‘This happened right in front of a little girl’: Teen who killed Vyleen White gets 16 years behind bars

For just a few seconds, the voice of Vyleen White filled a Brisbane courtroom as her voicemail was played through the speakers. It ended with “have a lovely day”.

It was cold comfort to her loved ones, as they waited to hear the chief justice hand down a sentence of 16 years to a teenager, who callously and senselessly killed the 70-year-old as she went shopping on a Saturday evening.

The Ipswich woman had been in the car park of a Redbank Plains shopping centre in February last year when she was murdered by the 16-year-old, who stabbed her and did not hesitate, the Supreme Court was told this week.

The killing, described as horrendous, unfolded in front of a little girl, who rushed to get help.

Chief Justice Helen Bowskill handed down her decision on Thursday morning, describing the teenager’s actions as callous and cowardly, and were made worse by the fact White was a defenceless woman.

He will be released after serving fewer than 10 years.

Premier David Crisafulli and Attorney-General Deb Frecklington said they would consider the sentence.

The teenager was brandishing a knife and almost running when he confronted White while she was near the escalator of the shopping centre, the chief justice said.

The 16-year-old demanded White’s car keys, and she took a few steps back with her hands raised, before he attacked her.

“This happened right in front of a little girl ... you knew you had seriously harmed Ms White,” Bowskill said.

But she said the teenager did not stop to check on his victim, and instead moved to steal her car.

The chief justice said the young girl was scared, but remarkably brave. She ran up the escalators to look for help.

White was unable to be saved after she suffered a wound of 17 centimetres. Upon hearing this in the courtroom, several members of White’s family cried.

“Your actions were callous and cowardly. They are made even worse by the fact that you attacked a defenceless woman.”

Chief Justice Helen Bowskill

Bowskill said the teenager was a towering young man at two metres tall.

White’s family, including her husband, Victor, and her daughters, had told the court how her death had haunted them, and they had struggled with the devastation of losing her.

Her death sent shockwaves through the community, and sparked outrage over juvenile offenders, as the LNP pushed for harsher penalties for young criminals.

Outside court, the family praised Crisafulli for being honourable and delivering on his promise to bring in harsher penalties for young offenders. The family said while they had hoped for the highest possible sentence, unfortunately the judge’s hands were tied.

White’s daughters, Cindy, Julie and Danice, spoke of how confronting the court proceedings were.

“We didn’t understand, or know, it was a 17-centimetre wound. How in the hell does anyone survive that? That’s the thing, I just gasped. Just knowing that it would’ve been so quick,” Cindy Micallef said.

“We’re all just grappling with the fact of the horror Mum would’ve felt.”

Julie Ryan said it was difficult to pick up the pieces and try to instil hope in her family when she had none herself.

“That’s been the hardest thing, because Mum was a woman of hope and faith and you try and follow in those footsteps,” she said.

“No time will ever be enough. We all have a life sentence. That’s the reality of it. And this follows you everywhere you go. There’s no escaping.”

She said she hoped the teenager was now in detention planning to turn his life around, otherwise the court process might as well have been for nothing.

At the start of the teenager’s sentencing, the court heard how the young girl saw White being stabbed and rushed to get help.

“When I saw the man I felt very scared,” Crown Prosecutor Chris Cook read on behalf of the girl. “After that, sometimes I feel unsafe when I go to that place ... Sometimes I have trouble falling asleep, I worry that I will have bad dreams.”

Cook said the killer had been with a group of youths earlier in the day, who had been drinking near the shopping centre. He left alone, carrying a knife and wearing a surgical mask covering his face, the court was told.

The teenager entered the shopping centre’s car park intent on stealing a car, Cook said.

“He stabbed her, and he didn’t hesitate.”

Bowskill said the teenager committed the crime while he was on bail for other crimes, which was an aggravating factor.

He was convicted this year of unlawful use of a car as well as three charges of armed robbery in company with violence, committed in June 2023.

One of the previous offences involved the teenager and others targeting people offering phones for sale, Bowskill said, and when they met them, the teenager’s co-offender would produce a knife and take the phone without paying for it.

On one occasion, when the teenager was 15, Bowskill said a young female complainant was injured by a knife.

The court heard the teenager was affiliated with a criminal gang in the Ipswich area, and had carried a knife as a misguided form of protection. Bowskill said he had previously reported that offending gave him a thrill.

He came from a loving and supportive family, the court heard, and was the oldest of seven siblings. The teenager’s parents came to Australia from South Sudan in 2007, just before he was born, and he had a happy and positive childhood, she said.

Bowskill said when he was 14, he moved to Ipswich, and he struggled to adjust to the new environment, and connected with a person who was affiliated with a criminal gang.

“You are not a young person who has had a prejudicial, deprived upbringing, as so many of the young people who commit crimes have had. You were loved and cared for by your parents. Many young people ... experience a challenging time ... they do not respond by becoming serious, violent criminals.

“If they did, our society would crumble. Your malleability made you weak and susceptible to the terrible influence of others.”

The court heard the teenager had been charged in relation to an assault in detention while he was awaiting his sentence.

He told a psychologist he was intoxicated on the day he killed White, which Bowskill said was no excuse. He reported after her death that he had no memory of stabbing White, and he essentially blacked out, Bowskill said.

Cook submitted if the crime was determined to be particularly heinous, a sentence of 17 to 18 years could be imposed. The teenager’s barrister, Matthew Hynes, told the court a sentence of 12 to 13 years was appropriate.

“Adult time, adult crime” law changes would not apply to the teenager’s case, Bowskill said.

The killer had his conviction for murder recorded, and would be released after serving 60 per cent of the time.

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