Teenager who stabbed a student, 19, to death after gatecrashing a party in Melbourne is jailed for at least 15 years
- Laa Chol, 19, was stabbed to death at a party in Melbourne in July last year
- Teenager knifed her in the chest in the lobby before she collapsed in apartment
- The 17-year-old who stabbed her has been jailed for at least 15 years
A teenager who fatally stabbed university student Laa Chol in the chest at a party in Melbourne’s CBD has been jailed for at least 15 years
The then 17-year-old boy gatecrashed the party at the EQ apartment tower in July last year before stabbing Ms Chol, 19, to death.
The teen, who cannot be named because he was under 18 at the time, was ordered to serve 20 years with a non-parole period of 15 years.
A teenager who stabbed university student Laa Chol (pictured) in the chest at a party in Melbourne’s CBD has been jailed for at least 15 years
‘Your senseless and vicious crime has deprived her of the most basic right, the right to life,’ Justice Stephen Kaye told the teenager.
‘Your actions were utterly cowardly and callous.’
He went to trial arguing he did not intend serious harm, but a jury did not believe his claims and in September convicted him of murder.
During the party, Ms Chol discovered her phone was missing and kicked the gatecrashers out of the apartment, which she had rented via Airbnb for a weekend with friends.
Ms Chol was stabbed in the chest in the building’s lift lobby before stumbling back into the apartment and collapsing
A violent scuffle ensued, and Ms Chol was stabbed in the chest in the building’s lift lobby before stumbling back into the apartment and collapsing.
Her friends initially thought she was having an asthma attack, but Ms Chol’s heart had been pierced by the knife.
She was dead by the time paramedics arrived and the knife had never been found.