Cassius Turvey: Jury Convicts Two Men of Killing Aboriginal Youth in Western Australia

Two men have been found guilty of murdering an Indigenous teenager who was chased into bushland and bashed with a metal pole. Another man was found guilty of manslaughter and a woman was acquitted over the attack on Cassius Turvey in Perth’s eastern suburbs on October 13, 2022. Fifteen-year-old Cassius Turvey, a Noongar Yamatji boy, died in the hospital 10 days later, leading to outrage across the nation. In a packed courtroom, Jack Steven James Brearley, 24, and Brodie Lee Palmer, 29, were convicted of murder by a jury after three days of deliberations. Mitchell Colin Forth, 27, who was also on trial in the West Australian supreme court for Cassius’ murder, was not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter. Aleesha Louise Gilmore, 23, was acquitted by the jury of eight men and four women. Prosecutor Ben Stanwix initially told the jury that Brearley delivered the fatal blows while “hunting for kids” due to someone smashing his car windows, and Forth and Palmer aided him. During the trial, Brearley denied using a pole on Cassius and claimed Palmer was responsible, but Palmer denied this, and both attempted to blame each other for the murder. The jury was told the attack on Cassius occurred “at the end point of a complex series of events that had absolutely nothing to do with him.” The events started on October 9 when Forth, Brearley, Gilmore, and another man allegedly unlawfully detained two kids, punching, kicking, and stabbing one of them. The next incident happened on October 12 when a group of school-aged kids allegedly smashed the windows of Brearley’s car in retaliation. Brearley and Forth used a car as a weapon and chased down two boys, according to Stanwix. The following day, Cassius and a group of about 20 fellow students caught a bus to the same area to watch a fight being discussed on social media. Brearley, Forth, and Palmer intercepted them near the field, and Brearley was allegedly slashed with a knife. Another boy was struck in the face with a metal pole. Cassius and some other terrified school kids fled into nearby bushland. Stanwix stated, “Cassius didn’t make it as far as the fence. He was caught, knocked to the ground, and deliberately struck to the head with a metal pole.” Cassius was struck at least twice, causing his ear to split in half and bleeding in his brain. His death shocked the community, with some describing it as racially motivated, although Stanwix stated this wasn’t the case during his opening remarks. All told, the five defendants faced a total of 21 charges over the events of October 9 and 13. The jury found them guilty of all charges except for Gilmore’s murder charge and a stealing charge faced by Brearley.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/may/08/cassius-turvey-two-men-guilty-murder-indigenous-teenager-ntwnfb