A adolescent murderer who beat another teen to death under the pretext that he had stolen a set of headphones has been sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Jason Galleghan was enticed to a Doonside residence in 2021 where he was brutally beaten by a sizable gang who thought he had stolen a set of headphones.
After footage of some of the “all-in” beating was discovered, eleven people between the ages of 13 and 29 were accused.
A member of the group who is now 16 admitted to killing someone after dealing 57 of the 133 punches.
Before the attack, the adolescent had written on social media that he was “bashing someone today, lmao.”
Even though the assault lasted for more than thirty minutes, the court was only given access to around seven minutes of the recording.
The teen was heard saying: “Oi, stop, look at him” in one recording.
Assault involved “prolonged, frenzied and extreme violence,” according to Judge Robert Allan Hulme, and was “gleefully carried out in front of cameras” by a “crazed rabble.”
The adolescent informed a psychotherapist that he felt abandoned by his father, who abandoned him with his alcoholic mother.
Her son’s behavior was “increasingly uncontrollable” by the time the threat of her children being placed in state care became very serious, and he had also started abusing alcohol and other substances.
Before he stopped going to school altogether, he was getting into fights and bringing weapons to class. He stated he felt under pressure to take part in the attack and that gang affiliation gave him confidence and an identity.
According to the judge, Galleghan was attacked “as enthusiastically as anyone” and was the object of “an unfounded and trivial accusation (he) may have taken a pair of earphones.”
In a letter to Galleghan’s family, the young murderer expressed his sincere regret for what he had done.
The video contradicted his claims that he attempted to stop the assault.
The 16-year-old received a prison term of 15 and a half years.
He already served his sentence, thus he will be qualified for release in eight years.
He would have received a 26-year sentence if he hadn’t admitted guilt.
Hulme stated that Galleghan’s mother had “with considerable courage” detailed the impact on his family and friends in a victim impact statement, describing the most dreadful experience of losing her child.
The judge bemoaned the fact that the criminal courts are powerless to address this.
