A teenage boy who ran a red light in a stolen 4WD and killed Katherine Leadbetter, Matthew Field and their unborn baby in a hit-and-run on Australia Day last year is jailed for 10 years, but will only serve 60 per cent of the sentence.
After his arrest, he was charged with two counts of murder, but he has since pleaded guilty to the lesser charges of manslaughter.Due to being 17 years old when he offended, he is being dealt with as a juvenile and cannot be identified.
During a sentencing hearing in Brisbane yesterday, family members detailed their heartache over losing the "beautiful couple",Relatives of Mr Field and Ms Leadbetter left the courtroom when distressing footage showing the teen's erratic and dangerous driving in the 20 minutes leading up to the crash was played, as well as the moment of impact from a number of angles.
Crown Prosecutor Todd Fuller told the court the teen's "reckless" and "dangerous" driving had been to "satisfy his own selfish needs". "And putting other road users and others at risk — that risk on this occasion came to pass with respect to Mr Field and Ms Leadbetter," he said. Katherine Leadbetter's mother, Jeannie Thorne , gave a victim impact statement yesterday. She was joined by Mr Field's family thanking the public for their support shortly after the crash.
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