Teen who stabbed man with brain injury pleads guilty to murder

A 16-year-old boy has admitted to murder after fatally stabbing a 25-year-old man with a brain injury at a train station on the NSW South Coast. The Port Kembla Children's Court heard the teenager brought a hunting knife to Shellharbour Junction train station on January 28 last year, where he stabbed Jack Westren multiple times.

Mr Westren was lured to the station via social media by a group of minors who planned a violent ambush. The court heard that one of the younger boys, aged 13, posed as a 12-year-old girl named "Amy" to entice Mr Westren to the meeting. Mr Westren, who had sustained a traumatic brain injury in a 2008 motor vehicle accident, had cognitive and behavioral issues that affected his judgment, particularly in relationships.

Screenshots of messages were shared in a group chat, showing the boy posing as "Amy" exchanging messages with Mr Westren. Another message in the chat read: "There's a paedophile that we're trying to get to come to Shelly tomorrow, youse want to bash him?" Video evidence showed some of the boys preparing for the attack, wearing balaclavas and simulating assaults.

On the day of the attack, the 15-year-old girl acted as "bait," approaching Mr Westren while the boy who pleaded guilty and his friends traveled to the station. The alleged murder occurred near the station, with court documents detailing Snapchat messages from the boy saying, "we're setting him up" and "it's fun shit." An adult, Tamara Doust, 39, faces a murder charge, having pleaded not guilty. Four boys and one girl, aged between 13 and 15, have already pleaded guilty to manslaughter for their roles in the killing.