The lawyer of a 16-year-old boy, who has pleaded guilty to killing Indian student Nitin Garg, told a court here that the murder was a result of immaturity of his client believed to be the youngest person in Victorian state of Australia to commit the crime.
At a plea hearing in the Victorian Supreme Court, Defence lawyer Marcus Dempsey told the Supreme court "At 15 and a half it seems (he) is one of the youngest people in this state to commit the offence of felony murder."
He said his client comes from a "much loved" background. The lawyer said that despite phone intercepts recording the boy boasting the killing, there was remorse and the unintentional murder was a result of his immaturity and a spontaneous attempted robbery of Nitin Garg's mobile phone.
Prosecutors have told the court that he discussed a potential alibi with his parents before his arrest. Justice Paul Coughlan described the case as "desperately sad."
He will be sentenced at a later date. "It's a desperately sad case from everyone's point of view," Justice Paul Coghlan said adding, "How a young man of this background finds himself here is just sad really." The boy, whose identity has not been revealed, pleaded guilty to murder in April and is facing a maximum sentence of life in prison. He stabbed the 21-year-old Garg as he walked to work through a park in Yarraville in January last year.
Garg's murder sparked outrage in India.
{{/usCountry}}Garg's murder sparked outrage in India.
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