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Teen who killed pregnant mother by throwing rock at her car in unprovoked attack gets just five years in prison
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A teenager has been sentenced to five years in juvenile detention for killing a pregnant mother in Perth.
The CCTV footage recorded at a suburban shopping center was shown during the sentencing of a 17-year-old boy who has admitted to unlawfully killing Diane Miller.
The 30-year-old Noongar woman died in hospital along with her unborn child just days after being hit on the head by a rock while sitting in the passenger seat on November 29 last year.
Diane Miller’s family, 30, (pictured)
Prosecutor Clare Cullen said the teen, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was “lurking” behind a wall before throwing the 4-pound stone at the car as it drove away from the scene of the stoush .
She also said that he knew Mrs. Miller, that her infant son and three young women were in the car and that he threw the concrete block anyway, increasing his guilt for the crime.
“The concrete went through the window and hit Mrs. Miller in the head,” she said.
“It was cowardly.”
The teen, who was initially charged with murder before agreeing to plead guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter, fled before turning himself in to police several hours later.
His lawyer, Kate Turtley-Chappel, said the boy was “emotionally excited and fearful for his and others’ safety” when he threw the rock.
Diane Miller (pictured), 30, was hit on the head with a concrete block while sitting in the passenger seat of a car
“(The defendant) threw the stone without thinking and in the end it ended in the loss of life,” she said.
“He says quite candidly that he wasn’t thinking in terms of the outcome.”
Ms Turtley-Chappel said the teenager was extremely remorseful and had accepted being sentenced to prison.
“This is a young person saying, ‘I want to be here (and) I’ve done wrong and I have to serve my time,’” she said.
“(He) immediately showed remorse when he learned that this lady had been injured. He fell to the ground and he cried.
“He called the police, took part in an hour-long interview… He never applied for bail.”
She said the teen had a traumatic upbringing and was diagnosed with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
“What we have is a young person who is taken away from his mother at a young age and exposed to violence at a young age,” she said.
“Now he sits in this courtroom accepting his fate and knowing that he has caused so much havoc.
The pregnant mother went into cardiac arrest after being hit on the head with the concrete block and later died
The mother had just bought a house and “everything was working for her” when she was beaten
Her brother Malcolm Clifton (pictured with Mrs. Miller’s eight-month-old son)
Ms Miller was with her partner who had gotten into a fight with a group of youths outside Waterford Plaza (pictured) in Perth
Teen that killed Diane Miller jailed for five years