A man accused of murdering Perth schoolboy Cassius Turvey claims the 15yo slashed his leg with a steak knife

WARNING: This story features the name and image of a deceased Indigenous person. A court has been told a man accused of murdering Perth schoolboy Cassius Turvey has denied striking him with a metal pole but claims the 15-year old stabbed him. Defence Lawyer Simon Watters is representing Jack Brearley, 23, who is one of four people accused of killing the 15-year old boy in Middle Swan. All four have denied the charges. The incident which led to the boy’s death unfolded on October 13, 2022 after a series of complex events allegedly resulted in a group of 20 somethings armed with metal poles hunting school kids through suburbs in Perth’s east. Mr Watters told the court Mr Brearley was in a car being driven by co-accused Brodie Palmer, 29, Mitchell Forth, 26 and his girlfriend Aleesha Gilmore, 23. Alleged killer Jack Brearley, 23, denied striking Perth schoolboy Cassius Turvey with a metal pole, but claims the teenage boy slashed his leg with a steak knife. He said Ms Gilmore’s younger teenage brother had contacted her about other children wanting to fight him or they would run through their house. The group were looking for the children who wanted to fight Ms Gilmore’s brother and were allegedly armed with knuckle dusters and shopping trolley handles. Mr Watters said Ms Gilmore and Mr Brearley were arguing in the car so she jumped out before the three men came across a group of about 20 boys and girls when someone threw a bottle at Mr Palmer’s car. He alleged Mr Palmer drove towards the group and Mr Brearley jumped out and chased the group for about 15 seconds across 50 to 75 metres of parkland. Mr Brearley allegedly ran past a boy on crutches he was accused of assaulting and came across a “large guy with facial hair he thought was 25-years old.” “He now knows that person was Cassius Turvey,” Mr Watters told the court. The lawyer said his client chased Cassius who tripped over some loose fence wire and landed on his back when Mr Brearley noticed Cassius had a black handled steak knife in his hand. He said when Mr Brearley tried to runaway the schoolboy had him by the shorts and slashed the back of his legs. “Mr Brearley yelled out, ‘help I have been stabbed’, before he punched Cassius near his eyebrow, he was trying to get away from the person who stabbed him,” he said. “Mr Brearley put his foot on Cassius’ head with enough pressure to keep him down, he only did that because he did not want Cassius to keep stabbing him.” On Monday, the state prosecutor alleged it was Mr Brearley who fatally struck Cassius twice with a metal pole, but his defence lawyer claimed it was his co-accused Mr Palmer. “When Mr Brearley turned around he saw Mr Palmer standing there, older, bigger and meaner than Mr Brearley,” Mr Watters said. “As Mr Brearley stood up and turned Mr Palmer was seven to eight paces away, Mr Brearly passed him and saw he had a red and white pole, he did not appreciate it was a trolley pole. “He turned and saw Mr Palmer hit Cassius three times, he heard Cassius scream and yell at Mr Palmer to stop. “Mr Brearley was more concerned about his leg and Ms Gilmore, he didn’t see Cassius after that, but could see Mr Palmer hitting were Cassius was lying. “Mr Brearley knows Cassius stabbed him because he was the only one of the group he interacted with because all the other kids ran away.” Mr Watters told the court, his client alleges Mr Palmer admitted to him later that night he assaulted Cassius because he stabbed Mr Brearley and a bottle had been thrown at his car. He alleged Mr Palmer told Mr Brearley if he said anything about it he would put him and Ms Gilmore in body bags. State prosecutor Stanwix told the court Mr Brearley had boasted to Ms Gilmore’s mother about beating Cassius, but Mr Watters claims it was Mr Palmer. “We say she was good friends with Mr Palmer,” Mr Watters told the court. “We say there was a phone call were she called Ms Gilmore, Mr Brearley answered it, and Mr Palmer was saying, ‘I just kept hitting him with the trolley pole.’ “We say Mr Palmer was talking about hitting Cassius Turvey, Mr Palmer was the one making mocking comments about it.” Defence lawyer Christian Porter, representing Mr Palmer, told the court Mr Brearley was pointing the finger at his client and at no stage did Mr Palmer strike Cassius. He said for Mr Brearley to point the finger at his former friend showed the ‘same cowardice, violence, rage and misguided revenge’ he demonstrated in October 2022. “You may come to find this is the desperate act of someone who is proved to be a cowardly thug who is now pointing the finger at a former friend to save his own skin,” Mr Porter told the court. “What is clear and common across all six counts is that the actions of Mr Brearley and his conduct shows a consistent combination of extreme violence, misguided revenge and white hot rage.” Mr Porter said his client had been in his car the entire time the incident occurred and witnesses would recall seeing an adult male wearing white attacking the schoolboy, but his client was dressed in black. Lawyer Simon Freitag, defending Ms Gilmore, told the court his client was not involved in Cassius’ death because she was not there. Mr Freitag said his client had gotten out of Mr Palmer’s car and was about 500 metres to 1km away when the events unfolded. “She went as far as yelling out from a car at a group of children, she did not have a weapon, she yelled out of a car,” he said. “Some of the men in the car turned on her and she got out feeling quite emotional and started to walk home. “Whatever common purpose they had after that was not her common purpose. “She is rough around the edges and may express herself in a way you do not like but she is not violent towards children.” The trial continues.