A sentence has been set for three teenagers accused of kidnapping a Canberra man, whose body was found in a bush on the south coast of NSW in 2020.
Key points:
- Three boys will be convicted together for kidnapping a Canberra man in 2020
- Peter Keeley’s body was found in a bush off the south coast of NSW
- The Crown has dropped the murder charge against the third boy
On February 2, 2020, the body of 56-year-old Peter Keeley was found in Broulee Bushland.
At the time, three 17-year-old boys were charged with murder and aggravated kidnapping.
Two of the boys, now 19 and 20, faced a six-day trial alone in the NSW Supreme Court in May this year after pleading not guilty to murder but guilty of aggravated kidnapping.
During the trial, the court heard that one of the defendants was talking to Mr. Keeley at the Grindr dating application before he was found dead and that another of the defendants thought he was a peophile.
In June this year, they were found not guilty of murder and convicted of detaining Mr. Keeley with intent to cause actual bodily harm.
Peter Keeley, 56, was found dead in a forest in Broulee, on the south coast of NSW. (ABC South East NSW: Holly Tregenza)
The third boy was also facing a murder charge and was due to stand trial in November this year.
However, that charge was withdrawn from the Supreme Court on Tuesday and the trial was set aside.
The teen has officially filed a guilty plea for aggravated kidnapping and will be convicted with his co-accused of aggravated kidnapping in August.
Judge Michael Walton set the sentencing date for August 24, but said it could be delayed due to the long processing times of some documentation required for the sentencing.
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