R v Eliot (a pseudonym) (No. 2)

Case •

[2022] NSWDC 346

•

17 August 2022

No judgment structure available for this case.

District Court


New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: R v Eliot (a pseudonym) (No. 2) [2022] NSWDC 346
Hearing dates: 4 August 2022 – 8 August 2022
Date of orders: 17 August 2022
Decision date: 17 August 2022
Jurisdiction:Criminal
Before: Grant DCJ
Decision:

The accused is not guilty of the count on the indictment. The accused is not guilty of the alternative count

Catchwords:

CRIMINAL LAW – judge-alone trial – conspiracy to murder – solicit to murder – young person

Legislation Cited:

Crimes Act 1900

Criminal Procedure Act 1986

Evidence Act 1995

Cases Cited:

Fleming v The Queen (1998) 197 CLR 250

Category:Principal judgment
Parties: Regina (Crown)
Thomas Eliot (a pseudonym) (Accused)
Representation:

Counsel:
Mr P Kerr (Crown)
Ms C Mendes (Accused)

Solicitors:
Solicitor for the Director of Public Prosecutions (Crown)
Legal Aid Commission (Accused)
File Number(s): 2020/00232780
Publication restriction:

Pursuant to section 7 of the Court Suppression and Non-Publication Orders Act 2010, there be no publication, except for the proper conduct of these proceedings, of:
a. The city in which the school is located and any information that would tend to identify the city;
b. The name of the school and any information that would tend to identify the school;

Pursuant to s15A Children (Criminal Proceedings) Act 1987, there is to be no publication of any information, picture or other material that identifies or is likely to lead to the identification of a child. Identifying information has been removed from this judgment to comply with the statute. Pseudonyms have been used for the names of the accused and other children.

JUDGMENT

Introduction

  1. Thomas Eliot and William Yeats (a pseudonym) were the best of mates. They attended a regional high school from year 7 to year nine. They played computer games together on their Xbox. They played Rainbow Six Siege and Grand Theft Auto. The games involve killing people before they kill you. Sometimes they would dress up as Columbine shooters as role playing within the games.

  2. Eliot was small in size and was bullied while at school. The bullying involved name-calling and physical abuse by John Keats (a pseudonym). Eliot told Yeats that he wished to hurt Keats and asked Yeats for assistance. Yeats agreed. Eliot asked Yeats if he would help him hurt others in the school which included running through the school buildings and stabbing people, to which Yeats agreed.

  3. Eliot commenced recording a written journal in May 2020. In the journal, he recorded homicidal and suicidal ideations as well as his specific plans regarding his intention to commit a large-scale harm event at the high school.

  4. Yeats introduced Eliot to the school counsellor. On 9 June 2020, Eliot received counselling support from the school counsellor. This was the first time he had received such counselling.

  5. On Friday, 26 June 2020, Eliot expressed his suicidal and homicidal thoughts to the school counsellor. Eliot was told that he would need to go home and take a mental health risk assessment before he could return to school the following week. The father of Eliot collected Eliot from school.

  6. During the evening of 28 June 2020, Eliot showed his personal journal to his mother. On 29 June 2020, Eliot attended hospital with his mother who was in possession of the journal. Eliot underwent a mental health assessment conducted by a mental health nurse. He was admitted as a voluntary patient. Following Eliot’s assessment, his mother handed the journal to the nurse.

  7. The nurse contacted the police and informed them of the nature of the contents of Eliot’s journal. Police attended the hospital and seized the journal.

  8. Eliot was later transported to the [redacted] as a voluntary patient arriving 1 July 2020. On that day, Detective Senior Constable Brogan from the [redacted] police station attended the hospital and seized Eliot’s mobile phone. Subsequently, Eliot’s phone was forensically examined. Extracts of the internet search history located on Eliot’s phone became an exhibit in the trial.

  9. On 14 July 2020, Eliot was released from the [redacted] mental health facility into the care of his mother.

  10. Eliot was charged with conspiring with Yeats to murder John Keats and other students at the high school. In the alternative, he is charged with soliciting Yeats to commit the murder of Keats and other students at the high school.

  11. The accused applied for, and the Crown consented to, a judge alone trial. The trial commenced on 1 August 2022 and concluded 8 August 2022. The Crown relied upon the evidence of Yeats, the journal entries of the accused, and the internet searches to prove its case.

The indictment

  1. Count one:

“between 1 June 2020 and 30 June 2020 in [redacted] and [redacted] in the State of New South Wales did conspire and agree with William Yeats to murder John Keats and other students at the high school”, contrary to section 26 of the Crimes Act 1900.

  1. Count two in the alternative:

“between 1 June 2020 and 30 June 2020 in [redacted] and [redacted] in the State of New South Wales did solicit William Yeats to commit the murder of John Keats and other students at the high school”, contrary to section 26 of the Crimes Act 1900.

  1. The accused pleaded not guilty to both counts. The Crown provided particulars establishing the conspiracy and solicit. They included the statement of Yeats, relevantly, paragraphs 20, 25 to 31,38 to 41 and 50 to 51, the journal entries of Eliot commencing 20 May 2020 and concluding on 8 June 2020, and the internet search history retrieved from Eliot’s mobile phone commencing 20 April 2020 concluding 20 May 2020.

Elements of the offences

Conspiracy to murder

  1. The prosecution must prove beyond reasonable doubt:

  1. There was an agreement between Eliot and Yeats to commit the murder of Keats and others.

  2. Eliot participated in the agreement in the sense that:

  1. he agreed with Yeats that the unlawful objective of the agreement be carried out; and

  2. at the time of the agreement Eliot intended that the objective be carried out.

  1. If the Crown fails to prove the conspiracy, it relies on an alternative charge of solicit to murder. To establish this alternative offence, the prosecution must prove beyond reasonable doubt that the accused:

  1. Communicated with another person, namely, Yeats.

  2. Intended to persuade Yeats to murder Keats and others.

  3. At the time of the communication, intended that Keats and others would be murdered by Yeats.

Directions

  1. It is agreed between the parties that I should direct myself on the following matters:

  1. Single witness direction

  2. Section 165 of the Evidence Act 1995, warning that the witness Yeats was criminally involved.

  3. Inference drawing.

  4. Good character.

  5. Azzopardi direction.

  1. In compliance with s 133(2) and (3) of the Criminal Procedure Act 1986, and as required by the decision of the High Court in Fleming v The Queen (1998) 197 CLR 250, I remind myself of the following principles of law: as the accused has pleaded that he is not guilty and elected trial by judge alone, it becomes my duty and responsibility to consider whether the accused is guilty or not guilty of the charge and to return my verdict according to the evidence that I have heard.

  2. I note that as the tribunal of fact, I am expected to use my individual qualities of reasoning, my experience, my understanding of people and human affairs, and my common sense. I acknowledge that I have very important matters to decide in this case, important not only to the accused but also to the whole community. I must act impartially, dispassionately and fearlessly. I must not let sympathy or emotion sway my judgment. As the sole judge of the facts, I must not act capriciously or irrationally. I am obliged to determine all relevant issues of fact according to the evidence that has been presented during the course of the trial. That evidence includes the oral evidence of the various witnesses called and the various exhibits.

  3. I remind myself that I may, in my role as a judge of the facts, draw inferences from the direct evidence. Inferences may be valid or invalid, justified or unjustified, correct or incorrect. I may only draw an inference from proven facts if such inference is the only reasonable inference that can be properly drawn from the proven facts.

