A group of teenagers purchased an ice cream approximately 20 minutes before they callously drove at a 14-year-old boy and stabbed him to death with machetes, a jury has been informed.
One of the teenagers, who was 17 at the time of the incident, is currently standing trial in the Victorian Supreme Court. He is accused of being complicit in the murder of Ethan Hoac, which occurred in Melbourne's northwest on June 26, 2023.
Ethan was walking alongside two friends along Furlong Road in St Albans at approximately 10:52 pm when the group drove at him in a Volkswagen Tiguan, striking the younger boy. Ethan was thrown into the air, and two teenagers exited the Tiguan armed with machetes, rushing toward the boy and stabbing him while he lay on the ground. He sustained 30 stab wounds during the attack and succumbed to his injuries en route to the hospital.
Crown prosecutor Erin Ramsey informed the jury that the teenager on trial was the driver of the vehicle, not one of the individuals who wielded a machete. However, she contended that he was still guilty of murder because he had reached an agreement with the other teenagers to kill or cause serious injury to Ethan.
Ms. Ramsey outlined the group's movements leading up to Ethan's death, describing how they drove around Melbourne for several hours before purchasing an ice cream at approximately 10:29 pm. The group then drove past Ethan and his friends on Furlong Road about five minutes before Ethan was struck, the jury was told.
Following the attack, the teenagers drove to the Sydenham Tennis Club, where they were captured on CCTV footage inspecting the vehicle for damage and re-enacting the stabbing motions. The teenager and one of his co-accused also purchased hot cakes from McDonald's at 5:44 am before returning to their respective homes.
Defence barrister Philip Dunn KC told the jury that it was not disputed that his client was behind the wheel of the car or that he visited the various locations around the time of Ethan's death. 'There is no dispute from defence here that the other men killed him - they murdered him, they chopped him up with machetes,' Mr. Dunn said.
What was in dispute, the defence barrister stated, was the accused's understanding and intentions at the time of the attack. 'You should have reasonable doubt about what was in his mind - there are other reasonable inferences you can draw,' Mr. Dunn said. 'Things happened rapidly, spontaneously. Things spiralled very rapidly and tragically.'
He urged the jury to consider whether there was some interaction between Ethan's group and the teenagers in the lead-up to the attack. Mr. Dunn also told the jury that they should be critical of the evidence provided by Ethan's friends, suggesting they may have deliberately concealed information from the police.
The trial before Justice Amanda Fox is expected to run for three weeks.
