The grieving sister of a young doctor allegedly stabbed to death by two teenagers has called for tougher sentences after a 17-year-old accused of being behind the wheel of a fatal crash breached his bail conditions.
Dr Ash Gordon, 33, died in the early hours of 13 January after his home in Doncaster, Melbourne’s east, was allegedly burglarised.
He was allegedly murdered by two 16-year-olds, one of whom was out on bail at the time, in a robbery gone wrong.
Dr Gordon’s sister Natalie has now called for tougher penalties for teenage offenders in the wake of another tragic death involving a 17-year-old driver in Melbourne last week.
The teenager is accused of being behind the wheel of a stolen Jeep Cherokee that collided with a Toyota Corolla driven by junior doctor William Taylor, 28, at an intersection in Burwood in the city’s east-central area.
Mr Taylor, who was returning from football training, died at the scene.
The 17-year-old was charged with culpable driving causing death, dangerous driving causing death, failing to stop and render assistance, motor vehicle theft and driving without a licence.
But he allegedly breached his bail conditions just two days after they were imposed by failing to report to police. He is now back in custody.
Dr Ash Gordon (pictured), 33, died in the early hours of 13 January after his home in Doncaster was allegedly burgled. He was allegedly killed by two 16-year-olds, one of whom was on bail at the time, in a robbery gone wrong.
Ms Gordon said she was “not at all surprised” by the alleged bail breaches.
“Unfortunately, they reoffend more often than not, so why do we continue to allow them back into society?” he said. A current issue Wednesday night.
Ms Gordon has launched a petition calling for a crackdown on young offenders.
“The community at large is absolutely fed up with the constant recurrence of the same problems,” he said.
‘These young people are constantly stealing cars, breaking into houses and generally scaring the community.
“That’s why, most of the time, people want to sign more than once.”
The grieving sister said she believes the government should change laws to make it “harder to grant bail and easier to keep them in.”
Dr Gordon’s sister Natalie has now called for tougher sentences for teenagers charged with serious offences in the wake of another tragic death in Melbourne’s east last week.
“I truly believe we need to impose harsher penalties for lesser crimes to prevent them from getting to this point in their lives,” Gordon said.
We really need to re-educate people on how to properly discipline children so that they learn from an early age that you can’t treat people this way.
‘Things like ankle monitoring systems, that will only work for a young person who has consciousness and unfortunately by the time they get to that stage, they’re already too sick.’
Ms Gordon said emergency workers she dealt with after her brother’s death were equally frustrated.
William Taylor, 28, was killed when a speeding, suspected stolen Jeep driven by teenagers crashed into his Toyota in the inner Melbourne suburb of Burwood.
Police have launched a search for the 17-year-old, who was allegedly behind the wheel of a stolen Jeep Cherokee that collided with Dr Taylor’s Toyota Corolla, after he skipped bail. He is now back in custody.
“You can see the pain on their faces when they have to tell families like mine the odds of how the proceedings will play out,” Gordon said.
‘Police, detectives, frontline workers, they risk their lives every day… they are always the ones who get the flak, but unfortunately they are just as frustrated as the community at large.’
Ms Gordon said she hoped to make the change in honour of her late brother.
“He always wanted to make a change and he always wanted to treat people in the best way possible, that’s why he went into medicine,” she said.
“I do this solely for his memory and to keep his memory alive. His death was not in vain.”
She added: ‘I don’t want another family to feel this pain ever again, but unfortunately there is another family that is starting to go through this process and I feel deeply for them.
“I wish they never had to go through this. I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.”