Overview
- The ACT Supreme Court found the 16-year-old not guilty of manslaughter and of the alternative charge of culpable driving causing death.
- Jurors were not satisfied he was behind the wheel when the stolen Toyota Camry crashed on April 17, 2024, ejecting a 15-year-old passenger who later died.
- Prosecutors relied on blood and DNA concentrated on the driver's side, blood on the road outside the driver's door, and a 35‑second CCTV window to argue he was the driver.
- The defence highlighted the lack of direct eyewitness evidence, inconsistencies in accounts of how occupants exited, and the teenager's explanation that he escaped via the driver's side window.
- Acting Justice John Burns released the teenager on a three‑month good behaviour order with a curfew for riding in a motor vehicle without consent.