By BLAKE METCALF-HOLT
ONE of the four teenagers who broke into the home of doctor Ashley Gordon has been found guilty of his murder by a jury in a Melbourne Supreme Court.
After the group broke into Dr Gordon’s Doncaster home twice during the night of January 13, 2024, with the court hearing they were eyeing his Mercedes AMG, Dr Gordon chased after them through the streets and was eventually stabbed 11 times to death by the convicted.
The group returned for the second time after stealing Nike shoes, laptops, headphones, necklaces, and a wallet, coming to and from a house party.
The court heard that Dr Gordon was awoken around 5am in their return, remarking “Hello boys”, prompting the group to flee.
Dr Gordon scoured nearby streets, and when he found the group of teenagers, got out of his car, telling them there was nowhere to run.
Three of them fled, but one 17-year-old remained.
The convicted, who cannot be named due to legal reasons, pleaded not guilty, claiming self-defence.
The prosecution argued against claims by the convicted that Dr Gordon was acting on a “roid rage” and that he feared his life, never intending to kill or seriously injure Dr Gordon.
Crown prosecutor Kristie Churchill said that the convicted had one true motive for the stabbing, that being to avoid being caught.
“(They) had a choice to continue fleeing, to surrender, or to use the knife to get away and we say he chose the latter,” she said.
When the decision was handed down on June 25, the convicted reportedly stared blankly ahead and showed no emotion.
They will face a pre-sentence hearing in October.
The family of Dr Gordon arrived outside the court, wiping back tears, relieved by the verdict reached.
Dr Gordon’s sister, Natalie, said the convicted showed not “one ounce of remorse” throughout the trial, adding that it has been the “most gut-wrenching thing” to sit through.
“It just cements to me how guilty he is of committing such a horrific crime,” she said.
The Latrobe Valley family has made an effort over the last 12 months to see change to Victoria’s bail laws, along with greater police powers during ‘stop-and-search’ scenarios and cancelling plans to raise the criminal age of responsibility from 10 to 14 years-of-age (currently at age 12 in Victoria).
The family’s petition saw astounding backing and support from the local community with close to 10,000 signatures, recognising the public’s clear feelings in regards to wrongdoers suffering little consequences, which realised change in state Parliament.
Speaking to the Express late last year, Ms Gordon saw this as an opportunity to keep her younger brother’s legacy strong.
“I’d never want anyone else to be in my parents’ position. So, initially I wanted to make a change where no other family has to go through this,” she said in December.
“But, Ash being who he was, his life goal was just to help people. I’ve definitely thought a number of times (that) this could be his legacy, this could be (something where) his life’s work isn’t over right now, it’s just that we have to continue it for him.
“He loved helping people, that’s why he became a doctor, he may not be able to help them medically anymore, but hopefully we can help people with their safety.”
