The man who prosecutors say was responsible for delivering the fatal blows to Cassius Turvey in October 2022 has pointed the finger at his former friend and co-accused.
The man who prosecutors say was responsible for delivering the fatal blows to Cassius Turvey in October 2022 has pointed the finger at his former friend and co-accused.
By Rebecca Peppiatt
February 11, 2025 — 2.55pm
The man accused of murdering Indigenous Perth schoolboy Cassius Turvey claims he was stabbed first and lashed out in retaliation, but not with a metal pole.
Jack Brearley, now 23, is at the centre of the state’s case in the murder trial over the 15-year-old’s death in October 2022. Cassius died 10 days after he was allegedly bashed with the metal handle of a shopping trolley in a creek in the north-east suburb of Middle Swan.
During the first day of the trial on Monday, prosecutor Ben Stanwix told the jury it was Brearley who delivered the fatal blows to Cassius’ head on October 13, 2022.
Stanwix said Brearley’s three co-accused – Aleesha Gilmore, 23, Brodie Palmer, 29 and Mitchell Forth, 26 – were also charged with murder because, in the prosecution’s view, they were aware of his intent to inflict significant violence on others while angry about the windows on his car being smashed the day before.
But on Tuesday Brearley’s legal team, led by barrister Simon Watters, told the jury the state had the wrong man, and alleged it was Brearley’s co-accused Palmer who bashed Cassius with the trolley handle, leaving him with bleeding on his brain that led to his death.
“For two long years, Jack Brearley has waited for a jury to listen to his account of what happened on the afternoon of October 13, 2022,” Watters said.
“You will hear on behalf of Jack Brearley that over the course of those days, he, like a lot of members of our community, had concerns for the welfare of others, concerns for his property, and concerns for his home.”
Watters told the jury Brearley chased a group of schoolchildren who got off a bus in Middle Swan and who he believed were there to fight his girlfriend’s younger brother and run through his house.
The court heard that Brearley’s account of events was that he chased the group of 19 before catching up to what he called “the fat one”, meaning Cassius.
Watters said that when Brearley caught up to the teen, the pair tripped over a loose fence wire, with Cassius landing on his back and Brearley on top of him.
Brearley claimed Cassius had a small steak knife in his hand, prompting Brearley to try and get away.
“Cassius had a fistful of his shorts, and then he slashed his leg,” Watters told the jury.
“[Brearley] then yelled out something like, ‘Help, I’ve been stabbed’.”
Brearley then claims to have punched Cassius in the face in retaliation as he tried to get away.
The court then heard the claim that Brearley’s former friend, Brodie Palmer, appeared from “seven or eight paces away” with the handle of a shopping trolley and proceeded to bash Cassius “two or three times”.
Watters also told the jury that Brearley yelled at Palmer to stop during the assault.
Referring to a telephone call with Gilmore’s mother – in which she claims Brearley bragged to her while laughing about “smacking” Cassius with the trolley pole, and that “he learnt his lesson” – Watters told the jury it was in fact Palmer making those claims while standing next to him at the time of the call.
On Monday, 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”.
Stanwix told the jury the events that led to Cassius’ death began days earlier with rivalry between two teenage boys over a girl, calling it a “love triangle”.
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.
The trial continues.
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Rebecca Peppiatt – is a journalist with WAtoday, specialising in crime and courts.Connect via email.
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