A 14-year-old boy with autism was hacked to death while trying to protect his stepfather, a Victorian murder trial has heard.
Timothy ‘Timmy’ O’Brien had a special bond with his stepdad Peter Williams, so when two men attacked him on January 5, 2013, Timmy defended him, swinging at his assailants with a baseball bat.
“As events transpired that loyalty cost Timmy O’Brien his life,” prosecutor Chris Dane, QC, told the Supreme Court jury.
Dane told the court that one of the alleged attackers Joel Henderson – who is on trial for murder – turned on Timmy, pinning him to the ground and strangling him before caving in his skull with an axe.
The court heard one onlooker begged Henderson to stop, telling him Timmy had “special needs” and was “just a little boy” but Henderson continued until Timmy was dead.
Henderson was allegedly recuited by another man, co-accused Dane Wilson, to assault Williams. The trial continues.
