“I can’t feel your pain”: Karl Stefanovic shares heartbreak of murdered teen’s parents
Karl Stefanovic has shared in the anger of two grieving parents whose son was murdered after it emerged that those responsible will be walking free by their 21st birthdays.
The Today Show host spoke to Michelle Liddle and Beau Beaumont, whose 15-year-old son Angus was stabbed to death in March 2020 with a 14cm knife.
The teens involved in Angus’ death, who were 14 when Angus died, were given reduced sentences, with one 17-year-old receiving a seven-and-a-half year jail term while the 16-year-old who inflicted the fatal wound was sentenced to nine years in prison.
However, they will be serving 60 percent of their sentences, meaning they will be released in time to celebrate their 21st birthdays.
During their sentencing in the Supreme Court on Tuesday, it was heard that the offenders had high-fived each other as Angus lay dying.
CCTV footage shown during the trial also showed the two teens chasing a group of youths, including Angus, claiming they were “ripped off” during a drug deal.
“I can't explain how that feels walking away from court knowing that... Angus is still gone but these kids get to go on with their lives,” Mrs Liddle told the show, adding that it was “heartbreaking” that they were “given the green light” to reoffend.
Stefanovic shared his frustrations with the couple, saying they were right to be furious about the sentences.
“I can't feel your pain, but I can feel some of it, we can hear it. You don't get the privilege of watching your son grow up and these kids are gonna be out at 21 and live a life [while] your boy is not going to be able to,” he said.
Angus’ parents said they “don’t accept” the decision and are among a growing number of people calling for laws around the sentencing of youth offenders in Queensland to change.
Mr Beaumont said the public would be shocked to realise how protected violent teen offenders, like those who killed his son, actually are, claiming that they are often released on bail and live anonymously, “sneaking around and doing more crime”.
He said that current laws “do not protect us” and that people “are not safe”.
Stefanovic agreed that the conditions for young offenders on release are “rotten”, with co-host Ally Langdon adding that “somehow something’s gone terribly wrong” with the youth justice system.
The two teens, who cannot be named, were found guilty by a jury in June but received reduced sentences due to their age, long criminal histories, mental health and “fractured childhoods”, Justice David Jackson said.
Justice Jackson said the now 16-year-old had a “repeated pattern of responding to conflict with aggression including the use of a knife”, while the now 17-year-old previously stabbed another 15-year-old in the shoulder with scissors in 2019.
The older teen also pleaded guilty to three additional offences, including dangerous operation of a vehicle, after he stole a car and sparked a police chase while on bail for murder in May this year.
Time they had already served was also taken into account, with the 16-year-old having served 720 days and the 17-year-old serving 776 days in pre-sentence custody.
Images: The Today Show / Nine