A teenager who stabbed a Queensland grandmother to death in front of her young grandchild has been sentenced to 16 years in prison.
In February 2024, the then 16-year-old boy stabbed 70-year-old Vyleen White in the chest outside Redbank Plains Town Square shopping centre, west of Brisbane, before stealing her car.
The teen, who cannot be named under Queensland’s youth justice laws, was charged with murder, unlawful use of a motor vehicle, and three counts of stealing.
Now aged 17, he pleaded guilty to all charges earlier this year.
Chief Justice Helen Bowskill handed down the sentence in the Supreme Court in Brisbane on Thursday morning, ordering the teen to serve 60 per cent of his sentence before being eligible for parole.
Victim impact statements from White’s family were read to the court during Wednesday’s sentencing hearing.
Crown prosecutor Chris Cook became emotional as he read a statement from the young child who witnessed her grandmother’s murder.
“Sometimes I have trouble falling asleep, and I worry about having bad dreams,” the statement read.
“I didn’t get hurt, but I feel scared sometimes.”
The girl said: “I miss Nanny all the time,” adding that when she ran for help, “I think I was really brave.”
White’s husband told the court he was “not just grieving my wife, but our life together.”
“This crime has left our family broken in ways we can’t fully capture,” he said.
White’s death caused widespread outrage across the country, and led to legislative changes in Queensland.
Following the 2024 state election, Queensland’s Liberal National government introduced new Adult Crime, Adult Time laws.
The reforms allow juveniles to face adult sentences for more than 30 serious offences, including attempted murder, rape, torture and aggravated robbery. They also give victims’ families and the media greater access to court cases involving youth offenders.
However, the new laws do not apply in this case, as they came into effect in December 2024 and are not retrospective.
Under previous youth justice laws, the teenager had faced a maximum sentence of 10 years unless the court found the offence to be “particularly heinous.”
Prosecutor Chris Cook argued that the case met that threshold and called for a sentence of 17 to 18 years.
Defence lawyer Matthew Hynes argued the sentence should be between 12 and 13 years.
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