Onus and standard of proof

  1. I now direct myself on the onus of proof. This is a very important direction. This is a criminal trial of a most serious nature and the burden of proof of guilt of the accused is placed on the Crown. That onus rests upon the Crown in respect of every element of the charge. There is no onus of proof on the accused at all. It is not for the accused to prove his innocence but for the Crown to prove his guilt and to prove it beyond reasonable doubt. I warn myself that suspicion is not a substitute of proof beyond reasonable doubt. It is, and always has been, a critical part of our system of justice that persons tried in this Court are presumed to be innocent unless and until they are proved guilty beyond reasonable doubt. Unless the Crown succeeds in proving each and every one of the essential ingredients or elements of the charge beyond reasonable doubt, then the accused must be found not guilty of the charges.

  2. The accused is presumed to be innocent of any wrongdoing until I am satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that his guilt has been established according to law. This does not mean that the Crown has to satisfy me of its version of the facts where some dispute arises. What is required is that the Crown proves those facts that are essential to make out the charge and proves those facts beyond reasonable doubt. These are sometimes referred to as the essential facts or ingredients of the offence. I have previously dealt with the elements of the offences.

  3. The expression, proved beyond reasonable doubt is ancient and has been deeply ingrained in the criminal law of this state for a very long time. This is the highest standard of proof known to the law. It is not an expression that is usually explained by trial judges, but it can be compared with the lower standard of proof required in civil cases where matters need only be proved on what is called the balance of probabilities.

  4. The test in a criminal case is not whether the accused is probably guilty. In a criminal trial, the Crown must prove the accused’s guilt beyond reasonable doubt. Obviously, a suspicion, even a strong suspicion that the accused may be guilty is not enough. A decision that the accused had probably committed the offence also falls short of what is required.

  5. Before I can find Thomas Eliot guilty, I must consider all the evidence placed before me and ask myself whether I am satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that the Crown has made out its case. Thomas Eliot is entitled by law to the benefit of any reasonable doubt that is left in my mind after considering the evidence before me.

Azzopardi

  1. Thomas Eliot has not given or called any evidence in response to the Crown case. There are a number of important directions of law which I must follow in relation to that fact.

  2. Although an accused person is entitled to give or call evidence in a criminal trial, there is no obligation upon him to do so. The Crown bears the onus of satisfying me beyond reasonable doubt that the accused is guilty of the offence charged.

  3. Eliot bears no onus of proof in respect of any fact that is in dispute. I remind myself that he is presumed to be innocent until I have been satisfied beyond reasonable doubt by the evidence led by the Crown that he is guilty of the offence charged.

  4. Therefore, it follows that the accused is entitled to say nothing and make the Crown prove his guilt to the high standard required. I direct myself as a matter of law, Thomas Eliot’s decision not to give evidence cannot be used against him in any way at all during the course of my deliberations. That decision cannot be used by me as amounting to an admission of guilt. I must not draw any inference or reach any conclusion based upon the fact that the accused decided not to give or call evidence. I cannot use that fact to fill in any gaps that I think might exist in the evidence tendered by the Crown. It cannot be used in any way for strengthening the Crown case or in assisting the Crown to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt. I remind myself that I must not speculate about what might have been said in evidence if Thomas Eliot had given evidence.

Inferences

  1. I may, in my role as a judge of the facts, in this judge-alone trial draw inferences from the direct evidence. There is nothing extraordinary about that, we all do it, consciously or otherwise, in our everyday lives.

  2. Inferences are conclusions of fact rationally drawn from a combination of proved facts. If (a), (b) and (c) are established as facts then one might rationally conclude that (d) is also a fact, even though there might be no direct evidence that (d) is indeed a fact. Inferences may be valid or invalid, justified or unjustified, correct or incorrect.

  3. In a criminal trial, I must be satisfied of the guilt of Thomas Eliot beyond reasonable doubt. Amongst other things, that means that I should be extremely careful about drawing any inference. I remind myself to examine any possible inference to ensure that it is a justifiable inference.

  4. In the context of a criminal trial, I should not draw an inference from the direct evidence unless it is a rational inference in the circumstances.

Single witness

  1. Wherever the Crown seeks to establish the guilt of an accused person with a case based largely or exclusively on a single witness, as it does with the evidence of William Yeats, it is important that I should exercise caution.

  2. I must exercise caution before I convict the accused because the Crown case largely depends on me accepting the reliability of the evidence of a single witness (William Yeats).

  3. This being so, unless I am satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that William Yeats is both an honest and accurate witness in the account he has given, I cannot find the accused guilty. Before I can convict the accused, I should examine the evidence of William Yeats very carefully in order to satisfy myself that I can safely act upon that evidence to the high standard required in a criminal trial.

  4. In any criminal trial, where the Crown case relies solely or substantially upon the evidence of a single witness, I must always approach that evidence with particular caution because of the onus and standard of proof placed upon the Crown.

  5. I am entitled to convict the accused upon the evidence of William Yeats, but only after I have carefully examined the evidence and satisfied myself that it is reliable beyond reasonable doubt.

  6. In considering William Yeats’ evidence and whether it does satisfy me of the accused’s guilt, I should of course look to see if it is supported by other evidence.

Section 165 of the Evidence Act 1995

  1. The Crown relies upon the evidence of William Yeats. The Crown asserts that he is a person who was involved in the alleged crime. Over the years, the courts have had a great deal of experience concerning the reliability of evidence given by a witness who was involved in the alleged crime. That experience has shown that the evidence given by such a witness may be unreliable. I warn myself that the evidence of such a witness may be unreliable, and I must approach that evidence with considerable caution. William Yeats had been charged. His lawyers arranged a deal with the prosecution that he would provide an induced statement against Thomas Eliot on the basis that his charges would be dropped, and no further charges would be laid. He was given an immunity from prosecution in respect of anything he said in the trial.

Good character

  1. The accused is a person of good character. The Crown does not contend otherwise. I take the accused’s good character into account in unlikelihood of guilt.

The evidence

  1. William Yeats gave evidence. The following documents were tendered in the trial:

1. Consent to judge alone trial.

2. Piece of paper found in William Yeats’ room.

3. Bundle of twenty photographs.

4. Bundle of internet searches from Thomas Eliot’s mobile phone

5. Crime scene warrant for [redacted], the home of Thomas Eliot.

6. Bundle of extracts from the journal of Thomas Eliot.

7. Agreed facts.

A. Drawing by Thomas Eliot 20 June 2022.

B. Bundle of nine photographs.

C. Internet telephone searches.

D. Photograph of Thomas Eliot taken on 6 May 2020.

The evidence of William Yeats

Examination-in-chief

  1. He met Thomas Eliot at high school in 2018. They were in year seven. They struck up a friendship which continued until at least mid-2020. They would hang out at school during lunch and recess and go over to their respective houses outside of school. Eliot was his best mate from year 7 to year 9.

  2. Keats and Eliot were friends one time. They had a falling out. He believed it was mid year eight, halfway through 2019. Keats was bullying Eliot. He would push him around and engaged in name-calling. He was calling names like “gay”.

