Tensions boiled over after two teenagers were jailed for their involvement in the fatal stabbing of 17-year-old Jack Beasley on the Gold Coast.
Supporters of Jack’s family clashed with another group in Brisbane Supreme Court after the two boys were sentenced on Friday.
‘Your son is a f***ing murderer,’ a supporter screamed.
Jack’s father Brett Beasley said tempers flared after an ‘absolutely disgusting’ comment by the other group.
‘One of their family members at the end of it yelled out “At least our brother is coming home” – who says that?’ he told Nine Network.
Security ensured the two groups left the building separately.
Supporters of stabbed Jack Beasley’s family (mother Belinda pictured) clashed with another group in Brisbane Supreme Court after his two killers were sentenced on Friday
One boy was just 15 when he fatally stabbed Jack Beasley (pictured) in 2019 and received a 10-year jail sentence and the other – who was 17 – seven years for charges including manslaughter
Emotions ran high after one boy who was just 15 when he fatally stabbed Jack in 2019 received a 10-year jail sentence and the other – who was 17 – a seven-year term for charges including manslaughter.
The two boys were called cowards by Jack’s mother Belinda Beasley in a tear-filled victim impact statement she read in court.
‘You have taken away Jack’s life and ruined so many others with the choices that you made that night – and for what?’ she said.
‘You ran away like cowards and left Jack … to die on the footpath without a care in the world – what sort of people are you?’
The two boys were among five teenagers – aged between 15 and 18 at the time – charged after Jack was killed in December 2019.
Jack was stabbed in the heart and later died in hospital after a fight broke out between his group and the five teens in Surfers Paradise.
Belinda Beasley said her family had endured a ‘living nightmare’ ever since Jack (pictured with dad Brett) was stabbed to death
Mrs Beasley said her family had endured a ‘living nightmare’ ever since.
She said the sight of Jack’s lifeless body at the hospital will ‘haunt us for the rest of our lives’ and the sound of an ambulance siren sparked flashbacks of the night she lost her ‘beautiful boy’.
‘We will never be the same. You didn’t just kill Jack that day, you killed our entire family – the pain never goes away.’
Mrs Beasley said being a juvenile was no excuse for their ‘unforgivable’ actions.
Justice Soraya Ryan said she hoped the boys ‘carry (Jack’s) mother’s words with you for the rest of your life’.
The boy who stabbed Jack tendered a written apology that was read in court before briefly standing up to say he was ‘very, very sorry’.
‘There are no words … that are going to take away any pain that I have caused,’ the letter read.
‘I understand that I may never be forgiven but I hope one day I will.’
Jack Beasley’s father Brett (pictured left) said tempers flared after an ‘absolutely disgusting’ comment by the other group. Mother Belinda told the court the family had endured a living nightmare since her son’s death
Crown prosecutor Todd Fuller said the stabbing ‘heightened fear’ for people going out socialising on the Gold Coast.
Justice Ryan agreed, telling the boys: ‘Good parents of young people are scared when their children leave home to go out because of people like you’.
The younger boy admitted to not only stabbing Jack but also another 17-year-old boy twice during the fight, pleading guilty to murder and two counts of committing malicious acts with intent.
The boy – who is now 17 – must serve 70 per cent of the 10-year sentence.
The other boy – who is now 20 – pleaded guilty to manslaughter and two counts of grievous bodily harm.
Jack Beasley was stabbed in the heart and later died in hospital after a fight broke out between his group and the five teens in Surfers Paradise
On Friday he also pleaded guilty to three other charges including robbery and assault offences that occurred in July 2019 and August 2020.
He must serve 50 per cent of his seven-year term.
He has been in custody for two and a half years – considered time served – and is eligible for parole in 12 months.
Ma-Mal-J Toala – aged 18 at the time – and two teenage boys who can’t be named were each found not guilty of manslaughter and two counts of grievous bodily harm after a judge-only Supreme Court trial this year.
Since the tragedy, Jack’s family has established a non-profit foundation to curb youth violence.
‘Absolutely gutted. How can you put a value of 10 years as a life sentence for taking someone’s life,’ the foundation posted on social media.
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