A 14-year-old boy was murd3red on his way home… two years later, his mother’s heartbreaking message to his k!:llers is leaving many in tears
A grieving mother has delivered an emotional statement to her teenage son’s killers after he was murdered in a horrific random machete attack.
Ethan Hoac, 14, was stabbed more than 30 times by two masked and machete-wielding boys while walking along the side of the road in St Albans in Melbourne’s northwest in June 2023.
The young boy was headed home after spending the day in Melbourne city with friends when a stolen Volkswagen Tiguan deliberately struck him about 10.52pm on June 26.
Inside the car were three 17-year-old boys, with two emerging to attack Ethan with machetes as his friends ran for their lives and tried to get help from nearby homes.
Ethan Hoac was struck by a car and stabbed to death in St Albans. Picture: Supplied
Ethan’s mother, Annie Huynh, shared a harrowing statement about her grief in the Victorian Supreme Court on Tuesday at a pre-sentence hearing for the two males involved.
One of the men, now 20, pleaded guilty to murder, while another, the driver and now aged 21, was found guilty of murder at trial last month.
“Everyday in the morning I wake up and it comes back again,” Ms Huynh wrote.
“I don’t know why they killed my son. I want to know the last moments before he died. Did he call my name? Why didn’t God take me instead of my son?
“He deserved everything in this world, I can’t live without him. I wish I had the opportunity to ask these boys why did they kill him? I would like to know if they have a heart or just a body.
“I pray for them and I pray for their family, as I believe they would be suffering too. I do not see any remorse from these boys. When they finish their jail time they can start again, but my son can’t. Why? But there will be no answer.”
Police found a machete sheath a short distance away. Picture: NewsWire / David Crosling
Crown prosecutor Erin Ramsey told the court a “highly disturbing” feature of this case was the lack of answers as to why the boys attacked Ethan.
“He was unknown to the offenders; he was walking home, with his friends, in the street,” she said.
Ms Ramsey told the court the “ferocious” attack by the two boys lasted about 37 seconds before the trio fled after hearing sirens.
They were captured on CCTV hours later at the Sydenham Tennis Club inspecting damage to the front of the car and making “slashing and downward stabbing motions” while speaking, she said.
Ethan was killed in St Albans while walking from a train station. Picture: NewsWire / David Crosling
The court was told Ethan was one of nine children in his family, with several of his siblings delivering statements explaining the impact his death had on their life.
“The day I received the news it felt as if my heart had been crushed. Ethan left us suddenly and cruelly. In our family, Ethan always held a special place,” one of Ethan’s brothers said.
“Ethan deserved a long, bright future. Inside me rose pain, anger and helplessness that I could not put into words.
“My mother nearly collapsed when she heard the news. Losing him took away a part of her heart. Our once lively and noisy home became suffocatingly silent.
“This pain will follow us for the rest of our lives. Ethan will forever be irreplaceable.”
The plea hearing is expected to continue on September 22.
The third man involved, now 20, was jailed for 17 years behind bars with a non-parole period of 13 years after pleading guilty to murder late last year.
SOURCE: NEWS.COM.AU
https://www.news.com.au/national/victoria/courts-law/grieving-mothers-heartbreaking-statement-after-14yo-son-ethan-hoacs-murder/news-story/bacf5304fefec145bbe017ca56cb782f
