The grieving parents of a teenager stabbed to death in a busy nightlife area have admitted they will never forgive the teen who took their son’s life.
Apprentice Jack Beasley, 17, was killed during a night out with friends in Surfers Paradise on December 13, 2019 on the Gold Coast by a 15-year-old boy.
Jack’s parents, Brett and Belinda Beasley, have been the driving force behind a landmark law to combat youth knife crime.
The couple did not hold back when asked about their son’s killer after being crowned Gold Coast Australians of the Year last week.
Beasley was asked if he would ever forgive the teenager, who was sentenced to ten years in prison.
“Never, absolutely not. He was 15, he took our son’s life. Jack was only 17 and this little worm was 15. No, absolutely not,” he told the BBC. Costa Dorada Newsletter.
‘I will never forgive what he’s done to our son. Our son lost his 18th birthday, his 21st, his whole life, having a family, having kids, getting married, all those milestones.’
The grieving father said his son’s life was taken “for no reason at all.”
Jack Beasley (pictured) was just 17 years old when a 15-year-old boy stabbed him to death in Surfers Paradise. His murderer will be freed before he turns 22
Brett and Belinda Beasley (pictured) have been named Gold Coast Australians of the Year for their work with the Jack Beasley Foundation. The parents have said they cannot forgive their son’s killer.
Beasley added that they received the “devastating” news just two weeks before Christmas.
When Jack’s mother was asked the same question, she said she couldn’t see herself forgiving her son’s killer, who will be released in just seven years.
“It’s a very hard pill to swallow, he’ll be out before he turns 22 and Jack’s life was lost at 17. I can’t say I won’t forgive him (ever), but right now, I can’t see it.”
Jack’s mother added that the killer had already “taken enough” from her family and she tries not to think about him.
Although she was honored to receive the award, Beasley wanted no one to know who she and her husband were.
To honor their son Jack and create a legacy for him, the couple founded the Jack Beasley Foundation weeks after the 17-year-old’s murder.
The foundation spearheaded Jack’s Law, which gives Queensland police officers special powers to pass a metal detector over people looking for knives without a warrant in entertainment venues.
Beasley has described her son Jack’s killer (pictured, father and son) as a “meal” who robbed her son of life’s milestones, such as marriage.
Since Jack’s Law was implemented, more than 800 guns have been removed from the streets of the Gold Coast.
The law has since been adopted by New South Wales and the Northern Territory, and is also under consideration by Western Australia and Victoria.
To help ensure that no other family has to go through what they experienced, the Beasleys speak at schools about the impact Jack’s death had on their family and friends.
His youngest son also participates in the conversations, explaining the effect his brother’s murder has had on him, and the family shows photographs of Jack’s funeral.
The Beasleys also show photographs of Jack’s friends and images from the scene to show the “lifelong trauma” a single act can have.