A court has heard a teenager who killed a 16-year-old boy outside a house party in western Sydney was heard telling friends “I told you I was going to stab him” in the aftermath of the incident.
Details of the tragic incident can be revealed after the teenager who stabbed the victim outside a Ropes Crossing home in June 2022 was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison in the NSW Supreme Court this week.
The 16-year-old victim, who can only be named AS for legal reasons, bled to death on the pavement after a fight over a vulgar remark turned violent.
Three boys involved in the incident were acquitted of murder after a trial earlier this year.
The 17-year-old who used the knife pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter.
The two other boys, aged 16 and 17, who kicked the victim while he was on the ground – and who can only be identified as JB and CS because of their young age – were acquitted of murder and manslaughter.
They also appeared before Judge Sarah Huggett on Friday after pleading guilty to affray over their role in the incident.
The court heard that the victim’s family still struggled with memories of her death, with her mother telling the court in a victim impact statement: “They no longer have dinner together because the seat is always empty.”
The teenager was killed at a party at a house on Australis Road, Rops Crossing in the early hours of June 4, 2022.
The High Court heard the two boys got into a violent argument when AS claimed a girl tried to touch his penis.
Judge Sarah Huggett said in her sentencing remarks: “As he stood face to face with the deceased, Mr MR said, ‘You idiot, why are you saying that? I thought we were boys.’”
The court heard that the accused punched AS in the face, causing him to stumble and hit the security door.
According to MR, he saw AS put his hand down his trousers, thinking he was holding a knife.
Fearing he was being stabbed, Mr MR pulled out a knife and stabbed Mr AS in the right side of the chest. No one else saw Mr AS being stabbed, the court heard.
The court heard that the other two boys, JP and CS, kicked the boy as he lay on the ground, believing he had tripped, and did not realise he had been stabbed.
As they ran away, MR was captured on CCTV saying to his friend: “I told you cousin, I told you I was going to stab him. I stabbed him good.”
Paramedics tried to save AS’s life but he died in a pool of his own blood at the scene.
Judge Huggett concluded that the accused did not intend to kill the teenager, but rather intended to cause him grievous bodily harm.
She said she took into account Mr Mir’s remorse and reasonable prospects for rehabilitation, as well as granting him a 25 per cent discount on his sentence because of his guilty plea.
MR was sentenced to four and a half years in prison, with a non-parole period of two years and six months, meaning he could be released on parole in January next year.
Judge Huggett dismissed the affray charge against the other two boys without recording a conviction.
