People accused of murdering Perth schoolboy Cassius Turvey allegedly snatched and stabbed another boy days before fatal attack

A boy who was allegedly punched, stomped on and snatched off the streets by a group of 20-somethings has told a court he was fearful and froze when three men ran towards him yelling on a suburban street. The boy, who was 15 at the time, jumped fences and roof tops through streets in Perth’s east to try and evade three men who were chasing down his group of friends. The incident took place four days before Perth schoolboy Cassius Turvey was allegedly beaten to death by four 20-somethings on October 13, 2022. Jack Brearley, 23, Aleesha Gilmore, 23, Mitchell Forth, 26, and Brodie Palmer, 29, are on trial in the WA Supreme Court charged with the murder of Cassius. A fifth man Ethan McKenzie, 20, has not been charged with Cassius’ murder, but has been charged with deprivation of liberty and assault involving the alleged detainment of two teenage boys days before Cassius was allegedly attacked. Mr Brearley, Ms Gilmore and Mr Forth are also facing additional charges over the same incidents. A teenage boy who was allegedly assaulted and detained by the group on October 9 told the court he had been playing on e-scooters with friends in an alleyway when a car pulled up. He said he was fearful of the three men who jumped of a car out yelling at his friends. “I did not know who they were or why they were trying to hurt us,” he said. “I just heard ‘Oi’ and saw them hop out and thought it wasn’t a good sign to stick around so I decided to run.” The witness told the court he hid on someone’s front veranda but the resident came outside and asked him to leave which alerted his alleged attackers to his whereabouts. “They saw me and ran, and I froze up,” he told the court. “I got punched in the face, I fell over and I got stomped on then I got pulled up by someone.” He told the court Mr Brearley pulled him up and held him by the collar, and Mr McKenzie pulled out a 30cm knife and stabbed him near his stomach. “I remember a knife being pulled out, it still had the cover on it, I didn’t realise I had been stabbed, I thought the cover was on and they were trying to scare me. “I didn’t feel anything for 30 seconds, then I felt blood and looked and saw I had a gash on my stomach. “I didn’t feel it at first, but when I realised I had been stabbed I felt the pain and it was very painful.” The witness said the accused dragged him along the street and forced him to get into their car with Ms Gilmore, her brother and two other boys. He said the men kept saying to him, “Where are your boys?” “They realised I wasn’t someone they were looking for, they were asking if I was all right,” the witness told the court. “I was confused I didn’t really know what was going on.” He said the accused drove him to the Gilmore’s home and was told to have a shower, when he got out, he recalled they were “almost looking after him, saying they felt bad.” He said Mr Brearley and Ms Gilmore gave him clothing, shoes and a Nintendo Switch before they drove him home. “They dropped me off at my house, when I hopped out they said, ‘Don’t say anything or we will hurt you,’” he told the court. Under cross-examination by Mr Brearley’s lawyer Simon Watters, the witness told the court he was worried if he told his sister he had been stabbed she would go to police and his alleged attackers would go to his dad’s house. He allegedly told his sister he got into a fight and the injury on his abdomen was from a barbed wire fence. “I didn’t tell her because I was just scattered and shocked and didn’t know what to say or do and just wanted to keep it a secret,” he said. “(I told the doctor) I was working on my dirt bike and accidentally injured myself with a knife.” Under re=examination, the witness said he thought if he told the doctor he had been stabbed they would legally have to tell the police and they would become involved. “The person who stabbed me and attacked me knew where my dad lived,” he said A man who allegedly witnessed the 15-year-old boy get bashed in his front yard has told a court about the scary moment the men attempted to stomp on the boy’s body and head. Reginald Burgess recalled to the court two men rushed up and grabbed the boy and started bashing him. “They pulled him to the ground and started punching him, I started panicking, I am not used to this sort of thing,” he said. “It was scary.” The trial continues.