rki.news
Perth, May 8, 2025 – Two men have been found guilty of the 2022 murder of 15-year-old Indigenous schoolboy Cassius Turvey, whose death shocked Australia and ignited national calls for justice.
A Western Australian Supreme Court jury convicted Jack Brearley, 24, and Brodie Palmer, 30, of murder. Mitchell Forth, 27, was found guilty of manslaughter, while Aleesha Gilmore, 23, was acquitted of all charges.
Cassius, a Noongar Yamatji teenager, was walking home from school in Middle Swan on October 13, 2022, when he was chased into bushland and struck with a metal pole. He died in hospital ten days later.
The attack stemmed from a series of unrelated events, including earlier vandalism to Brearley’s car and disputes involving Gilmore’s teenage brother. The group wrongly targeted Cassius and his friends, assuming their involvement in the incidents.
Cassius’s mother, Mechelle Turvey, expressed both relief and enduring grief following the verdict. “My son has finally got justice,” she said. “May he live forever, 15, as a gentle giant, one that helped everyone.”
The trial featured testimony from 91 witnesses, many of them young and traumatized. Detective Sergeant Steve Cleal, who led the investigation, acknowledged the profound impact on the community and hoped the verdict would aid in healing.
Sentencing for Brearley, Palmer, and Forth is scheduled for June.