An African teenager who stabbed young GP Ash Gordon to death after breaking into his Melbourne home will be eligible for release from jail in just 10 years.
The killer, who is now an adult but cannot be named because he was 16 at the time of the murder, was sentenced to 17 years’ imprisonment with a 12-year non-parole period in the Supreme Court of Victoria on Friday.
Dr Gordon, 33, was murdered on January 13, 2024, after chasing a group of African thugs out of his home in Doncaster. Another one of the teenagers, who kicked the dying doctor in the face and burned clothes after the killing, has already been released from jail.
Dr Gordon’s father called the murderer a “dog” as he was led out of court, said the teenager had shown no remorse, even smiling at him during his June trial, the Herald Sun reported.
“My son’s been murdered, and he walks around in 13, 14 or 12 years. He’s still walking around the streets and we’ve got our life sentence. I think people know what I’d like to do to him, but that’s not allowed either,” he said.
Justice Amanda Fox also noted during sentencing that the teenager had shown no remorse, and had tried to argue during his trial that he acted in self-defence.
“Dr Gordon was an innocent member of the public. He was only in the driveway on this night because you had broken into his house and stolen his belongings. You knew that when you made the terrible choice to stab him multiple times rather than let yourself be caught,” she said.
“You have no real insight into your offending and, contrary to some of the character references, I do not find that you are remorseful. I accept you feel guilty about breaking into Dr Gordon’s house and bad about what happened.
“But you continue to maintain your innocence, and you have not developed any genuine remorse for murdering Dr Gordon. Your lack of remorse is consistent with the fact that you do not accept the jury’s verdict, and you have not taken responsibility for your crime.”
The court heard that the teenager was born to a mother of Nigerian and Bulgarian descent who is a lawyer in the public service, and an African-American father who runs an electrical contracting business.
Justice Fox said in sentencing that the murderer aspired to be a professional basketball player in Year but was “bullied and subject to racist taunts” because he was very skinny, “began socialising with the wrong crowd”, and was exposed to crime and violence including “people being ‘jumped with knives’ and bashed”.
“You became anxious about these things happening to you, and started carrying a knife on occasion. You also commenced using cannabis, truanting, and were no longer committed to school,” she told him.
Justice Fox noted that the killer had “difficulty adjusting” to youth detention, and would find his time in jail “onerous” because of his anxiety and depression, but was visited by his family, and called their ongoing love and support “positive factors” in sentencing.
She then recommended he be allowed to serve part of his sentence in youth detention, as it would allow him to continue his education and enhance his prospects of rehabilitation, even though she had previously noted he had been absent from school attendance in custody 77% of the time.
“Additionally, you are immature and impressionable, and adult prison will likely expose you to undesirable influences. Of course, I have no power or control over the decision of the Adult Parole Board, and in sentencing you today, I take no account of the course they may choose to adopt,” she said.
Header image: Left, right, Ash Gordon (supplied).
