A group of four young people charged with murder had allegedly been on a violent vigilante mission before 15-year-old Cassius Turvey was killed in 2022.
A group of four young people charged with murder had allegedly been on a violent vigilante mission before 15-year-old Cassius Turvey was killed in 2022.
- Breaking
- National
- WA
- Cassius Turvey tragedy
By Rebecca Peppiatt
February 10, 2025 — 4.36pm
The long-awaited trial of four people accused of murdering 15-year-old schoolboy Cassius Turvey has begun in the Supreme Court of WA.
Jack Brearley, 23, Mitchell Forth, 26, Aleesha Gilmore, 23, and Brodie Palmer, 29, are accused of killing the Indigenous teenager, who was attacked while walking home from school in Middle Swan in 2022.
A fifth person, Ethan Mackenzie, 20, is also on trial, accused of detaining and wounding another 15-year-old boy in the days before Cassius was attacked. He is not accused of murdering Cassius.
On Monday, prosecutor Ben Stanwix told the jury Cassius’ death was “the end point of a complex series of events that had absolutely nothing to do with him”.
“The story of how he came to be murdered is remarkable,” Stanwix said, before alleging Cassius died as a result of “petty grievances he had nothing to do with.”
Cassius was allegedly bashed on October 13, 2022 after he was chased along with other school children through a reserve.
He suffered bleeding on the brain and succumbed to his injuries 10 days later, sparking national outcry and multiple candlelit vigils in his honour.
Stanwix told the jury the events that led to Cassius’ death began days earlier with rivalry between two teenage boys over a girl.
One of the boys involved was Cody Gilmore, Aleesha Gilmore’s younger brother, Stanwix said.
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The rivalry led to tension and “exchanges” on social media about a fight.
“Cody became fearful that he was going to be ‘mobbed’,” Stanwix told the jury, leading him to enlist the help of his big sister.
Stanwix said that on October 9, four days before Cassius’ death, Aleesha Gilmore drove around Swan View and Middle Swan in Perth’s north-east looking for the boys who allegedly wanted to fight her brother.
In the car was her boyfriend Jack Brearley, and his friends Mitchell Forth and Ethan Mackenzie.
“There were many other children around the same age out on the same day who had nothing to do with trying to mob Cody,” Stanwix said.
A 14-year-old walking in the area was approached by the group and allegedly told to get into the car and threatened with a large knife held by Mackenzie.
Later, Stanwix said, the group found the girl at the centre of the argument and asked them where the boys involved were and were directed down the road.
“[The girls] were told if they were lying they would get their heads punched in,” Stanwix told the jury.
The group followed the girls’ directions and came across a 15-year-old boy who allegedly knew nothing of Cody Gilmore, nor a disagreement over a girl.
Aleesha Gilmore pulled up next to him on the street and Brearley, Forth and Mackenzie allegedly chased him on foot, over fences and through properties until they pinned him down on a driveway in front of the home’s 62-year-old owner.
“They pounced and kicked him and booted him while he was on the ground,” Stanwix told the jury.
Stanwix said the boy was also stabbed in the side with the tip of a knife allegedly held by Mackenzie.
CCTV footage of the alleged assault was played to the jury on Monday, where Forth can allegedly be heard yelling, “don’t you run c—, we’ll f— you up”.
The group later bundled the 15-year-old into Gilmore’s car before they realised they had the wrong person.
They allegedly then took him back to Gilmore’s house where they gave him shoes and a Nintendo Switch by way of apology before letting him go.
Details of Cassius’ alleged murder will be revealed to the jury on Monday afternoon.
The trial continues. It is expected to last two months and will hear evidence from almost 90 witnesses.
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Rebecca Peppiatt – is a journalist with WAtoday, specialising in crime and courts.Connect via email.
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