  3. Eliot told Yeats that he would like to hurt or punch Keats. Yeats thought Eliot was serious.

  4. Eliot and Yeats would communicate through Xbox daily. They played tactical games and Grand Theft Auto. They were tactical based games where you have to kill them before they kill you. You could role-play in the game. Eliot sometimes asked him to be a police officer, a citizen, or sometimes they dressed up as Columbine shooters.

  5. Eliot asked him if he wanted to help to hurt Keats to which he agreed being his friend. He also asked him whether he wanted to hurt others in the school which he said he would.

Q. When Eliot asked you if you wanted to help him hurt people at the school, and you agreed--

A. Yep.

Q. What did you think about that? What did you think about Eliot’s question?

A. I thought, I'm his friend. I would do it. Yeah, that's what I thought.

Q. When he asked you that question, if you wanted to help him hurt people at school, did you think he was serious when he asked it?

A. No, not at, not at that time.

Q. Did that change? Did you change from your position that you didn't think he was serious?

A. Yes. Later on.

…

A. He said that we would run through buildings and stab people.

A. I understood that we’d go to the school and stab people and hurt them and possibly killing them.

Q. And did you agree to do that with him?

A. Yes.

  1. The Crown relies upon that evidence for the formation of agreement to murder Keats and other school students and the intention that that objective be carried out.

A. He said that he would wear black – black pants, black shirt, a mask, probably tactical gloves. Yeah, and I would wear black pants, black shirt and possibly a mask.

Q. Did Eliot asked you to buy some black gloves?

A. Yep.

Q. Did you do that?

A. No, I didn’t.

Q. When Eliot told you that you and he would run through the buildings and stab people, did he mention using anything else?

A. Ah, yes.

Q. What did he mention?

A. Using, kind of like Lynx bombs.

Q. Did Eliot tell you or relate to you the purpose of using the Lynx bombs?

A. Ah, yeah. To startle people.

Q. And did he tell you what would happen when the people were startled?

A. They would run out of rooms and meet to the evacuation plan. So, to evacuation places.

…

A. That's when we would stab people.

Q. Did Eliot tell you he had any particular person in his focus?

A. At first – ah, yeah. So, John.

Q. John Keats?

A. Yep.

Q. Did you talk about anybody else?

A. He didn't talk about anyone else. No.

Q. Did Thomas tell you that he was going to kill other people, or you and he were going to kill other people, apart from John Keats?

A. Ah, yeah. Other people, but not specific.

Q. Did you know who any of those people were?

A. Ah yes, I did.

Q. And when did you find that out?

A. It was written on a piece of paper in my room.

Q. Was that a piece of paper that was, you say, found in your room but shown to you by police?

A. Ah, yes.

Q. And did you agree that it came from your room?

A. It was in my room, but it didn't come from my room.

Q. What do you mean when you say that?

A. So, it must have been written somewhere else.

Q. Is it your writing?

A. Ah, no.

Q. Do you recognise the writing?

A. Ah, yes.

Q. Who's writing do you recognise it as?

A. Thomas’.

Q. Do you know how it got in your room?

A. It must have been left there while he was coming over to my house.

Q. Did you agree with Thomas Eliot to help him out and participate on the day that he proposed to run through the school, use Lynx explosives and stab people? Did you agree with him to do that?

A. Ah, yes. I did.

Q. Were genuine in your agreement at that time?

A. I was.

  1. The Crown relies upon this evidence in proof of the agreements and an intention that the objective be carried out.

Q. Did you see, on a particular occasion, Thomas drawing some diagrams on the white board on his desk?

A. Ah, yes.

…

A. Drawings of all the blocks at our school. So being, A Block, B Block and the other blocks.

Q. And did you see him drawing any little diagrams within those blocks?

A. Ah, yes.

Q. And what did you see him draw?

A. It looks like dynamite.

…

A. I just thought that that was, like, kind of, a part of his plan.

Q. Did he tell you anything about how he was going to get these Lynx bombs to the school?

A. In a bag?

Q. Did he describe the bag to you?

A. It's like an AFL bag. Yeah.

In year 9, after you had agreed with Thomas to do these things at the school, did you have a music class together?

A. Yes, we did.

Q. And was John Keats in that music class?

A. Yes.

Q. And when was that music class?

A. First thing Monday morning.

Q. And do you remember the room that it was in?

A. It was in E block, I'm not sure which one.

Q. If I told you E 21, would that refresh your memory?

A. Yeah, yep.

Q. Did Thomas say anything to you about using anything, or throwing anything into that room?

A. Yes.

Q. What did he say?

A. Throwing in one of the Lynx bombs.

Q. Do you remember the date that you agreed with Thomas Eliot to engage in that behaviour with him? That is, the bombing, the use of Lynx bombs and stabbing people, potentially killing them.

A. No. I can't remember the date.

Q. Did you ultimately withdraw from that agreement? Did you tell Mr Eliot that you didn't want to be involved anymore?

A. Yes.

…

Q. Why did you withdraw from the agreement with Thomas?

A. Because I didn't want [redacted] to get hurt. And I, I didn't want to, I didn't want to go along. I didn't want to go along with it.

Q. And how did you communicate that to Thomas Eliot?

A. Over - which part, sorry?

Q. The fact that you didn't want to be involved in it anymore.

A. Over Xbox party chat.

…

A. He was fine with it. He didn't get angry

…

Q. Has Thomas spoken to you about the Columbine School massacre in the United States?

A. Yes.

Q. What did he say to you about it?

A. That it was two kids that shot, shot people at the school.

Q. Did he tell you anything about those two kids? What he thought?

A. They were smart. And they, they knew what they were doing.

Q. What did you think that Thomas Eliot meant when he said, “We would use the knives to stab people”?

A. That we would use the knives to stab others that are running in the corridors.

Q. What did you believe Thomas was conveying to you would happen to those people who were stabbed?

A. They could die or they could not.

…

Q. Did you ever consider that people might be killed?

A. Yes.

Q. Why did you think that?

A. Because if you get stabbed, depending on where you get stabbed, you can die from the stab wound.

Q. Did you Thomas ever tell you that he wanted to stab and kill people?

A. Stab people, yeah. But only John that he wanted to kill.

Q. Did you tell you that he wanted to kill John Keats?

A. Yes.

Q. By stabbing him?

A. Yes.

Q. That was something you had agreed to help him with?

A. Yes.

Q. Until you withdrew?

A. Yes.

…

  1. The Crown was then granted leave for the witness to be able to refresh his memory from his statement specifically paragraphs 26 and 30.

Q. You say in that paragraph, [Crown referring to paragraph 26] and you’ve said in evidence, that Thomas said to you that you’d run through each block and set off the lynx cans to startle people.

A. Yes.

Q. It would startle people so that they would run out of the rooms, and we would use the knives to stab them. You’ve given evidence of that.

A. Yes.

Q. What did you take Thomas to be meaning when he said that?

A. To kill people.

Q. That he wanted to kill people?

A. Yep.

…

Q. You said in your evidence that Thomas told you that he wanted to kill John by stabbing him?

A. Yes.

Q. What were you going to have? Were you going to have any kind of weapon?

A. A knife, I believe.

Q. And what were you going to help Thomas do?

A. Stab people.

Q. And do what to them?

A. Possibly kill them.

Q. Can you read the second last sentence to yourself again, please – I was just going.

A. Yes.

Q. So, you were going to help Thomas stab and do what to people?

A. Kill people.

Q. Is that the conduct that you agreed to help Thomas out with, on the day, that any such conduct would occur?

A. Yes.

HIS HONOUR

Q. William, in relation to paragraph 26, can you go back to that for me, please.

A. Yep.

Q. And that last sentence, “I took this to mean Thomas wanted to kill people”. Did he actually say that to you, or is that your interpretation of what you think he wanted to do?

