WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this story contains an image of a person who is deceased.
A murder-accused man who blamed a mate for killing an Indigenous teenager has admitted he also attempted to frame an innocent man.
Jack Steven James Brearley, 24, disputes the claims made by prosecutors that he attacked Cassius Turvey with a metal pole in Perth’s eastern suburbs on October 13, 2022.
During the trial, Brearley informed the jury that it was his co-accused, Brodie Lee Palmer, 29, who delivered the fatal blows to the 15-year-old Noongar Yamatji boy, leading to his passing in the hospital 10 days later.
Furthermore, it was alleged by Stanwix that Brearley specifically targeted the victim due to similarities in height and build, as well as his presence in the area during the time of the incident involving Cassius.
Brearley agreed he looked similar but denied that it was why he named the man or that he would “point the finger anywhere” if it took the blame off him.
During the at-times terse cross-examination on his fifth day in the witness box, Brearley also agreed he, Palmer and Forth gathered weapons before Cassius was injured and that they went looking for a group of youths he said had threatened to “run through” the home he shared with Gilmore.
He also agreed that he and Palmer re-enacted the attack on Cassius a day after the alleged incident, which was recorded on CCTV.
But he has consistently said he only punched Cassius after the teen slashed him with a knife.
Prosecutors allege Brearley chased Cassius down and deliberately struck him in the head with a metal shopping trolley pole while he was “hunting for kids” because somebody had smashed his car windows.
