maryborough Magistrates Court as the matter was mentioned.

Outside Kelsie Davies' funeral at Reach Church in Maryborough on Friday, May 19, 2023.

Magistrate John Milburn denied the applications, saying it could be prejudicial for the child if the mention went into the details that were more than just administrative.

During the application, the court heard that it was possible the teen would make an application for bail through his legal representative, Morgan Harris.

Fury over residential care home

Concerns over a youth residential care home in a suburban Maryborough street also came to the fore after the crash as people questioned the system and how it dealt with troubled children.

From the street the home looked like an ideal family home in what was otherwise a quiet neighbourhood, in walking distance to the CBD.

But within the walls of the five-bedroom brick home are ticking time bombs – troubled teens with nowhere else to go who end up under the same roof.

It was understood the home was once frequented by the 13-year-old charged over the horror triple fatal and that Maryborough MP Bruce Saunders had tried to get it shut down for several months.

Sheree Robertson in Hervey Bay. Sheree was one of three women whose lives were tragically cut short in a horror crash, while a teenager allegedly behind the wheel awaits his next court date.

When a reporter went to the street to speak with neighbours, one woman living next door to the home described her frustration since moving to the area from Brisbane to Maryborough two years ago.

Her family was seeking a quieter lifestyle, but soon found her new neighbourhood offered anything but.

In the past two years, the family has had items stolen, windows smashed, tins of food thrown on the roof and copped constant verbal abuse.

The woman said the behaviour of the teens at the home was “just brazen” and they “couldn’t give two hoots” about following rules and supervision seemed non-existent.

Community comes together

As the community grieved, it also came together to support the families left devastated by the loss of their loved ones and the family of Ms Behrens, who woke from a coma in hospital about a week after the incident.

From a cafe donating the day’s coffee profits to a church congregation digging deep for grieving families of faith, the Maryborough community has answered the call to help those hit hardest.

So far, more than $109,000 has been raised by a GoFundMe page started by Reach Church to help the families.

A makeshift memorial also continues to grow at the site of the crash near the entrance to the city on Saltwater Creek Rd.

A tribute card dedicated to Ms Chandler read their “beloved sister” was a woman of faith who was “confident and fearless” and put her trust in God.

Another tribute message for all three victims said, “although we never know you, our hearts are heavy and so sad”.

Fraser Coast nurse Sheree Robertson was tragically killed in a crash at Maryborough.

“May you all RIP and fly high with the angels.

“You will not be forgotten.”

The day after the crash, Maryborough Mayor George Seymour ordered that flags around the town should be flown at half mast.

“I made the decision that they be flown at half mast as an expression of the community’s grief,” Mr Seymour said.

“This is a heartbreaking tragedy for our community. Lives of boundless love and potential have been cut short. As a community we are grieving.”

It is understood Maryborough MP Bruce Saunders is pushing for a permanent memorial at the site of the crash.

Reach Church Fraser Coast Pastor Darren Hayhoe had been giving support to the families in the aftermath of the crash and said the focus was now on bringing Ms Behrens home from hospital.

Mr Hayhoe described Ms Behrens as an “amazing young lady”.

“She loves mentoring, she loves being around other people,” Mr Hayhoe said

“We really pray that she comes through this and she can walk out of the hospital fully recovered.”

Mr Hayhoe was also close to Ms Chandler and Ms Davies.

Kaylah Behrens is still recovering from a horror crash that claimed the lives of three women. Picture: Supplied, Facebook

The senior pastor first met Ms Chandler when she was 13 and joined the church after moving to Maryborough from Townsville.

A natural leader, Ms Chandler immediately found her vocation as a pastor and leader.

“Michale is one of the most beautiful young ladies that I know – she’s a great wife, phenomenal mum and a great friend to a lot of people,” he said.

He said since she started as a full-time intern in January Ms Davies had been an “integral” part of the church and was “a breath of fresh air”.

“She’s a young lady with an untapped and unknown passion for what she was doing – she was so young and passionate about what she did,” he said.

“She loved crazy, she wore her heart on her sleeve.

“She’s just an inspirational young lady – she inspired me to be a better man than I am today, because of how she held her life.”

Demands for change

Maryborough MP Bruce Saunders called for an inquiry into members of his own government and no bail for car thieves in the wake of the tragedy.

Speaking exclusively to the Courier Mail, member for Maryborough Bruce Saunders said he wanted an independent probe into then-Youth Justice Minster Leanne Linard’s actions and the dealings her department and judicial system had with the teenager in the lead up to the crash.

It’s understood Mr Saunders is one of at least four Queensland Labor MPs angered over repeated concerns raised about escalating youth crime in their electorates allegedly falling on deaf ears.

He also wants bail automatically refused for children who steal cars and has thrown his support behind changes proposed by Queensland Police Union Ian Leavers to name and shame child offenders who kill and not to lift the age of criminal responsibility to 14.

Ms Linard was replaced as Youth Justice Minister by Di Farmer in the weeks after the crash in a Cabinet shake-up by the Premier.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said it would take time for new laws bringing tougher penalties for juvenile offenders to take effect.

But Mr Saunders said while the Premier was right, tough questions still needed to be asked in the interim of the minister, her department and the courts.

He said he had flagged concerns about youth crime for a long time, with particular emphasis on car thieves.

“It’s really hit home to us in the community with three beautiful people who have lost their lives that these cars are weapons and it’s no different to a man or a woman walking down the street with a loaded rifle,” Mr Saunders said.

“These are weapons in the hands of these young people now and hoons.

“I’ve been concerned about the escalating youth crime.”

Mr Saunders said while the community was grieving, it would heal “but we will never forget.”

Originally published as How Maryborough became epicentre of youth crime crisis