Teen killer who stabbed Melbourne GP Ash Gordon sentenced to 17 years

Doncaster GP Ash Gordon was stabbed to death after chasing teens who had burgled his home. Photo / Supplied

The teenager responsible for murdering a Melbourne doctor as he attempted to perform a citizen’s arrest has learnt his fate for the “brutal attack with a weapon on a barefoot, unarmed man”.

Ash Gordon, 33, was stabbed multiple times after chasing a group of thieves out of his Doncaster home in the early hours of January 13, 2024.

The general practitioner had confronted the teen and his mates when he was stabbed several times with a hunting knife.

Gordon was located by police on Eildon St about 5.30am, less than a kilometre from his home, and died at the scene.

His killer, who cannot be named because he was 16 at the time, returned to face the Supreme Court of Victoria on Tuesday where he was sentenced to 17 years’ jail.

Now 18, he was found guilty in June of Gordon’s murder after taking the case to trial arguing he had acted in self-defence.

Ash Gordon, pictured with his parents, had recently started a practice. Photo / Supplied

Handing down the sentence, Justice Amanda Fox outlined the facts of the case, including that the teen had twice broken into Gordon’s home seeking to steal the keys to his Mercedes AMG.

On the second occasion, Justice Fox said Gordon woke and saw the intruders in his home.

“Hello, boys,” he said, as the teenagers fled.

The court was told Gordon’s housemate wanted to call police but he jumped in the car to look for the group to get his belongings back.

He spotted the boys and gave chase on foot, during which the teenager pulled out his knife and stabbed Gordon, leaving him to die.

Justice Fox told the court she did not accept the teenager’s claim that Gordon had attempted to run him down in the car.

“Dr Gordon was not intending to harm you when he got out of the car. He was likely angry, given he had just been burgled,” she said.

“Dr Gordon entered the driveway and ran at you, intending to physically restrain you in some way and hold you until police arrived.”

Justice Fox said the teenager “probably felt cornered” and made the “very fast and terrible decision” to stab the doctor.

But she said she did not believe he was fearful for his life.

“I do not accept you believed he was going to kill you or cause you really serious injury,” the judge found.

One of the other boys kicked Gordon in the face as he lay dying, an act Justice Fox described as “despicable”.

The teens then fled, with the killer constructing an absurd plan to steal a car and flee the country.

Justice Fox said Gordon’s family had been shattered by his sudden, senseless and violent death.

“Dr Gordon was a kind, hardworking, cheerful, intelligent and compassionate man,” she said.

“His death has plunged his family into a world filled with overwhelming pain, hurt and suffering. And the trauma is never-ending.”

Justice Fox said the teenager did not have any past criminal connections and was from a good family but had struggled after being exposed to violence in the years before he murdered Gordon.

She said she could not find that he was remorseful and he continues to maintain his innocence.

“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,” she said.“You knew that when you made the terrible choice to stab him multiple times rather than let yourself be caught.

“This case tragically highlights the danger that is caused to the community by young people carrying knives.”

The killer will serve at least 12 years before he is eligible for parole.

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