Two men have been sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Cassius Turvey, a 15-year-old Aboriginal boy, in a case that has resonated throughout Australia and propelled urgent discussions on racism and violence against Indigenous communities. Cassius suffered fatal head injuries following a brutal assault on the outskirts of Perth in October 2022, prompting nationwide protests and vigils in honor of his life.
In a courtroom packed with onlookers, Justice Peter Quinlan described the assailants, 24-year-old Jack Brearley and 30-year-old Brodie Palmer, as callous individuals who showed no empathy during their attack on Turvey, which involved them savagely beating him with a metal pole. Mitchell Forth, another accomplice convicted of manslaughter, received a 12-year prison sentence. The emotional courtroom reacted with cheers as Justice Quinlan delivered the sentences, while Cassius' mother, Mechelle Turvey, was visibly overcome with grief.
Prosecutors revealed that the violent attack was the result of a series of prior altercations unrelated to Cassius himself; the assailants had been hunting for “kids” after Brearley’s car windows were damaged. Both Brearley and Palmer attempted to shift blame onto each other during the trial, with Brearley falsely claiming self-defense, alleging that Cassius was armed with a knife—a claim Justice Quinlan dismissed as "complete fabrication."
Justice Quinlan emphasized Cassius' innocence, criticizing Brearley for showing “no remorse whatsoever” and holding both Brearley and Palmer equally responsible for the crime, even though Palmer did not directly strike Cassius. The court also learned of other violent incidents involving Aboriginal youth linked to the same group, with Quinlan condemning their actions as a grotesque display of callousness. One such act involved a 13-year-old boy being assaulted with his own crutches, leading to serious injuries.
In her victim impact statement, Cassius' mother articulated the pain and devastation that her family has endured since the tragedy, expressing her belief that the attack was racially motivated. “Cassius was not just part of my life, he was my future,” she stated. While Justice Quinlan did not classify the attack explicitly as racially motivated, he noted that the use of racial slurs during the assault instilled fear within the Aboriginal community—a fear that, according to him, is both real and justifiable.
