By Perry Duffin and Sarah McPhee
A teenager was trying to get a lift home from a campsite when a knife-wielding chef allegedly slashed the boy’s arm, shouting “I’ll chop your f---ing hand off” as he delivered the fatal strike, leaving the boy to die in the bush, a court has heard.
Police have alleged that the 15-year-old boy leapt onto his alleged attacker’s car before falling and crawling toward his friends but they didn’t find his body until the following morning.
The body of the teenager, from the Picton area, was discovered near Wilton Park Road, Wilton, at 7.25am on Saturday. The Herald cannot name the boy for legal reasons.
Jacob Greig, 32, presented himself to Narellan police station shortly after 4pm on Saturday and was arrested and charged with murder.
Greig, who says he works as a chef at Bargo Sports Club, calls himself “Harry Potter” on social media and describes himself as a “professional pyromaniac by trade”.
Jacob Greig has been charged with the murder of a 15-year-old boy.Credit: Facebook
Greig’s solicitor, Javid Faiz, asked Parramatta Local Court on Sunday to release Greig on bail, saying the chef’s partner is just one month from giving birth and has special needs.
The court heard Greig told police he was at a popular swimming spot, Maldon Weir, with a friend on Friday afternoon when a teenager approached.
“I’m just looking for a lift home,” the teenager allegedly said.
The teenager allegedly ripped the handle off a passenger door before Greig allegedly got out of the car brandishing a knife, according to court documents read by magistrate Robert Rabbidge.
“I’ll f---ing get you good,” Greig allegedly shouted before advancing on the teenager.
The teenager allegedly knocked Greig’s glasses off and the chef allegedly swung the knife.
“I’m going to chop your f---ing hand off,” Greig allegedly shouted.
The knife slashed the teenager’s right arm, the court heard.
The magistrate said Greig had not taken any of the opportunities to de-escalate the situation; instead he “actively chased” the boy.
He allegedly got back into the car only after delivering the fatal slash.
The bleeding teenager then allegedly jumped onto Greig’s car, but fell off as Greig’s friend began driving.
Greig’s solicitor told the court that moment “weakened” the police case because it was not clear what impact the injuries allegedly from the knife, or from the fall from the car, had on the teenager.
Either way, the magistrate said, it appeared Greig allegedly alerted nobody to the injured boy and allegedly “left him to die”.
The next morning, the teenager’s friends, camping nearby, discovered his bloodied body lying in a grassy area.
A 30-metre trail of blood, down Wilton Park Road, suggested the boy had tried to drag himself back to them for help, the court heard.
The magistrate denied Greig’s request for bail as his family sat in the back of the court and wept.
“It’s a very strong prosecution case,” Rabbidge said.
“Mr Greig is looking at many decades in prison (if convicted).”
The court heard some of the confrontation had been captured on CCTV and Greig had made some partial admissions to police on body-worn video but did not participate in a formal police interview.
“F---,” a family member uttered.
The body of a 15-year-old boy was found in Sydney’s south-west on Saturday.Credit: Nine News
Police spent Sunday interviewing friends and associates of both Greig and the teenager, including about a dozen people who had been camping in the bush.
Friends of the boy, on Sunday morning, said heaven had gained an angel.
“At that same time, we lost the most caring and selfless boy to exist. To my dearest friend, you made the world a better place – you had the purest heart and the kindest soul,” one wrote.
“You left a hole in my heart no one will ever be able to fill, because it will always belong to you,” said another teenager.
Acting Superintendent Tim Calman on Saturday said police believe “something’s happened on the Friday evening”. He said a call was made from a witness in the area on Saturday morning regarding a concern for the boy’s welfare.
Calman said the crime scene was under investigation and there was “evidence at the scene” indicating the alleged incident had happened in that location. He said Wilton Park Road has “one way in, and one way out”.
Police have appealed for anyone in the area with dashcam or CCTV footage from 6pm on Friday to hand that vision to detectives.
Inquiries into the boy’s death are continuing under Strike Force Polda.
Greig will spend Christmas behind bars, on remand, until he appears in court in January.
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