A. That’s mine – that’s my interpretation.

Cross-examination

  1. In cross-examination, the evidence of the witness changed dramatically. I now set out the relevant cross-examination of the witness.

  2. The witness described Thomas Eliot as a sensitive, caring, gentle person who would not get into fights and was very creative, especially with creative writing and drawing. Thomas Eliot would joke, muck around, and had a bit of a dark sense of humour at times. There are other times where he was sarcastic. He had a cat named Charlie that he loved. He also had dogs which he was affectionate towards.

  3. He described Thomas Eliot as an honest person. In June 2020, Thomas Eliot was small, particularly small compared to his peers, William Yeats, and other kids at school.

  4. In around May and June 2020, Thomas Eliot complained to him about being bullied, in particular by John Keats. He was upset by the bullying. William Yeats saw for himself some of the bullying. John Keats was considerably bigger than Thomas Eliot and was bigger and taller than William Yeats. He was a big guy. He saw John Keats push and shove Thomas Eliot. John Keats called Thomas Eliot names, including calling him gay. John Keats also teased Thomas Eliot about his height.

  5. He introduced Thomas Eliot to the school counsellor in early June 2020.

Q. William, as I understand it, your evidence is that Thomas talked about these things. You say that you can't remember, but then you say it's either before or during playing these games?

A. Yes. Yep.

HIS HONOUR: Ms Mendes, you talked about “things”, perhaps you might want to clarify that with the witness.

MENDES: Yes.

Q. When I say “things”, that is the things that Thomas said to you about hurting people.

A. Yes.

…

Q. As I understand it, the first thing that you say that Thomas said to you was something like, “At first he just asked if I wanted to hurt people”?

A. Yeah.

…

Q. I suggest that you told the police when you made your statement that “that is the kind of stuff that we would say in role play”. Do you remember saying that?

A. Yes.

Q. When you said to police “that is the kind of stuff that we would say in role play”, that was a reference to Thomas talking about wanted to hurt people?

A. Yep.

Q. Is that right?

A. Yes.

Q. When he would say things like that, he would say them when he is in role play playing GTA with you?

A. Yes.

Q. When Thomas said that to you, you thought he was mucking around, didn’t you?

A. Yes.

Q. Did you think that maybe he was just venting his frustrations?

A. I am not sure, sorry.

Q. You certainly didn’t think he was serious?

A. No.

Q. At times you would humour him by saying things like, “Shut up dickhead”?

A. Yes, yep.

Q. Or you would laugh?

A. Yep.

Q. Or you would say to him things like that, “Stop being a bitch”?

A. Yes.

Q. They were all things that were said in jest.

A. Yes.

Q. By you?

A. Yeah, by me.

Q. You understood when Thomas said that to you that he was just joking around?

A. Yes.

…

Q. Do you remember saying to Thomas things like the following, after he had said something about hurting John or others, “I know you are talking shit, you are a dickhead”? Did you ever say anything like that to him?

A. Yes.

Q. Do you remember at times Thomas saying things to you like, “I know, I am having a rant, I am being dramatic”?

A. Yes.

Q. When Thomas mentioned to you this idea that he had about running through each block and startling people with Lynx cans, you also thought that he was mucking around?

A. Yes.

…

Q. William, a school block is a two-storey concrete building?

A. Yes, except for C block.

Q. What is C block?

A. C block is like the art room.

Q. C block is one-storey?

A. No, three.

Q. What was the other block?

A. B block.

Q. How many storeys is B block?

A. Three.

Q. When Thomas said to you something about blowing up each of the blocks with Lynx cans, you didn’t seriously think that he was talking about blowing up a two or three-storey building with some Lynx cans?

A. No.

Q. You thought that was dark humour?

A. Yes.

Q. But humour?

A. Yes, for us it was humour.

Q. When he said that you could use knives to stab people, you again didn’t seriously think that either you or he would really stab people, did you?

A. No.

Q. When Thomas would talk to you about these ideas, at times you would just respond with, “Yeah, whatever”?

A. Yes.

Q. When you said that, you were just humouring him?

A. Yes.

Q. You weren’t seriously agreeing with him to actually kill people, were you?

A. No.

…

Q. If you thought that Thomas was going to hurt people back in 2020 when you were talking about, if you thought that he was serious, you would have told a responsible adult, wouldn’t you?

A. Yes.

…

Q. You wouldn't have been his friend if you thought that he was truly, genuinely intending to murder people and engage you in murdering them?

A. No.

  1. The witness went on to tell the Court that it was his understanding that if he made an induced statement, the charges against him would be dropped, and he would not be charged with any further crimes like conspiring to murder. It was for that reason that he made his statement. He was worried about himself, and just wanted things to go back to normal. He returned to school.

Q. When the officer showed you that bit of paper [exhibit 2 which had the names of 9 students from the school as identified by the witness in examination-in-chief] you remembered that you had seen it in your bedroom?

A. Yep.

Q. When you saw it, you took a photo of it and sent it to Thomas?

A. Yep.

Q. You asked him, “What’s this?”, and he said, “It was nothing”.

A. Yep.

Q. And you know nothing more about that bit of paper than what I’ve just asked you about it. Is that right?

A. Yes, yep.

Q. Saw a bit of paper on the floor, took a photo, ask Thomas. He said, “It’s nothing”.

A. Yep.

Q. William, at all times that Thomas talked to you about his ideas of hurting, or killing people, you didn’t think he was seriously going through with it, did you?

A. No.

Q. You didn’t think that he was seriously asking you to murder anyone?

A. No.

Q. You never seriously agreed with him that you’d kill, let alone hurt anyone?

A. Yeah, no.

  1. By cross-examination, Ms Mendes established the following;

  • that when Thomas Eliot spoke about hurting or killing people, William Yeats did not think Thomas Eliot was serious and Thomas Eliot was not going to go through with it.

  • Thomas Eliot was not seriously asking William Yeats to murder anyone.

  • William Yeats had never seriously agreed with Thomas Eliot that William Yeats would kill or hurt anyone.

  • That Thomas Eliot said in relation to the list of names “it was nothing”.

  • That William Yeats would not be Thomas Eliot’s friend if he was intending to murder people and engage William Yeats in murdering them.

  • William Yeats did not seriously think Thomas Eliot was going to blow up school buildings with Lynx cans. It was just humour.

  • When Thomas Eliot said they could use knives to stab people, William Yeats did not think Thomas Eliot was serious.

  • When Thomas Eliot mentioned running through the school blocks and startling people with Lynx cans, William Yeats thought Thomas Eliot was mucking around.

  1. The evidence was the complete antithesis of examination-in-chief. The prosecutor attempted to reclaim ground in re-examination. The following answers were given:

Q. And I think you said in your evidence-in-chief, that you believed he would do that?

A. No.

…

Q. I don’t want to confuse you at all. Do you remember you gave evidence that you and Thomas Eliot were going to attach Lynx cans to the blocks? He was going to light them. You were going to have a knife, and help him stab and kill people?

