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A 10 year-old boy, LMW, was charged with the manslaughter of six year-old Corey Davis, who drowned on 2 March 1998. The defendant had dropped Corey into the Georges River, knowing that Corey was unable to swim. The defendant was found not guilty of manslaughter, as the jury supported the defence case that the drowning of Corey had been ‘an act of bullying that went wrong’. This case raised the issue of doli incapax, which presumes any child aged 10-14 is incapable of criminal intent unless proven otherwise.
The decision of the Supreme Court mirrored that of Senior Children’s Court magistrate Stephen Scarlett, who had dismissed the manslaughter charge against the boy at a committal hearing during April 1999. The jury decision was handed down in early December 1999 and is not publicly available. However, there are several decisions of Studdert J who presided over this trial on various applications dealing with evidence, stay of proceedings and acquittal.
Note: the decision finding LMW not guilty of manslaughter is not publicly available.
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Corey Davis
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