How Mechelle Turvey's grief and love for her son Cassius captured hearts across Australia

Australia Broadcast Center

08-05-2025

Mechelle Turvey had just lost her son.
WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains images of a person who has died, used with the permission of their family. It also contains details some people may find distressing.
One of his murderers
was handcuffed in the building behind her, and in front of her was a media pack.
"For no reason I've lost him. We only buried his father a month ago," she told reporters outside court on October 24, 2022.
Cassius Turvey was murdered while walking after school in Perth's east.
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Supplied
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Her voice was trembling. Tears welled up. Her family held her as she conjured the courage to continue speaking.
"My heart is breaking," she said.
"
I'm relying on you guys to help us with justice for Cassius.
"
Her cry for help — her deep grief and boundless love for her son — went on to capture hearts across the nation.
A vortex of pain and fury
Noongar-Yamatji schoolboy Cassius Turvey died after being brutally beaten with a metal pole in broad daylight while walking with friends after school.
He was 15 years old.
Those who knew the teenager described him as a "kind and gentle soul".
But in the days after Cassius died, his name spread with fury, along with a stark message: "justice for Cassius".
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Supplied: Mechelle Turvey
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Questions were raised at the time as to
Crowds of
The prime minister even weighed in, saying the attack was a "human tragedy" that "just breaks your heart".
But amongst the vortex of fury and rage after yet another Indigenous death, Mechelle Turvey called for calm.
Mechelle Turvey at a candlelight vigil for her son.
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ABC News: Cason Ho
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"Do not use my son's tragedy as a platform to blow your trumpets," she told a crowd of attendees at a candlelit vigil for her son.
"
Kids matter ... all our kids.
"
Justice for Cassius, in Mechelle's eyes, wouldn't be achieved through retribution or stoking racial tensions. It was about listening, learning, and improving.
"Anger ... will manifest in your heart to a point where you hate everyone and everything,"
Mechelle Turvey speaks in front of a crowd of thousands.
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ABC News: Cason Ho
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On November 2, 2022, just weeks after her sons death, Mechelle led a peaceful rally of thousands in Perth with the words "Kids Matter" emblazoned on the back of her shirt.
A crowd of thousands at a rally for Cassius Turvey.
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ABC News: Cason Ho
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Thousands more followed suit in dozens of rallies across Australia in a
Again, Mechelle Turvey made her message clear. It wasn't one of retribution or anger, but of hope. Hope for the future: "Kids matter".
'Three months of hell'
It's been a long and arduous journey for the grieving mother,

Cassius's attacker Jack Brearley was described by the prosecutor as being filled with fury over petty grievances and "hunting for kids" after his car windows had been smashed.
While racial slurs had been yelled on the day Cassius was attacked, the trial never cited racial motivations as a factor behind the attack.
Cassius Turvey was remembered by his teachers as always willing to help his classmates.
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Facebook: The Awesome Boileys
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Rather, it was an act of vigilantism gone horribly wrong.
Forever 15
The court heard the 15-year-old was walking with a group of friends after school when he was fatally attacked by Brearley using a metal handle ripped from a shopping trolley.
Another man, Brodie Palmer, was also found guilty of murder for helping Brearley; and a third, Mitchell Forth, was convicted of manslaughter. The men were all in their 20s, significantly older than the boys they targeted.
Two-and-a-half years after her boy died, Mechelle Turvey walked out of court surrounded by family and supporters, and yelled: "Justice".
Supporters of the family gathered with Mechelle Turvey and shouted "justice" outside court after the verdicts were read.
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ABC News: David Weber
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"I'd like to thank the 91 witnesses, and may I say, most of them were young children that are scarred for life," she said.
"
15 years of age, my son has finally got justice. May he live forever 15.
"
'Mama's on a mission'
In light of her experiences with police after her son's death, Mechelle has gone on to help train officers to manage the needs of victims of crime.
It was Mechelle's way of using her grief, and love, to make a difference. She quoted one of her son's cheeky phrases:
"Mama's on a mission,"
she said.
"It's not only helping people in the community in the long run, and the police, it's also helping me."
Cassius Turvey's mother Mechelle, pictured with Detective Steve Cleal outside court on Wednesday, has worked with police since her son's murder.
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ABC News: David Weber
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Mechelle was named
Speaking after Thursday's verdict outside court, there was a sense of finality in Mechelle's words as she told reporters what she had planned for the next chapter of her life.
"Trying to do what I have been doing, and taking one day at a time, and getting myself to be the best version of myself," she said.
"
I feel very light-weighted in my heart and soul today.
"
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