A. Yes, but as - I'm sorry, I forgot her name.

Q. Ms Mendes.

A. Ms Mendes said, I, the whole time I thought that he was not being serious.

Q. Okay.

A. But yes, that is, that is what I said.

Q. If you didn't believe that Thomas Eliot was serious, in what he'd asked you and he to do together, why was it that you felt the need to write to him, or say to him, that you wanted out?

A. I didn't write that.

Q. You said to him.

A. Sorry, because at some point, yes, I thought that he was being somewhat serious. But that was later on.

Q. You believed that he might do it?

A. Yes.

Q. And that’s why you believed you needed to tell him you wanted out?

A. Yes.

Q. Is that why you told him you wanted out?

A. Yes, that's why I told him.

Q. And if he did go through it, were you prepared to help him in the way you have described?

A. No, because I, that's why I said no…that's why I opted.

Q. Before that though? Before that?

A. Yes, but only as I thought he was not - I didn't think that he was, before that. Yes.

Q. Sorry, during the time that you were in agreement with him--

A. Yep.

Q. Did you believe that he would carry out what he said he’d carry out?

A. No.

Q. Why did you feel the need to tell him you didn't want to be involved anymore?

A. Because later on down the track, which was like, I don't know how long after, I thought that he was.

  1. There was conflict within re-examination of the witness’s evidence. On one hand he maintained that the accused was not being serious, and he did not believe that Thomas Eliot would carry out what he said. This conflicts with his later answer that later down the track he thought he may be serious.

  2. In assessing the witness, I have to the forefront of my mind the single witness direction and the criminally involved warning. After careful consideration of the conflicting evidence of William Yeats and considering submissions of the Crown Prosecutor, I am not satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that William Yeats is an accurate or reliable witness.

  3. I cannot safely conclude from William Yeats’ evidence that there was an agreement between Thomas Eliot and William Yeats to commit the murder of John Keats and others. Nor am I satisfied that Thomas Eliot intended to murder John Keats and others.

  4. In relation to the alternative charge of solicit to murder, I am not satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that Thomas Eliot communicated with William Yeats and intended to persuade William Yeats to murder John Keats and others.

The diary and internet search history

  1. In proof of the conspiracy or the alternative charge of solicit to murder, the Crown relies upon diary entries of Thomas Eliot and internet search history. I now consider the diary entries of Thomas Eliot. The Crown relies upon journal entries commencing 20 May 2020 and concluding on 8 June 2020. The Crown identified those parts of the journal demonstrating the intentions of the accused and the agreement he had with William Yeats. I have read the diary in its entirety, not just the passages highlighted by the Crown. The highlights are contained in MFI-4. They read as follows;

24 May 2020

having a journal is good in most cases. I personally enjoy having one as I get to unleash my thoughts and ideas. I have tried this before many times actually but they all failed. The reason for that is because I had no motive or incentive to continue it. However with this journal I have both of those feelings… I do not need help. No one cares about me. [there is a sad face emoji under this entry].

25 May 2020

The people how fake, annoying, medium, ignorant, arrogant, stupid and incredibly dumb. In science they looked out the window ([Redacted], [Redacted], [Redacted], [Redacted], [Redacted]) and spotted [Redacted]/[Redacted], sticking their fingers up and saying mean comments. I just wanted to beat the shit out of all of them, or grab a gun and shoot every one of them. FUCK!!!... I need to release the anger, pain, rage, torment, and MORE RAGE!!!... whoever might be reading this I cannot properly explain how I feel but I’ll try…. If I was in America I’d work my ass off illegally buy a large calibre rifle and blow my head off to end the ridicule, pain, torment and bullshit. That does it, I’m suicidal, great. This journal is my 100% true thoughts, ideas, maybes, etc. My twisted, shaking, rage filled mind and body is writing this as I listen to Off Spring. Why me???

… I feel homicidal and suicidal, I am a fucking psycho! Since when did I ever imagine that I feel this way? One thing is clear, if I do not get help soon, I’ll do something, a complete and either shitshow! A tragedy for fear, but relief for me. I’m so angry. So fucked. I need help. But help though everyone is faking a personality towards you when you “get help” and I am disgusted by fake people.

31 May 2020

I’ve called Lifeline numerous times and expressed how my suicidal and homicidal ideation is growing at a very high rate… I would happily kill every single one of those pricks if I could get away with it. I mean, suicide is a way to get out of it, to avoid the consequences. LIGHTBULB! That is the smartest idea.

… I think of dark things regularly, for example me walking in the school and with a sawed off shotgun wearing a leather trenchcoat, combat/utility gear and killing everyone who ever fucked me over or made me feel like shit, or made me this sad sack of SHIT! I am a whole lot more homicidal than suicidal (IDEATION).

… I think by the time I’m 16-17 I’ll be in the school harming various individuals who caused me pain.

… Those are thoughts and are unlikely to ever happen since I personally believe that I am a good natured person who’ll figure it out but whatever.

… My mum should take me to the GP, like seriously. I feel that someone slightly annoys me/triggers me, I’ll overreact and seriously harm someone which I DO NOT WANT AT ALL. It’s my time to go peace.

3 June 2020

… On a sadder note but not surprising, I attended the doctors, did a test and I have mild anxiety along with moderate depression… It’s working it really is. I can’t believe I went an entire day without paying any attention to negative staff, it’s working, I’m thrilled. I’m so happy… I’ll start a mood rating (MR) like a scale from 0-10 of my mood. Zero being the saddest and lowest ever, while attending is the happiest and highest ever.

5 June 2020

I have quit the brain pain today and I’ve done extensive research on flammable substances and explosive substances along with some chemical reactions. My interest is peaked. I now know how to make toxic chlorine vapour, chloroform, WW 1 tear gas, Dichloroacetene, hydrochloric acid, toxic chlorine gas (chemical warfare agent) paracetic acid, a possible explosion combo.

…P.S. I’m coming closer to pure retaliation (PR) every day I’m yet so far away. Diary 5/06/20 10:02 pm – Friday MR 7:0-10 P.S (Part 2): I’ll be changing “LIGHTBULB to “pure retaliation” (part 3): Im happier since im nearing “PR”.

6 June 2020

I need to learn a bit more on explosives I have a better understanding of flammable substances than I do with explosives.

… I’ll add a “to-do list” or a “work list” at the back of the book and add various things.

… Closer and closer to PR I’m really excited but it’ll be a couple of years I think.

7 June 2020

so I bought glass? Start a very peaceful start. Buy the mask/bandanna, trenchcoat, suspenders and pouches/belt last month or two away from each other I have two ways of PR, loud or silent.

Pure Retaliation Part 5

8/06/20-12:10pm-Monday

alliances or “partners in crime”, has agreed to help me out and participate on the day. “[Redacted]” as his name would be “[redacted]” being me. We intend to commit an act that will ruin on the school’s reputation, traumatise people and get our revenge.

… I’ve got ages until the event well “we” now. I hope he doesn’t pussy out, he probably will but eh, well see.

… Guess who pussied out? [Redacted] did or as we should call em I knew it would happen I never thought it would be this soon. Is that a warning sign? Regardless I have news good news. I found a website that contains literally everything! I’m talking improvised firearms, improvised weapons,… This website shed light on pipe bombs that I haven’t attempted to make because of safety factors. However it’s provided me with safe construction procedures and how to maximise effect/lethality. I’ve also learnt how to make “Croats” or CO2 BOMBS! I’ll draw a diagram on the page over for a pipe bomb.

