The tragic incident involving the fatal stabbing of a ride attendant at Sydney’s Royal Easter Show has been deemed not murder, but the result of a rash and unconsidered act by a 14-year-old under the influence.
In court today, the teenager was found not guilty of murder, successfully making the case that he had no intention of inflicting serious harm when he struck Uati “Pele” Faletolu in April 2022.
The knife tragically pierced the heart of 17-year-old Uati, who had been taking a break and socializing with friends at the time.
The encounter was purely coincidental, occurring when the young assailant and his two companions, affiliated with a rival street gang, unexpectedly ran into Uati.
In a mere 10 seconds, the teen lunged through the small gap between his friends, stabbed Uati once, and then fled the scene.
Prosecutors highlighted the teen’s expressed hostility towards individuals linked with Uati’s street gang as evidence of a motive to kill.
The teen texted “GG 67 motherf—–” after the stabbing and later wrote a rap that “Should have worked at Maccas. Now he’s dead. We smoke him up.”
He also typed a note into his phone which included, “I didn’t beat him up. I took his soul”.
He also had a “fascination with knives” and gave each of his weapons individual names, including “Barbie” for the knife used in the killing, the Crown told the trial.
But NSW Supreme Court Justice Peter Garling dismissed the post-killing statements as the boasts of an adolescent trying to bolster an image of being a gang member.
He placed weight on evidence of the teen’s troubled childhood, featuring beatings by his drunk father when he tried to stop violence toward his mum, and being stabbed himself aged 13 when walking to football training.
The boy joined the local “Ready for Anything” gang in Mount Druitt afterwards, crediting the members for helping him during his recovery.
He was with other gang members on April 11, 2022, when he attended the Easter show and came across Uati, a member of Doonside’s 67 gang.
“The confrontation occurred by chance and without planning,” Justice Garling said.
The teen’s actions were impulsive and a response to the confrontation, but triggered by his then-undiagnosed PTSD and heightened perceptions of threat, the judge found.
“I’m satisfied the accused’s action was impulsive, thoughtless and immediate without any consideration of the consequences,” he said.Â
“After all, he was a psychosocially immature adolescent who was only 14 years old.”
Community standards would recognise young adolescents, especially those who had suffered a hard upbringing, are prone to thoughtless actions, he said.
“These (actions) are not the traits of a criminal mind or criminal behaviour,” Justice Garling said.
The boy, who was also of Pacific Islander heritage, faced the judge-alone trial after a jury was unable to reach a verdict in an earlier trial.
He had pleaded guilty to Uati’s manslaughter and will be sentenced at a later date.
