The mother of a 16-year-old boy beaten to death in brutal retaliation for allegedly stealing AirPods burst into tears and stared at one of the adult ringleaders after a court found the pair guilty of murder.
Kayla Dawson, 22, and Richard Sione, 34, were convicted on Monday of the murder of teenager Jason Galleghan, which occurred inside Dawson’s home in the western Sydney suburb of Doonside on August 6. of 2021.
When the verdict was announced JJason’s mother, Rachel Galleghan, began sobbing and glared at Sione as he was taken back into custody.
Dawson, appearing via audiovisual link from a prison, only nodded briefly as the sentence was handed down, the Daily Telegraph reported.
Both are accused of being associates of a gang from the western Sydney postcode.
Dawson believed Jason Galleghan had stolen his AirPods and lured the boy from a western Sydney train station into an ambush by a group of six assailants, in alleged retaliation.
Richard Sione, 34, has been jailed for the murder of 16-year-old Jason Galleghan in 2021.
Sione led the assault on Jason, which was then taken up by five teenagers who referred to him as “uncle” or “dad.”
The assault lasted more than half an hour, with Dawson recording and sharing about seven minutes.
Part of the recording captured a teenage attacker saying, ‘Hey, stop… look at him (Jason).’
Jason died from his injuries two days later in the hospital.
Both Dawson and Sione have pleaded not guilty to the murder.
Kayla Dawson lured Jason to her Doonside home in Sydney’s western suburbs, where he was fatally assaulted.
However, Judge Robert Allan Hulme found Dawson’s role “central” in the horrific crime as an organizer of revenge for the alleged robbery.
A teenager invited by Dawson to participate in the attack even bragged about it before the event.
“Me and two of the boys are attacking someone today lmao,” text message from a teenager, who was sentenced to 15 years in prison for the incident last August.
Dawson requested that the charge be reduced to involuntary manslaughter on the grounds that he had substantial cognitive impairment that affected his ability to control himself or judge his own actions.
The argument did not sway Judge Hulme.
“The fact that (she) decided to leave the room on at least one occasion to go outside and speak to concerned neighbors appears to contradict the assertion that her ability to control herself was substantially impaired,” he said.
“She wanted the deceased to be assaulted, because he had teased and harassed her, voluntarily became involved and encouraged the prolonged beating by being present and recording and broadcasting it with apparent glee.”
Judge Hulme said Dawson’s decision to film and broadcast video of the incident also undermined his disability claims, according to a Seven News report.
“I can’t stop laughing, I send it to Johnno,” Dawson said during the assault.
Sione argued that those responsible were five youths who continued attacking after he left Dawson’s home.
However, Judge Hulme found that Sione was part of the joint criminal enterprise that planned and carried out the assault.
When the two adults were found guilty of her son’s murder, Jason Galleghan’s mother, Rachel, burst into tears.
“He and others detained the deceased in the bedroom, without his consent, to gain psychological advantage by humiliating him and exacting punishment and retribution for the alleged theft of Kayla Dawson’s AirPods,” Judge Hulme said.
“He simply walked away, he said, and did nothing to deter any continued attacks by co-participants in the company.”
Dawson and Sione will be sentenced on July 8.
Several other teenagers accused of the fatal beating continue to appear in court.