  1. Ms Mendes, counsel for the accused, prepared a document summarising some of the journal entries (MFI-6). I insert the document in this judgment.

Page ref.

Diary Entry

1b

Bitterness

20/5/20 – 8:10 pm

Wow. Lets sum up my life, the most miserable existence in the entirety of mankind. It’s crazy to think how I ended up like this, like really. My bitterness is extreme, I feel so bland, so empty, alone, boring. I have little happiness, no ambitions, no goals, not a lot of friends, no love.

All my life I’ve been a caring, loving, truthful/honest, gentle-man like, empathetic, tried to be helpful, polite and real. But, this generation is completely absurd. Do I expect $1000 to land in my pocket? Do I expect to be top of the food chain? Do I expect to be liked by everyone?

Of course not.

2a

[redacted]/[redacted]

I feel like an absolute psycho, ever since [redacted] I’ve felt like nothing. Ah [redacted], god. She was and is so beautiful, she was amazing, always by my side, always talking/hanging with me, always caring, she loved me, she gave me the biggest confidence boost, I felt amazing. She loved me

[Redacted] I don’t know, don’t have words to it. Well a few only negative. He made the breakup happen, it was all him everything. I hit the jack pot with [redacted], but he pushed me down and down when the breakup happen…

It’s not fair, life isn’t. Guess what? A human body has so many faults, errors and dangers.

One slip while washing the dishes, a knife could only slice through the side of your neck, and that’s it, external carotid artery is gone, your dead from exsanguination in 5 minutes.

Apologies for the handwriting, I am fuelled by rage and have so much on my mind I just keep writing faster than I can think.

2b

My life, my rules, my actions

One problem is people telling me what to do, when to do, what to think, act and all that.

You listen good, I will do what I want, understand me? I WILL DO WHAT I WANT, WHEN I WANT, HOW I WANT AND TO WHO I WANT ! ! ! That’s the base line, so don’t come to me and say “finish your homework” “clean your room”, “be quiet”, “do this, that” etc., otherwise soon I will lash out and someone will get hurt.

That applies to parents, siblings and others. Just leave me alone.

3b

Sad Thoughts

23/5/2020 - 5:09 pm

… I constantly feel like there is something wrong, like I’m pushed down, like a massive hole or a massive weight is in my chest.

I could take up dying right now but lets see what good things I have: a good house, okay parents, a couple of good friends and possessions (this book, phone, tv, xbox, computer) hmm.

Bad things: no love, barely any friends and nobody accepting me for anything, everyone judging me. Nobody letting me do things that I want to do.

Why am I afraid to say ‘major’ swear words? FUCK YOU ! ! ! It’d be nice if I could scream it right now. To all the people that have screwed me over, all the people who have bully, the popular group “eshay group” HAH! Funny, young smokers are funny. I’m gonna laugh when you are 20 and breathe out your necks! You’ll suffer assholes.

4a

This War Of Mine

24.5.2020 - 6:05 pm

God. If feel so sick, makes sense though. I stayed up till 3:00 am with [redacted] watching movies and music blasting outside. [Redacted] was blind drunk and there were like 10 fifty-year olds drunk.

… School tomorrow ! I’m excited I get to wear my pants as well, “utility” pants as I call them. They feel nice, have secure pockets, they are tough too. However, they are a bitch to get off, the bottom of the legs like wrap around 20 times.

I feel better in them, things that secure me and conceal me make me feel good…

4b

THUNDER KISS ’65 !!!

A great song, a great era and a great example of how great back then was compared to now. I would have loved it. Better music and no shit rap or shit music.

All the music was what I enjoy.

That’s what I hate about this generation! Who, when and where did that shit music, artists, musicians, “rappers” – or demons/devils as I call them, come into the whole music industry?

5a

Up Late - ☹ - ☹

24.5.2020 - 9:51 pm

The hiccups again ! Why did they start? Well as stated in the back of the book, I enjoy writing it’s like reading but your creating the story. It brings a sense of safety, thrill, happiness, sadness, intelligence and a sense of taking a ‘weight’ off my shoulders, it’s nice!

I should be asleep but I need to calm down and relax, pushing all my thoughts onto the paper and pinning them there until I wake up. Hopefully it works. I told my mum I have a journal, I don’t know why, I’m too honest. I shouldn’t give away more information than required, but yet I continue to do so.

Having a journal is good in most cases. I personally enjoy having one as I get to unleash my thoughts and ideas.

5b

RAGE RAGE FUCKING RAGE !!

25.5.2020 - 7:10 pm

I can’t ! School ! WHY ? Going to school today was okay at first, I then realised how my rage started.

The people, how fake, annoying, mean, ignorant, arrogant, stupid and incredibly dumb. In science they looked out the window ([redacted], [redacted], [redacted], [redacted], [redacted]) and spotted [redacted]/[redacted], sticking their fingers up and saying mean comments. I just wanted to beat the shit out of all of them, or grab a gun and shoot every one of them.

FUCK!!!

6a

A N G E R ! ! !

25/5/2020 – 8:01 pm

…Whoever might be reading this, I cannot properly explain how I feel but I’ll try.

I am left out annoyed ordered around, ignored, excluded, *weird*, not cared for, not loved lied to, pushed away.

I am so sad, overwhelmed, anxiety, ridden, hate filled and rage driven. I honestly would call myself depressed but I’m not diagnosed because NOONE takes me seriously or cares.

If I was in America I’d work my ass off, illegally buy a large calibre rifle and blow my head off to end the ridicule, pain, torment and bullshit. That does it, I’m suicidal, great.

This journal is my 100% true thoughts, ideas, maybe’s, etc.

6b

R A G E ! ! !

25/5/2020 – 8:01 pm

…I’m that sad? What did I do to deserve this, I don’t want to die but yet I do. It’s so tough, I can’t handle it, it’s such a challenge, every day.

7b

! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

1/6/2020 - 12:18 am

I think of dark thoughts regularly for example me walking into school armed with a sawed off shotgun wearing a leather trench coat, combat/utility gear and killing everyone who ever fucked me over or made me feel like shit, or made me this sad sack of SHIT ! I am a whole lot more homicidal than suicidal (IDEATION)

But I don’t really want things like that to happen, right? I want to experience the new technology, games and new relationships. Even careers! Well if things don’t change and fast, then I think by the time I’m 16-17 I’ll be in the school harming various individuals who caused me pain. I feel terrible not about the ideation because those are thoughts and are unlikely to ever happen since I personally believe that I’m a good-natured person who’ll figure it out but whatever.

I’ll call lifeline soon, preferably after this entry. My mum should take me to the GP, like seriously. I feel like if someone slightly annoys me/triggers me, I’ll overreact and seriously harm someone which I DO NOT WANT AT ALL !

8a

1/6/2020 - 10:03 pm

My mum …

you swore and promised not to tell dad, that I would when I’m ready. But you disregarded me, ignored me, lied to me, betrayed me.

FUCK YOU!

8b

1/6/2020 - 10:30 pm

… it’s gonna be partially your fault (LIKELY REFERENCE TO MUM WHO SWORE AND PROMISED NOT TO TELL DAD – ENTRY OF 1/6/2020 – 10:03 PM) if I do something bad. That can vary from a physical fight to something way/far more serious. But that could be juvenile acts, who knows.

