'It breaks the soul': Judge speaks to murder victim Glenn Walewicz's mother about her loss

The mother of murder victim Glenn Walewicz wiped her eyes when a judge said to her, “The court can’t bring back your son. I wish it could.”

“I speak to you as a judge and as a fellow parent,” the ACT Supreme Court’s Justice Chrissa Loukas-Karlsson told Jenny Walewicz earlier in August 2023.

“Your child, your son, should not have died. No mother, no father should have to bear the loss of a child.

“There are no adequate words for that pain because it breaks the soul.”

She was speaking to Ms Walewicz in the courtroom after she sentenced 20-year-old Jayden Douglas Williams for his role in the lead-up to the murder, which can now be reported on as his mother, Nicole Williams, decided not to take her charges to trial and pleaded guilty on Thursday (24 August).

When addressing Jayden, the father of an 18-month-old child himself, the judge said, “You must never forget that her son died and you would never want anyone to do that to your child.”

“The cycle of intergenerational Indigenous disadvantage must be broken in your family, it must be broken,” she told him.

“This is on you now. Your child must have better guidance than you did.”

On 10 June 2021, Gary Taylor, a 17-year-old and a 12-year-old boy had gone to Mansfield Place in Phillip to steal drugs and cash from two drug dealers but went to the wrong home and ended up knocking on the door of Mr Walewicz.

He called, “Who is it?” from inside his home before one of the intruders said, “Open up”, and the 17-year-old fired a gun when he opened the door. The 48-year-old was shot in the neck and died shortly afterwards.

Jayden pleaded guilty to a charge of aiding and abetting an attempted aggravated burglary earlier this year over his role in the incident.

According to court documents, it is alleged his mother, Nicole, sent him texts on 9 June 2021 asking him to message “Gaz”, being Taylor, when the 17-year-old was ready to “do them fullas over”, meaning the two drug dealers.

“[The 17-year-old] said yeah he’s down he’ll do it now he said,” Jayden replied.

It is alleged that the reference to “do them fullas over” means conduct a home invasion.

At about 7 pm on 10 June, Jayden allegedly texted his mother asking her to tell “[sic] Gaz to answer his phone bc [the 17-year-old] wants to go do [one of the drug dealers] over”.

Jayden was in Baradine, NSW, when the home invasion took place and did not play any part in the murder, while Justice Loukas-Karlsson said she was not sentencing him for the killing.

She said Jayden was an Aboriginal Australian man who suffered from an upbringing of severe disadvantage and his involvement in the incident was at the request of his mother.

He had written a letter for the court in which he said he was sorry for his actions, but he had done “what a son would do for his mother”, claiming Nicole had threatened to self-harm if he didn’t help her.

“I did not have anything to do with the event that led to the victim dying,” he said.

Jayden spent over 13 months in custody before appearing for appearing in court to be sentenced on 14 August 2023.

He was convicted and sentenced to two years’ jail, suspended from that day, for him to serve an 18-month good behaviour order.

Taylor pleaded guilty to murder and was handed 10 years and three months jail, the 17-year-old confessed to the murder and remains to be sentenced, getaway driver Reatile Ncube was spared being returned to jail and a charge against the 12-year-old boy was dropped.

Nicole Williams will be sentenced in the future.