AT the start of his sentencing remarks in the Cassius Turvey murder trial Chief Justice Peter Quinlan said like his famous namesake the great Cassius Clay, the teenager showed great promise from an early age.

Chief Justice Quinlan said Cassius was a natural born leader, whose sense of community, confidence and kindness pointed to a bright and successful future.

“Unlike his namesake, Cassius Turvey will never be able to fulfil the great promise that he showed in his 15 years of life,’’ he said.

“While he will always be remembered for the joy, the love and the care that he showed for those around him, Cassius Turvey was robbed of his life and of his promise.

“The many fruits of that promise and his contribution that he would no doubt have made to his family and to his community must now live in the memories of those who loved him, or have been inspired by his life.’’

The Noongar Yamatji teenager died on October 23, 2022 after being attacked with a pole in Middle Swan on October 13, 2022.

Those held responsible for the attack – Jack Steven James Brearley, Brodie Lee Palmer, Mitchell Colin Forth and Aleesha Louise Gilmore – were sentenced in the WA Supreme Court on Friday, June 27.

Brearley and Palmer received life sentences for murdering Cassius while Forth was jailed for 12 years for manslaughter.

Gilmore was given a suspended sentence and a six-month curfew requirement for her part in assaulting and abducting other teenagers in the days before Cassius was attacked.

Chief Justice Quinlan said all of the offences, including the murder and manslaughter of Cassius, were committed as part of vigilante activity.

“Vigilante violence involves individuals purporting to take the law into their own hands by physically harming perceived wrongdoers.

“Such conduct is not only an attack on the victims, but also an attack on the rule of law, which requires that members of the community resolve their differences by lawful means rather than personal vengeance.

“Even worse, in the present case, your vigilante activity was in every instance directed against completely innocent children.’’

Chief Justice Quinlan said although the crimes were not racially motivated, racial slurs had been made to a number of the children.

He said the law required him to impose sentences commensurate with the seriousness of the offences committed, but also to take into account their personal circumstances.

“Mr Brearley, Mr Palmer and Mr Forth, it would be very easy for me to simply say that you are monsters and to ignore your personal circumstances,’’ he said.

“The truth, however, is that you are not monsters.

“The awful truth is that you are human beings, with your own life history, who have committed horrendous crimes.

“And it would be just as contrary to law for me to ignore your personal circumstances as it would be for me to ignore your horrendous crimes.

“Indeed, until we as a community accept that people who commit horrendous crimes like yours are fellow human beings, and not monsters, we will have little hope in preventing such crimes from happening again and again.

“One of the disturbing things revealed in this case is how normalised violence has become in our community.

“A great many children and young people gave evidence – to a boy and girl, none of them thought there was anything strange or unusual about going to watch fights as a form of fun or entertainment.

“They thought nothing of it as if arranging and watching fights was a completely normal thing to do.”

He said he wasn’t excusing the accused for their behaviour or blaming the children.

“But when violence becomes normalised in a society, horrific events like those that occurred in this case will keep on happening.

“A number of the offences for which each of you have been convicted were aggravated by the fact that those offences were committed in the presence of a child.’’

In her victim impact statement Mechelle Turvey said there were no words that could fully capture the devastation of losing someone you love to violence.

“The day (Cassius) was taken from us is the day my world shattered,’’ she said.

“He was murdered – that truth is something I live with every single day.

“It’s not just the absence of his presence, it’s the silence where his laughter used to be, the emptiness in moments we were supposed to share, and the unbearable weight of knowing he didn’t get to live the life he deserved. The trauma of his death is something I carry every day.’’