I can’t write properly, Im calling Lifeline…

9a

HELP IS COMING

3/6/2020 - 4:02 pm

Today was the best day I’ve had in a very long time! …

On a sadder note but not surprising, I attended the doctors, did a test and I have Mild Anxiety along with Moderate Depression. What the hell? I am now on a medication called ‘Fluoxetine’. I was against it at first but I have not stuttered, felt un-confident or sad the entire day! Not even angry or stressed. It’s working, it really is. I can’t believe I went an entire day without paying any attention to negative stuff, it’s working, I’m thrilled!

9b

Fun Times Though

3/6/2020 – 4:23 pm

I’m so happy…

11a

LIGHTBULB PART 2

5/6/2020 – 7:47 pm

9:46 pm – I’m back, I had a talk with [redacted] and found some juvenile things to do. Something to exhilarate me.

• Knocking and running

• Shit + bag + Fire + Knock + hide

• Rocking houses

• Egging houses

• TP ing houses

11b

Fucking Dead

PS I’m coming closer to Pure Retaliation (PR) every day. I’m yet so far away.

5/6/2020 – 10:02 pm

11b

PURE RETALIATION PART 3

6/6/2020 – 2:52 pm

I have some knowledge or medical knowledge and even knowledge of creating gases through mixing substances. …

Work was good I was on burgers and I went well. Closer and closer to PR I’m really excited but it’ll be a couple of years I think. I’ll create a few pages on PR and list EVERYTHING. It’s a conspiracy to murder, careful.

12a

12b

PURE RETALIATION PART 5

8/6/2020 - 12:40 pm

Alliances or ‘partners in crime’ … has agreed to help me out and participate on the day. “[Redacted]” as his name would be “[Redacted]” being me, we intend to commit an act that will ruin the school’s reputation, traumatise people and get our revenge.

He will surely pussy out, that’s fine if he does because I’ll be proceeding with the act regardless… I’ve got ages until the event, well ‘we’ now.

?? GUESS WHO ??

8/6/2020 - 10:04 pm

Guess who pussied out? [Redacted] did – or as we should call em. I knew it would happen I never thought it would be this soon.

  1. Ms Mendes also provided to the court a document titled internet phone search table (MFI-7). I insert that document in the judgment.

Search Number

Date

Search

109 – 112

20/5/2020

Figuratevly, figu

141 – 153

18/5/2020

Examples of straight alcohol, is alcohol flammable, flammable nail polish, common dry cleaning agents flammable.

168-170

171-180

189

16/5/2020

16/5/2020

16/5/2020

is tiger king real

KFC [redacted]

I cant join featured jobs on GTA from the loading screen

190-191

14/5/2020

We’re here for you – Headspace, Meditation and Sleep made simple

212 – 225

13/5/2020

eric Harris car outfit of Columbine shooters

226-227

13/5/2020

how lonng is a day in GTA 5

242-243

12/5/2020

is riding a bike with one hand illegal

263–267

11/5/2020

class 3 firearms license

269-272

11/5/2020

Baker boy songs

(No. 268 is searched at 00:58:19)

(No. 269 is searched at 00:57:59)

286-291

292-321

10/5/2020

10/5/2020

x ae a-12, “X AE A-12” Elon Musk explains how to pronounce his son’s name

Memes, steam search

363-358

9/5/2020

rust resources game (No. 360)

373-400

8/5/2020

Yobe State school shooting, list of school shootings in the United States – Wikipedia, XM15-E2S rifle, Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting, A Columbine site – The Columbine High School shootings.

372–370

8/5/2020

release date rust console, Rust console versions | what is the rust PS4 and Xbox One release date?

401-444

7/5/2020

Toronto van attack number of deaths, “You’re all going to die I can’t wait”: Prosecutors release school shooter’s chilling videos, disturbing school shooting videos, firearms, Columbine High School Massacre - Wikipedia, Columbine weapon used, Columbine High School Massacre Autopsies.

447-448

477-495

7/5/2020

7/5/2020

34” gaming monitor 60fps, what is 4k resolution, what size monitor is too big for gaming, Soniq Australia

searching cat breeds – Turkish van cat breed information (No 492) and hostile and untame cats, unfriendly cat breeds.

510- 557

6/5/2020

searching various elements on the periodic table of elements including calcium, na, neon, fluorine and including a search for “b on the periodic table” (No 551).

558-561

5/5/2020

searching mathematical problems “153 out of 1600 as a decimal”

640-643

24/4/2020

GTA, search and rescue vehicles

675- 665

20/4/2020

glock 18, draco gun

Submissions

  1. The Crown made the following submission in relation to the journal entries;

“The Crown says he had some dark thoughts, and intent to act on those dark thoughts. Those dark thoughts, when he sought the assistance of another to carry them out, the Crown says, amounted to a crime.

In May 2020, the accused started a written journal, clearly not his first, where he recorded his feelings and intentions. Initially, the journal was, perhaps, nothing more than a muse, recording his feelings of bitterness, of hate, and of sadness.

But the musing stopped, the Crown says, on Sunday 24 May 2020, when the accused wrote in his journal, “Having a journal is good in most cases, I personally enjoy having one, as I get to unleash my thoughts and ideas. I have tried this before, many times actually, they all failed. The reason for that is because I had no motive or incentive to continue it. However, with this journal, I have both of those feelings.

The Crown says that his motive and incentive were revenge, retaliation, retribution, for wrongs he perceived others had done to him, John Keats in particular. He even named them, “Pure retaliation” and “Project Hellfire”. After that entry in particular, the contents of the accused journal are no longer mere musings. They are the explicit thoughts of someone who had retaliation on his mind, of a person who was planning a mass casualty event.

It is conceded that there are entries in the accused’s journal where he expresses concern at his own behaviour, where he wavers at his own thoughts about his own intentions, but these, the Crown says, occur at the time before the agreement with William Yeats, when he was acting alone - so they carry little weight as to his intention at the time of making the agreement with William Yeats.

It is the accused’s thoughts and intentions at the time of the agreement on 8 June 2020 that are critical. He did not waver in his thoughts on that day. He was not equivocal. He was emphatic in his statements of his intentions on that date.”

  1. The Crown asks me to draw the ultimate inference of guilt of the accused by reason of the diary and internet search entries. To draw such an inference, the Crown is required to exclude all reasonable hypothesis consistent with innocence.

  2. Ms Mendes made the following submissions;

“…the entry on 8 June, firstly it needs to be considered within the context of the entire diary, and noting that my submission is that the diary, in total, is part of the child’s fantastical thinking. He’s venting, he’s ranting, to self-soothe and cope with the general torment that he was feeling,…

What is in 8 June, in my submission, is the only part of that diary where those thoughts of involving William are there and, in my submission, the writing itself - not the handwriting - but the commentary in it, you know, is part of his child-like imagery that he engaged in during this period, and I’ll develop that submission further shortly.

It's my submission that, ultimately, your Honour couldn't conclude - just to finalise the point about 8 June, your Honour, having raised it - that on the evidence, it's my submission that your Honour wouldn't find that William Yeats, on that single journal entry, sincerely or genuinely agreed with Thomas to murder John Keats and other students at the [redacted].

…the fact that Thomas Eliot told his mother about his journal and showed her his journal…

…. The evidence of Thomas’ intention is to be considered through the subjective lens of a 14-year-old boy, a young adolescent and immature male - that children don't bear the same responsibility for their words as mature adults.

