QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA — A 17-year-old boy convicted of murdering Queensland grandmother Vyleen White has been sentenced to 16 years in prison, though he could be eligible for release in as little as eight years under Queensland’s youth sentencing laws.
Chief Justice Helen Bowskill handed down the sentence in the Brisbane Supreme Court on Thursday, ordering the teen—whose name cannot be released due to his age—to serve 60 percent of the term before becoming eligible for parole. With time already served, he could walk free by 2033.
A “Callous and Cowardly” Attack
Ms White, 70, was stabbed to death in the carpark of a Redbank Plains shopping centre in February 2023. Police said the teenager attacked her while trying to steal her blue 2009 Hyundai Getz. The assault unfolded in front of Ms White’s six-year-old granddaughter.
Chief Justice Bowskill described the murder as “particularly heinous,” calling the act “callous and cowardly.” Although she accepted that the teen expressed remorse, she noted the brutality of the attack, which caused a 17-centimetre-deep knife wound.
Outside court, Ms White’s daughter Cindy Micallef told reporters, “We’re haunted by her last thoughts, her last moments.”
Family’s Fight for Change
Family members reacted with visible frustration as the sentence was read, shaking their heads at the length of the non-parole period. Ms Micallef later said she believed the Chief Justice had “done the best she could with the limitations she was given within the law.”
After the killing, Ms White’s relatives became vocal advocates for youth-crime reform in Queensland. Their efforts helped inspire the introduction of the “Adult Crime, Adult Time” legislation by Premier David Crisafulli, which imposes harsher penalties on juvenile offenders charged with serious crimes such as murder and manslaughter.
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