Cassius Turvey murder trial: Accused Jack Brearley, Brodie Palmer, Mitchell Forth, Aleesha Gilmore stand trial

His shock murder sparked an outpouring of grief with rallies and protests held around the country. Now the death of Cassius Turvey will be in the spotlight again as those accused of killing him go on trial. Jack Steven James Brearley, Brodie Lee Palmer, Mitchell Colin Forth and Aleesha Louise Gilmore will all front the WA Supreme Court on Monday charged with murdering the Indigenous teenager as he walked home from school in Middle Swan on October 13, 2022. All four deny the claim. But for the next 10 weeks prosecutors will attempt to prove the quartet were the ones responsible for taking the 15-year-old’s life. Many of the witnesses who are expected to be called to give evidence in the trial will be children, with some to set to testify via video. Among the allegations is that Cassius was attacked after a car full of strangers pulled up alongside him and his friends, accusing them of smashing car windows. One of them attacked Cassius with a metal pole. And the person prosecutors will say was wielding that pole was Mr Brearley, an allegation he strongly denies. The 15-year-old suffered serious head injuries and spent five days in hospital before being discharged. However, shortly after he began having seizures and strokes. His family rushed him back to hospital where he was placed into an induced coma. But he died a few days later. Following his death, rallies and protests were held across the country and around the world, including one in New Zealand and another in Los Angeles, not only in response to the brutal assault but in support of his grieving family. The teenager, who loved fishing and camping, was considered to be a role model amongst his peers. At age 11 he was asked to deliver an acknowledgement of country at the WA parliament and that same year he was a runner-up for the young person of the year award at a local NAIDOC event. And when he was 14, he started his own lawn mowing business with his friends. Mr Brearley, Ms Gilmore, Mr Forth as well as another man, Ethan MacKenzie, are also accused of detaining and assaulting another teenage boy. While the alleged incident took place on October 9, less than a week before the alleged attack on Cassius, prosecutors are running the cases together, resulting in a lengthy trial. Mr MacKenzie, who is not accused of murdering Cassius, is accused of stabbing the other teen with a knife before bundling him into a car. While Mr Brearley is accused of stomping on the 15-year-old’s head while he was on the ground. All four deny the allegations. The trial, in front of Chief Justice Peter Quinlan, is expected to finish in mid to late April.