He played a lot of Xbox games that involve fantasy killing. It's reasonably possible that these emotionally fuelled and lengthy fantasy killing sessions likely influenced the chatter about wanting to kill the school bullies. The words uttered, the words written, the images found in the searches conducted, need to be carefully considered through the lens of a socially and biologically immature child, who was also at a troubled stage of his young life.

…the words that are in bold, in my submission, capture his angst and his musings in dramatic form. He felt bitter, bland, ignored, sad, he had low mood, he lost his girlfriend, he wanted to be loved, he wanted a girlfriend, he hated being told what to do adults, he hated “shit music”, he hated fake people. He occasionally had a good day and felt happy. He wrote about juvenile things he wanted to do - knocking and running, a “shit plus bag plus fire, plus knock plus hide, rocking houses, egging houses, and it's within this context that he dreamt up a plan, a PR, in which he wrote about killing his classmates. He said that he liked creating a story. That's at 5A. He bought a sense of safety, thrill, happiness, sadness, intelligence, sense of taking the weight off my shoulders, it's nice.

…. He expressed in his journal what I submit to be ambivalence about going through the plan, and all the parts that are highlighted in yellow in my submission, point to Thomas’ ambivalence.

…In my submission is mixed and contradictory feelings about PR, his evidence that he did not form the intention at any stage to actually want the death of John Keats or other students to in reality occur. With respect to the diary overall, my submission is that his powerful and emotive language is best understood through the lens of his developmental stage in life. He was only 14. An available inference to be drawn from the use of omnipotent fantasy, blowing up the ordeans with Lynx deodorant cans and stabbing people is that Thomas Eliot was just a young adolescent engaging in fantasy to cope with his angst.

…Moving on to the third point. The inherently plausible plan. Although the Crown made the submission that it matters not that it was impossible. In my submission, the fact that it was inherently unlikely to occur is relevant to the issue of intention. It had all the characteristics, that is the plan, of being childlike fantasy, blowing up a school with Lynx can boomers, startling people, stabbing them as they ran out. Although he searched the Columbine school massacre, that involved an entirely different modus operandi. Clearly that involved the use of firearms. And whilst those searches were morbid, they were not illegal or even immoral, and were likely fascinating. There is simply no evidence of anything beyond the topic of the search itself. And the content of the sites he Googled, or what the child actually read, is unknown.

…there is no evidence of any searches during the charged period. These searches must therefore be of limited relevance. They occur entirely outside the period, in fact, between 20 April and 20 May 2020.

The defence seeks to highlight that the following searches that intersect with the searches that the Crown relies upon, “Is Tiger King real?”, “How long is a day in GTA?”, “How do you pronounce Elon Musk son's name?” I won't try that myself. Xbox game searches, Rust, steam and so forth. Searches for cat breeds, hostile and untamed, and unfriendly cats.

And in my submission, these searches, when considered in total, point to Thomas Eliot having been an immature child with a curious mind, in a state of flux, he’s looking at Columbine, unfriendly cats, locks, and whether riding a bike with one handle was legal. And as a side note, your Honour, in my submission, it's incongruous that someone searching the legalities of riding a bicycle with one hand would be simultaneously plotting a high school massacre.”

  1. In summary, Ms Mendes made the following points;

  1. The entry on 8 June 2020 needs to be considered within the context of the entire diary and is part of a child’s fantastical thinking.

  2. The age of the accused (14).

  3. The implausible nature of his plan.

  4. Showing the journal to his mother is not the actions of a guilty person but rather someone seeking help.

  5. The forensic psychiatric assessment of Thomas Eliot a week after his admission (see Exhibit 7, agreed facts, paragraph 13. [Name redacted], consultant forensic child and adolescent psychiatrist and [name redacted], senior clinical psychologist at 8 July 2020: “Thomas Eliot presented with a low risk of engagement in violence”. This finding is inconsistent with him having a murderous intent on 8 June 2020.

  6. There is no evidence of any internet searches during the charged period. The net searches point to an immature child with a curious mind in a state of flux.

  7. The evidence relied upon does not support a case to that to 14-year-old gentle and well-behaved boys formed a murderous intent and sincerely plotted to unlawfully kill a number of children.

  1. The diary entries must be looked at through the lens of a 14-year-old child. A child who was severely depressed. Topics canvassed included teenage love, tired of being told what to do, depression, self-reflection, his mother’s relationship with [name redacted], make a stand against bullying, sad thoughts, unequal relationship between student and teacher, music and songs, staying up late, hiccups, using the journal to unleash thoughts and ideas, anxiety, loss of friendship, rage, fake and annoying people, violence, swearing, anger, inability to multitask, not cared for, not loved, suicidal thoughts, if he was in America he could buy a gun, if he can get a gun he will shoot himself in the brain, homicidal and suicidal psycho, the need for help, feeling fucked, I do not want to die but yet I do, every day is a challenge, the calling of Lifeline numerous times, happy to kill people if he could get away with it, suicide is a smart idea it is a way to get out of it to avoid the consequences, I don’t feel cut out for this life, dark thoughts, I am a whole lot more homicidal and suicidal. But I don’t want things like that to happen, right? I want to experience the new technology, games and new relationships even career. I feel terrible not about the ideation because those are thoughts and are unlikely to ever happen since I personally believe that I am a good natured person who’ll figure it out. Wanting his mum to take him to the GP, he does not want to overreact and harm someone, his mum tucking him into bed, feeling betrayed by his mother telling his father something, what’s self-harm like, so anxious feeling like throwing up, “3/06/20 was the best day I’ve had in a very long time”. Attending the doctor diagnosed with mild anxiety and moderate depression and being placed on medication, the medication is working, feeling happy, he cannot descend to a planned suicide state, mood rating, homework, the plant Salvia, LSG, marijuana, research on flammable substances and explosives, juvenile things to do such as egging houses, work was good he was on burgers, it will be a couple of years until pure retaliation, viewing a website for safe construction of bombs, William Yeats pussied out.

Conclusion

  1. In looking at all the entries in the diary and the internet searches conducted by Thomas Eliot, I am not satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that they satisfy the elements required to prove a conspiracy or in the alternative the charge of solicit.

  2. The diary entries are the writings of a severely depressed and anxious child who was experiencing a great deal. The topics are wide-ranging where he wavers at his own thoughts.

  3. Where he writes “I am a whole lot more homicidal and suicidal” he continues to write “but I don’t want things like that to happen, right. I want to experience the new technology, games and new relationships even career”. These are not the writings of an agreement to murder and an intention to carry out that agreement. He further writes “I feel terrible not about the ideation because those are thoughts and are unlikely to happen since I personally believe I am a good natured person who’ll figure it out”. Those words do not point to an intention to murder. They point to the opposite.

  4. I accept Ms Mendes’ submission that Thomas Eliot was venting, ranting and did so to self-soothe and cope with the torment he was feeling. They are the writings of a young adolescent and immature male.

  5. I’m not satisfied the Crown has excluded all reasonable hypothesis consistent with innocence. I am unable to draw the ultimate inference that the Crown asks me to draw namely guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt.

Orders

  1. Count 1: Not guilty.

  2. Count 2: Not guilty.

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Decision last updated: 19 August 2022

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Fleming v The Queen [1998] HCA 68
Fleming v The Queen [1998] HCA 68
Fleming v The Queen [1998] HCA 68