Teenager charged with murder of Balin Stewart allegedly acting in self-defence, court hears

A jury has been urged to convict a teenager on trial for the alleged murder of 16-year-old Balin Stewart, while the defendant’s barrister has called for an acquittal on the basis of self defence.

Michael and Kerri-Lyn Stewart remembering their 16-year-old son, Balin Stewart, who was allegedly stabbed to death in front of his Sunshine Coast home by a 17-year-old boy on January 20, 2020. Picture: Supplied

A jury has been urged to convict a teenager of murder over the fatal stabbing of another boy, with the prosecutor saying part of his account of that night “simply doesn’t make sense”.

Balin Stewart, 16, died on January 20, 2022, after he was allegedly stabbed by a 17-year-old boy in the street outside his home at Buddina on the Sunshine Coast.

His accused killer – now 18, but who cannot be identified – is facing a two-week Brisbane Supreme Court trial and pleaded not guilty to murder at the start of the case last week.

The teenager’s legal team is not disputing that he fatally stabbed Balin, but they are disputing whether the killing was lawful on the grounds that he was acting in self-defence.

Both sides delivered closing arguments on Tuesday, with the jury scheduled to begin deliberations on Wednesday morning.

Crown prosecutor Rebecca Marks opened with a quote the accused killer allegedly said during the fatal confrontation with Balin.

Balin Stewart, 16, was allegedly stabbed to death outside his Buddina home on January 20, 2022. A 17-year-old boy was charged with murder and is on trial in the Brisbane Supreme Court this week. Picture: Supplied

“‘I’m going to kill him, I’m going to f***ing kill him’,” Ms Marks told the jury on Tuesday.

“(These) were the words (the defendant) spoke that night immediately before he deliberately plunged the knife into Balin Stewart’s chest area, killing him with that one strike.

“He (the defendant) was the aggressor the entire time that night. Actions speak louder than words, but on this occasion (the defendant’s) words spoke just as resoundingly.

“He wanted to kill, or at the very least cause Balin grievous bodily harm that night. He didn’t need much to set him on this path of anger and hatred – it had been brewing for some time.”

Ms Marks referred to videos sent by a teenage girl – who knew Balin and the defendant – to the accused killer that night, which the girl told police were intended to “provoke” him.

“They were clearly designed to annoy and harass (the defendant), but they emanated from teenage immaturity. The content of those videos was not such to warrant an ordinary person of the defendant’s age to lose the power of self-control,” Ms Marks said.

Ms Marks also questioned the defendant’s claims he was “scared and anxious” that night.

“According to him (the defendant), when Balin comes out, he realises he is unarmed, and (the defendant) throws the knife away. It simply doesn’t make sense if he felt so anxious and scared about engaging in a fight,” Ms Marks told the jury on Tuesday.

A now 18 year-old man (right) is on trial in the Supreme Court in Brisbane for allegedly murdering 16 year-old Balin Stewart in 2020. Picture: Dan Peled / NCA NewsWire

“He also said that on the drive (to Balin’s house) he felt really anxious about having a fight, but at no stage did he turn around and go back.”

Defence barrister Charlotte Smith emphasised to the jury the defendant’s words at the start of his triple-zero call, moments after the stabbing.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, I’m calling an ambulance,” the accused killer said.

Ms Smith said these words “gave an insight” into his thinking that night.

“He is a young man on trial for murder, he gave evidence, he was nervous, he was direct in his answers, he sometimes apologised, he tried hard to be precise. There was a clear effort in his answers to be helpful,” she told the jury on Tuesday.

Ms Smith pointed to her client’s evidence that he only went to Balin’s house “to have a fight” and he only took the kitchen knife with him “because he thought Balin had a knife”.

She highlighted that her client did not use the knife in the initial scuffle with Balin. In fact, he discarded the knife when he first saw Balin emerge from his house unarmed.

The parents of Balin Stewart, Michael (left) and Kerri-Lyn Stewart (right) outside the Brisbane Supreme Court where a now 18-year-old is on trial for the murder of their son. Balin was 16-years-old when he was allegedly stabbed to death outside his home in Buddina on the Sunshine Coast on January 20, 2022. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Glenn Campbell

Ms Smith asked the jury to scrutinise the evidence of the girl at the centre of the tragedy.

She told the court in her evidence that the defendant said to Balin during the confrontation that he was “going to kill him”.

But the defendant claims what he actually said was different and that it was meant as a warning to Balin to stay away from him: “Don’t come closer or I’ll kill you.”

Ms Smith told the jury the evidence does not discount the self-defence arguments put forward on behalf of her client.

“There is no evidence, beyond a reasonable doubt, that (the defendant) had the intention to do grievous bodily harm to Balin, or cause Balin’s death,” she told the jury.

“My contention is that there is just not a case for murder … (the teenage girl’s) evidence must be approached with caution and careful scrutiny.

“I would submit that if you do that, if you consider (the teenage girl’s) evidence and you assess it carefully, those defences raised cannot be reasonably excluded, and that, members of the jury, would lead you to an acquittal.”

Originally published as Teenager charged with murder of Balin Stewart allegedly acting in self-defence, court hears