Declan Cutler’s mother Samantha Cutler (from left), Gladstone Park home invasion victim Kemal Akbulut and Declan Cutler. Photo / News.com.au
Samantha Cutler’s heart fractures under the weight of two competing emotions – grief and anger.
Grief is her permanent state. Her biological right as a mother to mourn for her son in peace, for as long as she wishes – a boy who was stabbed to death and left to die on the footpath of a Melbourne street three years ago.
Anger has come flooding back in. Anger over the ongoing consequences of a judge’s decision to release one of the boys involved in her son’s murder because he was deemed “too young” to be morally responsible for his actions.
Anger as that same boy allegedly posts rap songs about the murder on TikTok.
Anger as that same boy is accused of an appalling new act of violence.
Cutler’s son Declan Cutler – who she remembers as a “fun-loving, smart, kind, big goofy boy” – was murdered by a gang of teens in Coburg North, 10km from the Melbourne CBD, in the early hours of March 13, 2022.
He was 16 and had been at a house party with friends and was ambushed when he left. He was stomped on, kicked and stabbed and sustained more than 100 separate injuries including 29 stab wounds. His last moments were filled with “screams of horror”, a court previously heard.
Four of the teenage attackers were found guilty of murder and sentenced to between 17 and 19 years in jail.
But one of the teens – who was 13 at the time – was cleared of murdering Declan because of his young age, despite footage showing him stomping on the victim’s head repeatedly while others stabbed him and returning to stomp on his unconscious body a second time after the first frenzied attack ended.
Supreme Court Justice Rita Incerti found in 2023 that despite the criminal age of responsibility being 10 in Victoria, there was a “reasonable probability [the boy] did not know [his] conduct was seriously wrong in a moral sense”.
The teen “cannot be found guilty of murder or the alternative charge of manslaughter”, she ruled.
In a twist that has left Declan’s mother “heartbroken” and angry all over again, that teenage boy is accused of a disturbing and shockingly violent crime that has again shaken Melbourne to its core.
Now aged 16, he is accused of taking part in an aggravated home invasion in Gladstone Park last month that saw a 60-year-old man stabbed countless times, shot in the arm and bashed repeatedly with a hammer.
Footage of the attack shows homeowner Kemal Akbulut fighting and begging for his life at about 1.30am on July 24 (local time).
Blows from the hammer and the knife rain down on him for several minutes.
Police last week arrested and charged five individuals over the attack. They are a 16-year-old, a 17-year-old, two 18-year-olds and a 21-year-old.
The 16-year-old, who was previously cleared of Declan’s murder, has been charged with aggravated home invasion with a firearm, intentionally causing serious injury in circumstances of gross violence, reckless conduct endangering life and committing an indictable offence while on bail.
In an exclusive interview with news.com.au, Samantha Cutler said she was lost for words.
“I’ve seen the footage. I have been told that was the same person. I’m not surprised at all,” she said.
Cutler said it was “heartbreaking, absolutely heartbreaking” to learn the teen had allegedly taken part in the Gladstone Park attack.
“I have thoughts [for the judge], none that are appropriate. But they definitely made the wrong decision [in setting the then 13-year-old free].
“I don’t think it was the right thing to do, obviously. It wasn’t because he’s pretty ruthless in his behaviours.”
The now 16-year-old was cleared of murder despite CCTV footage capturing the two-minute attack where Declan was stabbed, kicked and stomped on. In the video, Declan could be heard screaming.
“The footage emits not sounds but screams of horror,” the court heard at the time.
Common law in Australia presumes that when a child is under 14, they lack the capacity to be criminally responsible and the onus is on the prosecution to prove otherwise.
The rule is known as doli incapax.
Justice Incerti said in her ruling: “I find the prosecution has not rebutted the presumption of doli incapax beyond reasonable doubt. He cannot be found guilty of murder and the alternative charge of manslaughter.”
She said Declan should have been safe to leave a party and was not.
“Declan was alone and unarmed when he was set upon, and he was utterly defenceless against the group of eight boys.”
The Age reports that the teen who escaped a murder charge had 44 prior charges when he was 13 years old.
It was also reported that during a court appearance before his trial for Declan’s murder, the teen appeared via video link and was “eating chips and laughing before putting his bare feet up to the camera and flexing his muscles”.
Cutler says the teen still finds ways to “rub salt into the wound” with activities online.
It’s impossible to ignore, but she has to. Her other children are depending on it.
“I just stay pretty quiet these days, just trying to help my kids and myself heal through this grief.
“I just want Declan to be remembered as the big, goofy, smart, kind, fun-loving boy that he was.
“And he would never have done to them what was done to him.”
At the time of Declan’s murder, Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner Bob Hill said it was one of the most brutal scenes seasoned police officers had ever come across.
“It’s every parent’s worst nightmare, having their teenage child leave the house for a night out with friends and never returning, however this is exactly what happened on this occasion,” Hill said.
“I understand that what we experienced in Melbourne has shocked and distressed many in the community. The senseless nature of this incident should not be lost on anyone – I know it has impacted our police.
“I know many will be horrified by the young age of [the accused] but let me be very clear – we will be relentless in pursuing anyone responsible for this level of violence, regardless of their age,” he said.
“There are so many impacted people whose lives have been changed forever by what happened the night Declan died, most of all his family.
“Our thoughts are very much with his loved ones and we will continue to ensure all the relevant support services are made available.”
At a makeshift memorial on a nature strip where he was murdered, friends piled cards, letters, flowers and his favourite drinks next to baseball caps and a Champion-brand waistbag.
They spray-painted the street, the fences and the footpath with messages to the boy known lovingly as “DJay”.
Declan’s mum said at the time that the tragic events were made worse by the fact that her son was drunk at the time.
“Knowing he was intoxicated, they preyed on him; knowing he couldn’t get away,” she said. “These people need to be found and justice served. I want my son back, I am broken.”
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