Beasleys’ daily walk to justice for boy Jack
IT is 9.30am and Brett and Belinda Beasley are having breakfast at a coffee shop across the lawn from the doors of the Supreme Court in Brisbane.
The parents of slain teen Jack Beasley are accompanied by family, their son’s friends and police detectives. On two mornings they are joined by Gold Coast Police Acting Superintendent Rhys Wildman and Bonney MP Sam O’connor.
Over the next half an hour lawyers for three of the teens accused of the manslaughter of 17-year-old Jack will pass less than 50m away as they head into the courthouse.
Two of the accused will take the same route. The third is in custody on remand.
It is a routine that will become familiar during a weekand-a-half-long judge-only trial into the fatal stabbing of Jack near the Surfers Paradise IGA about 8pm on December 13, 2019.
It is alleged a group of five boys was in Surfers Paradise when the Parkwood teen was fatally stabbed.
One of Jack’s friends, also 17, was stabbed in the back and chest, leaving him with a punctured lung, it is alleged.
Four of the accused cannot be named for legal reasons, because of their age.
Ma-mal-j Toala and two teens have pleaded not guilty to manslaughter and two counts of grievous bodily harm.
A fourth teen previously guilty to murder. In April, a fifth youth pleaded guilty to manslaughter and two counts of grievous bodily harm.
Just before 10am, the Beasleys finish up at the coffee shop and make their way to the fourth floor of the courthouse.
Here, two courtrooms are set aside: Court seven where all the action would happen and court six, an overflow room for interested parties who could not fit in the public gallery.
The Beasley family and Jack’s friends sit on the right side of the public gallery. The area had been set aside specifically for them.
The defendants are only five metres away, separated by glass at the dock.
The three defendants sit in a line, each with a seat between them. Toala is in the centre.
He is led into the courtroom each morning by Queensland Corrective Services officers who would sit quietly in the back of the courtroom during proceedings.
During the trial the defendants favoured mostly dark clothing. They do not interact often and infrequently exchange glances or lean over to talk to each other.
Often they lean forward to look at the screens at their feet which show CCTV, photographs or other evidence to the courtroom. Behind them are their families; three distinct groups in the public gallery. They do not appear to interact.
While waiting for court proceedings to start, the two teens on bail talk quietly to their family in the gallery before being called back into the dock.
For a week they sit watching their actions caught on CCTV, witnesses describe the events of the nights and their own police interviews.
The Beasleys have relived it too often. CCTV shows the group of five teens following Jack and his mates along Surfers Paradise Blvd before inviting them to have a fight around the corner and stopping in front of them.
One of the teens pushes Jack who retaliates by flicking a cigarette at them, the footage shows.
The fight escalates and a 15year-old stabs Jack in the chest and his friend in the chest and back.
The CCTV footage shows the 15-year-old and Toala fistbumping as they leave the scene.
The Beasleys leave the courtroom anytime the graphic footage of Jack’s stabbing is played. It is repeated, and repeated, as lawyers forensically dissect Jack’s final moments.
At court’s end, the Beasleys
meet with the prosecutor to discuss the day and brace for what is next.
Outside their supporters and Jack’s friends wait, often watching as the accused walk past.
One afternoon Jack’s mates wait not far from the court doors.
Near the entrance to the court precinct – where they would have to walk to go to their cars or public transports – one of the defendants waits with an older male relative.
Jack’s friends do not want to walk past them.
The Beasleys call detectives who investigated Jack’s case. One comes down and waits with the teens until the defendant leaves.
Towards the end of the trial, after all the evidence has been played, the three defendants attempt to have the charges dropped, claiming there is no evidence they had intended to seriously injure or kill anyone at the start of the fight.
Justice Soraya Ryan adjourns to make her decision overnight.
When court resumes the next day the Beasleys sit in their part of the courtroom. Brett nervously jiggles his leg.
When Justice Ryan declares there is a case for the teens to answer, the families of the defendants shed silent tears.
After the court is adjourned the Beasleys are also in tears. They hug each other tightly before moving to embrace family and Jack’s friends.
The next day would be the last in the trial.
A day in which the lawyers would sum up their case for justice. A last chance for each to reiterate their case.
By 1.30pm on Wednesday it is over.
Justice Ryan notes she needs a month to make her decision – guilty or not guilty.
She says her decision is something that needs to be done “slowly and carefully”.
Minutes later, for a final time in the trial, the Beasleys leave the courthouse. Mr Beasley stops to talk to the media.
“We have been two-and-ahalf years now and we have to wait another 28 days, minimum,” he says.
“It’s terrible. It’s been a pretty hard week and a half so it’s going to be even worse now.”
Mr Beasley leaves to join his wife. He is back at the coffee shop. It is Groundhog day.