Teenagers sentenced over fatal Warrawong street brawl

Teenager sentenced over fatal stabbing in Warrawong

A teenager who stabbed 39-year-old Kristie McBride during a street brawl on Wegit Way in Warrawong on November 22, 2023, was sentenced in the NSW Supreme Court in Sydney and could be eligible for parole in February next year.

The court heard that the main offender, who was 15 at the time of the incident and is now 17, stabbed Ms McBride three times in the space of two seconds during the confrontation. Ms McBride was taken to hospital by paramedics, placed in an induced coma, and died nine days later from complications of her injuries.

Details of the confrontation and charges

The brawl erupted on the evening of November 22, 2023, when a group of teenage girls armed with knives arrived on Wegit Way in Warrawong to confront another group that included Kristie McBride and her sister, Carly McBride. The confrontation had been arranged on social media and quickly escalated into violence, involving up to 15 young people.

Four teenage girls were charged as part of a joint criminal enterprise and later pleaded guilty to manslaughter. Justice Richard Cavanagh told the court that the Crown accepted the manslaughter pleas because the offenders were acting in self-defence, although with excessive force.

Court documents stated that three of the offenders bought kitchen knives from a supermarket and unwrapped them in a shopping centre bathroom in Wollongong before travelling by bus to Warrawong with a fourth member. The documents outlined that during the confrontation, Carly McBride armed herself with a metal baseball bat, another person in her group grabbed a plank of wood, another took a sock filled with tins of cat food, and Ms McBride picked up an unidentified object. The documents also recorded that Carly McBride ran towards the offenders and struck one on the head with the bat.

Sentences handed down to four teenagers

The main offender was sentenced to four years and three months in prison for manslaughter, with a non-parole period of two years and three months. Her sentence will expire in February 2028, and she will be eligible for parole in February next year.

A second teenager, who was 15 at the time of the incident, received a three-year prison sentence with a non-parole period of one year and 10 months and is already eligible for parole. A third teenager, who was 14 at the time, was sentenced to two years and 10 months, with a non-parole period of one year and eight months, and will serve the remainder of her sentence in a juvenile facility. She will be eligible for parole in June.

A fourth teenager, who was also 14 at the time, received a two-year community corrections order, allowing her to remain in the community under supervision. Justice Cavanagh noted that although none of the three other teenagers stabbed Ms McBride, they acknowledged their participation in the brawl.

Court findings on lead-up to the brawl

Justice Cavanagh said in court that the brawl had its origins in a falling out between the two groups, although the original motive was not really known. He referred to a group chat created on Instagram named “The Big Yappers”, which he said was designed for the groups to direct insults and threats at each other.

The court was told that the fight was partially captured on footage taken from two phones. Following the stabbing, two of the offenders discarded their knives as they fled, while one was still carrying a knife when police officers stopped them.