A teenager sentenced to five years in juvenile detention over killing a pregnant Perth mother could be freed within two years, sparking emotional scenes inside court.
Diane Miller’s family screamed out in anger and grief as the 17-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was sentenced on Friday after he pleaded guilty to unlawfully killing her.
The Noongar woman 30, died in hospital, along with her unborn child, several days after a brick hit her in the head as she sat in the passenger seat on November 29 last year.
She was five months pregnant at the time.
The confronting incident at a suburban shopping centre was captured on CCTV footage which was showed in court in court this week.
The teen who threw a brick at pregnant mum Diane Miller (pictured) has been sentenced
Prosecutor Clare Cullen told the court the teen had been ‘laying in wait’ behind a wall before hurling the 1.9-kilogram brick at the car as it drove away from the scene of the stoush.
She also said he had known Ms Miller, her infant son and three young women in the car and he threw the concrete block anyway, increasing his culpability for the crime.
‘The concrete went through the window striking Ms Miller to the head,’ she said.
‘It was cowardly.’
The teen, who was initially charged with murder before agreeing to plead guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter, fled the scene before handing himself in to police several hours later.
His lawyer Kate Turtley-Chappel told the court the boy ‘was emotionally aroused and he was fearing his and other’s safety’ when he threw the brick.
Diane Miller (pictured), 30, was struck in the head with a concrete block while sitting in the passenger seat of a car
‘(The defendant) threw the rock without thinking and ultimately it ended in the loss of human life,’ she said.
‘He is quite frank in saying he wasn’t thinking in terms of the outcome.’
Ms Turtley-Chappel said the teen was extremely remorseful and had accepted he would be sentenced to a term of imprisonment.
‘This is a young person who says ‘I want to be here (and) I did wrong and I need to do my time’,’ she said.
‘(He) showed immediate remorse when he heard this lady had got hurt. He fell to the ground and he cried.
‘He called police, he participated in an hour-long interview… He never applied for bail.’
Ms Miller’s family broke down in Perth Children’s Court on Friday as Judge Hylton Quail read the facts of the ‘tragic’ incident.
‘You were impulsive … You didn’t stop to think if it was a bad idea,’ he told the teen.
‘You persisted with the plan to use the rock.’
Judge Quail said the boy’s traumatic life and brain damage had contributed to his decision to throw the lump of concrete.
He also accepted the teen was genuinely remorseful and co-operated with police.
However, he said the Ms Miller was an innocent and blameless victim of a cowardly act.
‘Most significantly she had a baby and was 20 weeks’ pregnant,’ Judge Quail said.
‘You took her life and deprived baby Lloyd of his mother and you deprived Ms Miller’s unborn child of life.
‘You will have to live with the consequences for the rest of your life.’
The boy was sentenced to five years’ detention at Banksia Hill Juvenile Detention Centre
He must serve a minimum of 26 months before applying for supervised release.
After the sentence was handed down, Ms Miller’s family erupted in anger as they were ushered from the courtroom by security officers.
Ms Miller’s brother Malcolm Clifton said outside court he was outraged by the sentence and the teenager should have also been punished for the death of his sister’s unborn child.
‘There’s justice for you, what a load of bulls*** … I’m sick to the guts with the law system,’ Mr Clifton said.
‘He knew what he was doing when he picked up the brick. Everyone knows what they are doing when they pick up a weapon. They intend to use the f***ing thing.’
The pregnant mother went into cardiac arrest after she was hit in the head with the concrete block and later died
The mother had just bought a house and ‘everything was working out for her’ when she was struck
Her brother Malcolm Clifton (pictured with Ms Miller’s eight-month-old son)
Ms Miller was with her partner who had gotten into an altercation with a group of youths outside Waterford Plaza (pictured) in Perth
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