‘Out for blood’: Murderous quartet to be sentenced

The father of a murdered Melbourne teenager has made a call for the end of knife crime in an emotional statement in court.

Four young men found guilty of murdering Declan Cutler appeared for a plea hearing in the Melbourne Supreme Court on Monday.

The men cannot be named because they were youths at the time of the killing, instead they are identified by DM, QDM, SA, and SY. They were all found guilty of murder at a trial in February.

Declan was killed in the northern suburb of Reservoir, having been stabbed, hit and stomped by a group of male youths in March 2022.

In court on Monday defence lawyers for the four males made submissions about their traumatic and disadvantaged upbringings.

But Declan’s biological father, Bryan Beattie, told the court if knife crime did not end, any young person could fall victim.

“Please make sure the next generation of kids does not have their lives cut short like Declan,” Mr Beattie said through tears to Justice Rita Incerti.

Declan suffered 66 blunt-force injuries, 56 “sharp force injures” and 30 stab wounds, ultimately dying from a stab to the heart. Five knives were used in the attack.

“Knife crime needs to stop,” Mr Beattie said.

“Drop the weapons. These kids were out for blood.”

“They didn’t just kill Declan, they killed a part of me.”

The four convicted males are expected to learn their prison sentences in about two weeks.

Three of the males have been in custody for more than 800 days as of Monday.

Defence lawyers told Justice Incerti about varying degrees of abuse, trauma and disadvantage each of the young men had experienced in their first two decades of life.

QDM was neglected and abused and as a four-year-old, had to be uplifted by his aunty. Both his parents were abusive, defence lawyer Matthew Paige said.

“He comes from a family that can only be described as broken,” Mr Paige said.

The young man requested his family not to attend the murder trial, the court was told.

“The offending is extremely serious, we don’t hide behind that but his background … that is his early years and early teen years was punctuated with violence, domestic violence, alcohol abuse and neglect,” Mr Paige said.

Defence lawyer Dan Sala’s client, DM, turned 15 years old eight days before the killing.

DM had a supportive family unit which “has been tested to the limit and has come out the other side”, Mr Sala said.

There was a background of gang tension before Declan was killed, though Declan had no known gang affiliation. DM did have a gang association, but was not a member, Justice Incerti said.

Defence lawyer for SY, Ashlee Cannon, said her client had “broken from those co-offenders” in offering to plead guilty to manslaughter before the trial began. Prosecutors rejected the offer.

SY was not armed during the attack, showed “genuine remorse” and wanted to study philosophy, Ms Cannon said.

“He does not come from a background of significant abuse or trauma … What he has in his favour is strong family support,” Ms Cannon said.

Defence lawyer Alexander Patton told the court his client, SA, had a disrupted and traumatic childhood and adolescence, with complex and severe mental health issues.

“He’s someone who needs to be shielded from adult custody for as long as is able,” Mr Patton said.

A common theme among the four males was a disengagement from school during the Covid-19 pandemic. One of the boys was living with a large family during the lockdowns, in a household without the money to access technology.

The male slowly withdrew from school before fully leaving weeks before Declan’s death, the court was told.

In court Justice Incerti said she would deliver her sentence in about two weeks.

Three other boys were jailed last year over their role in the attack after pleading guilty.

One was sentenced to 15 years for murder, the second received four years for manslaughter, with the third was handed three years and six months for intentionally causing serious injury in circumstances of gross violence.

The last boy, the youngest involved at age 13, was acquitted after it was found he was too young to know his actions were “seriously wrong”.