Family ‘devastated’ at not guilty verdict
LEA EMERY
THE devastated parents of fatally stabbed Gold Coast teenager Jack Beasley have pledged to continue their
campaign against knife crimes after three men were found not guilty over their son’s death.
Ma-Mal-J Toala, now 21, and two teens – now 18 – were found not guilty in the Supreme Court in Brisbane of
manslaughter and two counts of grievous bodily harm on Thursday.
Jack’s mother Belinda Beasley told The Courier- Mail her initial reaction to the verdict was “devastated”.
“Just to keep constantly hearing that ‘not guilty, not guilty, not guilty’,” she said.
Brett Beasley said: “It was heartbreaking.
“It was, absolutely.”
The acquittal came after more than a month of deliberation by Justice Soraya Ryan following a week-and-ahalflong trial in May.
It was alleged a group of five boys were in Surfers Paradise when Parkwood teen Jack was fatally stabbed near
the Surfers Paradise IGA on December 13, 2019.
One of Jack’s friends, also 17, was stabbed in the back and chest, leaving him with a punctured lung, it was
alleged.
The group was aged between 15 and 18 at the time and the four youngest cannot be named for legal reasons.
Ma-Mal-J Toala and two teens – aged 16 at the time of Jack’s death – pleaded not guilty on May 16 to
manslaughter and two counts of grievous bodily harm.
Toala, who was 18 at the time of the stabbing, and the two teens were acquitted on Thursday. The youngest –
who is now 17 – pleaded guilty on May 9 to murder and two counts of committing a malicious act with intent.
A second teen – now 19 – pleaded guilty in April to manslaughter and two counts of grievous bodily harm.
The two who pleaded guilty will be sentenced at a later date.
The Beasleys said they would continue their work with the Jack Beasley Foundation and campaigning against
knife crime.
“We are still concentrating heavily on the ‘detect knives, save lives’ thing that we do and ‘live your life without
a knife’,” Mr Beasley said.
“It’s just so important and I’d really love to see some sort of system, some sort of detection system being
introduced at Helensvale train station.”
Before acquitting Toala and the two other teens, Justice Soraya Ryan said: “This trial was all about whether any
of these three defendants could be held criminally responsible for the unexpected knife violence of their
accomplice.”
Outside of court, a lawyer for one of the teens Michael Gatenby said it had had an “immeasurable” effect on his
client and his family.
“They were young and it’s a tragic accident,” he said.
“Hopefully, if anything comes out of this it is that young people stop using knives in Surfers Paradise.”
Mr Gatenby said the three found not guilty were not the key players.
“These boys although they had been involved weren’t involved in the stabbing itself.”
During the trial in May, Toala’s barrister Catherine Morgan told the court her client’s involvement was limited
to striking a member of Jack’s group with a Gatorade bottle.
Ms Morgan said there could not have been a plan between Toala and the rest of the defendants as Toala did not
appear to interact with others.

These boys were guilty by association

Grappler Truth Teller Feller wrote on Jul 8^th, 2022 at 6:32pm:


I'm sure it was as uncomplicated as that.

Grappler Truth Teller Feller wrote on Jul 8^th, 2022 at 6:52pm:


Shall I spend many hours posting here about the bullshit stories people have told me when they were trying to explain why they were wrongly convicted.....and even charged?

Grappler Truth Teller Feller wrote on Jul 8^th, 2022 at 8:57pm:


You know for a fact that only one had a knife?

Well let's hope the two who did do the stabbing get 15 years in jail with a non-parole period of 12 years

But as we know, they'll probably get a 3 year suspended sentence living back home with Mum and Dad ... especially if they are Islanders