Kaiden Morgan was a rising community leader. Two teens are accused of murdering him

Warning: This article contains the name and image of a deceased Indigenous person.

Stamping his bare feet into the earth and dancing alongside his mob, Kaiden Morgan was in his element this time last year as a young man with deep connections to Country, culture, and family.

The Wakka Wakka, Wurundjeri and Yorta Yorta man – who turned 18 in June – believed in the strength of community, and stepped forward as a young leader with dreams of passing on his culture.

Those dreams were destroyed on Saturday night when the “beautiful boy” was stabbed to death in Morwell, in Victoria’s Gippsland region.

Walking up to the podium at an awards event in 2024, and speaking to a documentary crew, Morgan was full of nerves. But it all melted away when he danced.

“I have anxiety, and I think about it a lot. Every time, before I dance, I have a little panic attack. I think, like, everyone’s looking at me,” he said in an ABC documentary about keeping Aboriginal “songlines” alive.

“And then, as soon as I hear someone stop talking and say, ‘Now, the Boorun Boys are going to perform’, everything goes quiet, I just lock in.

“There’s no such thing as anxiety when you’re dancing.”

Morgan’s dance group, the Boorun Boys, performed at the MCG in May and were among the winners of the ABC’s Takeover Latrobe Valley program in September 2024.

The 18-year-old was found with serious injuries about 10.30pm on Saturday after he was attacked with a machete.

He died in hospital a short time later. A 20-year-old man, from Warragul, was found injured on an adjacent street. He was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Victoria Police have charged a 19-year-old man and a 16-year-old boy with murder and intentionally causing serious injury.

The 19-year-old, Tyson Fenton of Traralgon, faced Latrobe Valley Magistrates’ Court on Monday afternoon, and the 16-year-old faced a children’s court soon after.

Fenton’s lawyer noted this was his client’s first time in custody. He said Fenton had “some fear of retaliation” and “inherent vulnerability” that came with being in custody so young.

The lawyer also said there were custody management issues, and Fenton was prescribed an asthma puffer and had a possible intellectual disability.

“I am instructed that he was diagnosed in primary school, but I have nothing at this stage to confirm that,” he said, also noting that Fenton’s mother and sister were in the gallery.

Fenton made no application for bail and was remanded to reappear before court on February 10.

The 16-year-old also did not apply for bail and will next face court in October ahead of a committal mention on January 14.

“Police believe the parties are known to each other,” a police spokeswoman said.

Morgan’s loved ones remembered him as “a beautiful young boy with a big heart and a lot of respect”, and, as a man of many nicknames who was known for his passion for his culture and “doing great things in life”.

The Gudu Gunai Dancers were among those who paid tribute to Morgan on Monday, saying: “You were such a deadly young lad, was always good to yarn to and dance with.

“Rest in the [Dreamtime] bud, until we meet again. The times spent together dancing will be carried with us for eternity.”

Speaking in the ABC documentary, Morgan said dancing was his favourite thing to do. He didn’t want to see it die out in a decade’s time, he said.

“All the boys, a lot of the time, go to my dad’s house to practice dancing,” Morgan said. “I want that to be my house in 20 years.”

Morgan is the third Victorian to die from machete wounds this month, after Chol Achiek, 12, and Dau Akueng, 15, were fatally stabbed in Melbourne’s west on the evening of Saturday, September 6.

September 1 saw the start of the state government’s policy of making carrying machetes illegal, and establishing 40 bins at police stations across Victoria in which people could dispose of the blades safely.

The sale of machetes was banned in late May, after a youth gang incident at Preston’s Northland shopping centre.

On Monday morning, Premier Jacinta Allan defended her government’s approach.

“The figures show us that [these laws], alongside the significantly expanded stop and search powers that our government has given to Victoria Police, have seen tens of thousands of these dangerous weapons taken off the streets,” Allan said.

“We understand that there is the need to take further action. And I understand it because it comes from listening to victims of crime.”

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