The court heard the teen was alleged to have “set upon the deceased, unprovoked, and has stabbed him in the groin area”.
Magistrate James Viney said police alleged the 15-year-old had been identified by witnesses at the crime scene.
“Police believe the young person played a leading role, being the only person that used a knife to stab the deceased,” Viney said.
Detectives and officers at the site of the stabbing in Rouse Hill.Credit: KATE GERAGHTY
Viney said police further allege the boy had admitted to stabbing the 17-year-old when he handed himself into police on Monday night. The court heard the 15-year-old was allegedly wearing a black balaclava and hood during the attack, and the victim had no criminal record and lived at home.
“I’ve stabbed another boy in the leg,” Viney said police were allegedly told.
When asked who had been stabbed, the 15-year-old allegedly identified the victim, Viney said.
The confession was allegedly captured on a police body-worn camera.
The court heard police had applied to obtain a sample of the boy’s DNA, via a self-administered swab, and to take photographs of parts of the boy’s body. Police believe forensic tests would also show the 17-year-old’s DNA on the accused killer’s hands and under his fingernails.
The 15-year-old was remanded in custody to face court on January 23.
Locals laid flowers at the Bruce Purser Reserve on Tuesday morning, while detectives interviewed young people at the scene. Children at the nearby schools were escorted through the gates by staff.
Several locals raised concerns about the increase in youth violence in the area. One resident, Tania, who asked that only her first name be used, said there’d been an increase in crime as the area became more populous with the opening of the Metro.
“It’s a tragic event [but] I’m not surprised. I walk through here on a weekly basis and see evidence of drugs and paraphernalia and that sort of thing,” she said.
“It’s an area where it’s secluded, close to the schools, a hangout for a lot of kids … I see them smoking, socialising. I’ve heard some heated arguments here.”
Strike Force Crawton has been launched to investigate the boy’s death.
Hills Police Area commander Superintendent Naomi Moore described the teenager’s death as “senseless”. She said the victim and his friend were approached in the reserve on Caballo Street by a group of two to three young people before a knife was produced.
“I have 17-year-olds at home. This has impacted the core of the community. I have no other words, but it’s a tragedy, and it’s senseless,” she told media on Monday night.
Moore said several female witnesses rendered aid to the 17-year-old during the “horrifically confronting” situation.
NSW Premier Chris Minns said he was “deeply saddened” by the teen’s death, and extended his “sincere condolences” to his family and friends.
“It is an unimaginable loss, and the whole community will feel the impact,” Minns said.
Attorney-General Michelle Rowland said she was “deeply saddened” to learn of the boy’s “tragic” death.
“My thoughts and deepest condolences are with the young boy’s family during this extremely difficult time,” Rowland said in a statement.
“There is no place in our community for these acts of senseless violence, and I know this news will be particularly distressing for local families.”
The teenager’s death comes after attempts to crack down on knife crime in NSW.
The NSW government in June 2024 passed “Jack’s Law” – named for 17-year-old Queenslander Jack Beasley, who was stabbed to death in December 2019.
It allows police to stop and scan people with handheld metal-detecting “wands” in designated areas where violent offences involving weapons have occurred in the previous 12 months.
Police began using those powers in December and scanned 13,422 people up to the end of June, finding 193 weapons and laying 222 charges according to the force’s annual report.
More than 2000 of those scans took place at Mount Druitt in Sydney’s west. Daily scans were conducted following the death of 19-year-old Zac McRae at a bus station in the suburb on August 27.
Data from the state’s Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research shows how the number of youths charged with murder or assault involving a knife has fluctuated.
Murders involving a knife where a person of interest was under 18 peaked in 2023-24, with 12, surpassing the 11 recorded in 2005-06. It dropped to three in 2024-25.
The number of people under 18 charged with non-domestic assaults with a knife has risen in the past two years to 59, but remains below peaks in the 2009-10 (110) and 2020-21 (85) reporting years.
