Two girls charged with the torture and murder of an Irish teenager in Australia have been remanded in custody.
Cian English (19) originally from, Bullock Park, Carlow Town, but who was living in the eastern Brisbane suburb of Hawthorne, suffered traumatic injuries when he fell from a fourth floor balcony at the View Pacific resort in Surfers Paradise at around 3.15am Saturday, May 23rd during a robbery.
The teenager was living with his parents Siobhan and Vinny and older brother Dylan. The family left Ireland 15 years ago, first to the Caribbean where Cian’s father worked for Digicel and then settled in Brisbane in 2011.
The teenager fell to his death when he was being robbed at knife point following an apartment party where it is alleged three men, already charged with his murder, were high on prescription drugs. He attempted to escape but tragically fell from the fourth floor balcony.
The two teenage girls, both aged 16, are also charged with armed robbery and two counts of deprivation of liberty. They cannot be named as both are minors.
The pair are due to re-appear before Southport Magistrates Court on October 27th.
A police spokesperson said: “Next month is expected to be their final appearance in the lower courts before getting committed to the higher court for trial. A trial date in Queensland Supreme Court will then be set.”
A further three men charged with the young man’s murder are to appear in court tomorrow. They are named as Jason Ryan Knowles (22), Hayden Paul Kratzmann (20), and Lachlan Paul Soper-Lagas (18).
All of the accused have been in custody since their first appearances in court last May.
Further details of the night Mr English died have emerged which reveal that the teenager was stabbed in the upper arm before fleeing onto the balcony of the Gold Coast apartment and falling over the railing, police are alleging.
The three men are also accused of making him fear for his life to the point where he ran to the balcony and fell to his death.
Police authorities allege that the men had been having a party in the apartment above Mr English and his friends and had talked over the balcony earlier in the night.
The three men also allegedly invited the teenager and his friends to their apartment where they are accused of having a stash of prescription drugs.
Police say the men went to Mr English's apartment early on Saturday morning and held a knife to his throat as they demanded he and the friend hand over their phones and clothing.
When the duo refused, the group allegedly began beating Mr English’s friend when Mr English stepped in to help. When stabbed, he allegedly fled for his life leading to his fatal fall from the apartment balcony.
Police claim that the two girls filmed the beating, stabbing and fatal fall of Mr English subsequently posting video of the events on social media.
The teenager’s ashes were laid to rest, in St Mary’s cemetery, Leighlinbridge, Co Carlow, in June beside those of his grandfather John English who passed away last December.
The family received special permission from the Australian and Irish Governments to return to their native county due to Covid-19 travel restrictions for his funeral.
