Youth, 15, charged with cutting stepfather’s neck with samurai sword to protect his mother

A 15-year-old Geraldton boy is accused of slicing his stepfather’s neck with a samurai sword, which doctors say would have killed the man if he did not seek medical treatment. The teenager appeared in Geraldton Children’s Court on Monday, after spending a night in custody, where the magistrate aired his frustration at the lack of positive parental guidance in the household. The court was told the boy felt he often had to protect his mother with the parental figures experiencing a “volatile” relationship. Police prosecutor Sen. Const Thomas Potts said on Sunday, September 8 about 6.40pm, the 15-year-old was at home with his 33-year-old stepfather and his mother in Utakarra when an argument broke out. The teenager’s mother kicked them both out of the house after the argument escalated, when the 15-year-old allegedly approached the stepfather with a samurai sword and brandished it in front of him, the court heard. Sen. Const Potts said the accused teen’s juvenile brother told his stepfather to “run” before the teenager said “I’m going to chop your head off”, striking him in the neck. The 33-year-old walked 4.5km to Geraldton Regional Hospital for medical attention for a deep laceration to the back side of his neck, the court was told. He received stitches for three bleeding vessels before being flown by Royal Flying Doctors Service to Perth for further medical treatment. Sen. Const Potts said doctors believed the man could have died from his injuries if he did not seek medical treatment and opposed bail for the accused boy. Magistrate Matthew Walton asked defence lawyer Lauren Roycroft if the teenager was attending school or undertaking any form of education. Ms Roycroft said he was not, but rather played football with friends, spent time at the beach and helped his family around the home in his spare time. Mr Walton said the injures were “inherently serious” and “of such alleged extreme violence” that it was “hard to envisage bail is appropriate”. “He’s 15, he doesn’t go to school, he has no education endeavours at all at this point in time. It’s 2024, sadly it’s not the first time I’ve noted these two factors in court,” he said. Ms Roycroft said the 15-year-old’s mother and stepfather were in a “volatile relationship” and he was “often encouraged to protect his mother”. In the lead up to the alleged assault, Ms Roycroft said his stepfather had been physical with her and she called for help. Mr Walton said the submissions provided context as to why it allegedly occurred and the family dynamic was “marred by mental health issues and family violence”. He said it was “quite frankly disgraceful” that a 15-year-old had to live in an environment where parents or people of authority could put a child in that situation. The teen was granted bail with conditions to reside at his grandmother’s house, not approach his stepfather or be within 50 metres of where he lives or works. He is charged with aggravated grievous bodily harm and did not enter pleas and will reappear on October 15.