A teenage Gold Coast lady was found guilty of the “senseless” murder of a law graduate in Surfers Paradise and was given a life sentence.
Freedom A jury trial resulted in Mona Maunsell Anderson, 23, being convicted responsible for the fatal stabbing.
When she and a friend approached Nicholas Braid, 35, in front of the Beachcombers resort in Surfers Paradise in April 2020, the court heard that she carried a knife in her backpack.
The court was shown CCTV evidence of Anderson striking Braid before he fell on the ground and she ran away.
Shortly after receiving a 13 cm deep knife wound, Braid passed away.
Anderson reportedly informed an undercover police officer after being arrested that she “preferred to use her fists” rather than carry a knife most of the time.
Anderson had been upset because she believed Braid had misled her about his name.
Crown prosecutor Stephen Muir described this as a “petty grievance”.
When Anderson was a youngster, the court was informed that she had travelled from New Zealand to Australia on a temporary visa.
Her defence claimed she had a difficult upbringing and began doing drugs by the age of 13.
According to Anderson’s attorneys, her admission of guilt in her manslaughter plea suggested that she took full responsibility for Braid’s death.
In their victim impact statements to the court, Braid’s distraught parents spoke of his “all-encompassing grin”.
When a child dies, it can be difficult to maintain optimism, according to Michelle Braid, his mother.
Her son’s death, she told the court, was “far more shattering” than her recent terminal cancer diagnosis.
Abigail Braid expressed her gratitude to the police and witnesses outside of court for giving her brother a voice.
“It goes without saying that we will always be devastated,” she remarked.
