Teen found 'lying covered in blood', murder trial told
Share this @internewscast.com

Warning: This story contains the name and images of a deceased Indigenous person.

A man accused of murdering an Indigenous teenager allegedly stomped on the boy and witnessed his co-accused attack him with a metal pole, a court has been told.

Cassius Turvey, a 15-year-old Noongar Yamatji boy, died in hospital 10 days after prosecutors say he was chased into bushland, knocked to the ground and “deliberately struck to the head” in Perth‘s eastern suburbs on October 13, 2022.

Aleesha Louise Gilmore, 23, her then-boyfriend Jack Steven James Brearley, 24, and his mates, Brodie Lee Palmer, 29, and Mitchell Colin Forth, 26, are on trial in the West Australian Supreme Court for Cassius’ murder.

PERTH, AUSTRALIA - OCTOBER 31: A note is seen in memory of Cassius Turvey on October 31, 2022 in Perth, Australia. Cassius Turvey, 15, died in a Perth hospital last Sunday after he was violently assaulted in Middle Swan. Turvey was walking in the area with friends when he was assaulted. His death has triggered a wave of outrage across Australia, with many vigils and memorials taking place in several cities demanding justice. (Photo by Matt Jelonek/Getty Images)
A note is seen in memory of Cassius Turvey on October 31, 2022 in Perth. (Getty)

Prosecutors previously said Brearley delivered the fatal blows while he was “hunting for kids” because somebody had smashed his car windows and alleged Forth, Palmer and Gilmore helped him and knew his intent before the incident.

But on Thursday, prosecutor Tracy Tan challenged Palmer’s evidence he wasn’t at the scene when Cassius was struck and that he offered to help the teen after he was injured.

“You were holding a pole at the time you ran into the bush?” Tan said.

Cassius Turvey died in hospital 10 days after prosecutors say he was chased into bushland, knocked to the ground and "deliberately struck to the head" in Perth's eastern suburbs.
Cassius Turvey died in hospital 10 days after prosecutors say he was chased into bushland, knocked to the ground and “deliberately struck to the head” in Perth’s eastern suburbs. (Supplied)

Palmer replied: “No, that’s incorrect.”

Tan: “You saw Jack with a pole too, hitting Cassius?”

“And you then kicked Cassius yourself at least once … or stomped on him … or you were otherwise close enough to strike him while Jack was striking him?” Tan said. 

Palmer said that was “incorrect”.

Brearley has denied hitting Cassius with a pole, claiming he only punched him after the teen knifed him and Palmer struck the fatal blows, which he also denies.

Palmer previously told the jury he was “full of piss” and waited in his ute near the bushland after Brearley ran into it with a pole in a “show of force” to deter a group of young people coming to Gilmore’s home.

He said he later heard Brearley yelling for help, saying he had been stabbed and he walked into the bush where he found Brearley standing over Cassius yelling, but he saw no pole.

“When I seen the kid he was lying on the floor covered in blood,” he said on Thursday, as Tan tested his evidence.

“I asked (Cassius) if he was alright. I asked him if he knew what day it was and I asked him if he was able to walk back to friends.”

Palmer agreed with Tan he had seen Brearley swing a metal pole at other teens, who were with Cassius before he was allegedly attacked, but said he was not aware Brearley “would go as far as he did”.

Tan also probed Palmer about his methylamphetamine use, which he has admitted.

Palmer agreed the drug made some people more aggressive and violent but denied he was using it on the day Cassius was injured.

The trial has heard that after Cassius was allegedly assaulted, the four accused drove to Gilmore’s nearby home, where Brearley attended to his knife wounds and Forth allegedly armed himself with a baseball bat and a pole, and said: “Let’s go back there and f*** everyone one of them up.”

Palmer agreed he would have driven the group “somewhere with weapons to hurt kids”.

“We were angry,” he said.

But he said he wasn’t sure what would have happened if he had, recalling that a fight broke out between Brearley and Gilmore and she self-harmed and they instead drove her to hospital.

For 24/7 crisis support run by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, contact 13YARN (13 92 76).

Share this @internewscast.com
You May Also Like

Man Found Not Guilty of Killing Wife, Whose Father Was a Serial Killer

Share copy link Christopher Wolfenbarger (Law&Crime). A Georgia man leaned back in…

Parents Charged with Abuse in Emmanuel Haro’s Death, Say Police

Inset on the left: Emmanuel Haro (San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department). Inset…

Suspect Apprehended 17 Years After the Fatal Shooting of Missouri Officer

An arrest has been made in the fatal shooting of an off-duty…

Two Arrested for Drug Offenses After K-9 and Deputies Forcefully Extract Them from Vehicle

Staff report GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Last night, Elijah McKenna Eyerly, 29, and…

Georgia Girl Located Safely in Vehicle of Registered Sex Offender

An Idaho-registered sex offender is behind bars after police found a missing…

Texas Husband Suspect Released with Adjusted Bond, Family Worried About Kids’ Safety

A presumed dead Texas woman’s family is devastated after her accused killer…

Convicted Murderer Receives 150-Year Prison Sentence for Triple Homicide

Insets, top: Jesse Avalos, left, and Eduardo Robles; bottom: Amanda Nicole Lopez…

Parents Admit Guilt in Death of Newborn Girl

Left: Z’ibreyea S. Parker. Right: Hilary Johnson II (Norfolk Police Department). Inset:…

Undocumented Immigrant in Gainesville Detained with DMV-Issued License in Deceased Person’s Name

Staff report GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Adrian Antonio Alvarado-Gomez, 42, was apprehended yesterday…

Police Seek Driver in Fatal Hit-and-Run Accident

Police are today seeking a driver in Melbourne over a hit and…

TikToker Brags About Fatal Attack on Man Owing Him $31K: Police

Inset: Naqibullah Habibzoi speaking in a TikTok video (@khosti2002/TikTok). Background: The 9100…

Fire Captain Shoots Girlfriend and Her Son, Authorities Report

Left: Darin McFarland (El Dorado Sheriff”s Office via KCRA). Right: Marissa Divodi-Lessa…