- The two teens who attacked a rugby legend and his family have been jailed
- Toutai Kefu was stabbed and almost died from his injuries
- However, the pair have had no convictions recorded for the offence
A pair of teenagers who invaded the home of Wallabies legend Toutai Kefu and stabbed him and his wife have been jailed for seven years and eight years with no convictions recorded.
On Thursday, Justice Peter Davis said the pair must serve half of their sentence before they can be released following their hearing in the Supreme Court in Brisbane.
It means that one of the kids could be free within six months.
The judge likened the inside of the Wallabies legend’s family home in Coorparoo to a ‘war zone’, with police photos showing blood ‘splashed and smeared’ in the property.
Kefu’s wife, Rachel, 48, slipped in blood on the floor as she fought for her life, while the former rugby star suffered a ‘life threatening’ injury after being stabbed in the stomach.
Crown Prosecutor David Finch argued that the teens should be jailed for longer than the maximum 10 years for the ‘heinous’ nature of their act, which he put in the ‘worst category’ of crime.
The teenagers entered the home in the early hours of August 16, 2021, armed with large knives with the purpose of stealing cars.
‘If someone wakes up you just stab them,’ the teens told their two accomplices while they spoke in a stolen Hyundai outside the front of the Kefu family home before entering.
Rachel Kefu disturbed the intruders at 3.10am, with her screams awakening her husband Toutai, who jumped over a banister from the upstairs bedroom to defend his wife.
Both teenagers attacked him, but only one was found to have stabbed him in the chest. The knife penetrated 25mm into his liver, causing a life-threatening injury.
The other assailant attacked Rachel, cutting her arm to the bone with a sickle after they offered him their car keys, giving them the opportunity to leave the home.
‘We want the keys to the car or we will hurt her,’ they said at the time of the attack.
The couple’s son Joshua, who was 21 at the time, also suffered deep cuts to his back and arm, as well as a dislocated shoulder, where their 18-year-old daughter Madison’s hand was cut.
‘The sickle cut Mrs Kefu literally to the bone, so I mean quite apart from the fact that it looks like a fairly wicked weapon,’ Justice Davis said.
‘The offender who was wielding the sickle retained that sickle throughout,’ Mr Finch said.
The offenders planned to drive the two stolen cars to the Gold Coast, where they would race them.
The pair were initially charged with attempted murder but the charges were downgraded following a plea-deal.
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Both juveniles pleaded guilty to seven charges, including four counts of malicious act with intent, burglary and unlawful use of a motor vehicle.
One of the teens pleaded guilty to two further charges, including the assault of Ben Cannon, a youth justice campaigner and neighbour of the Kefu family who went to their rescue.
The court heard how the first teen was bullied at school as a result of his Tourette syndrome and suffered suicidal thoughts after experimenting ‘with substances’ as well as his inability to continue playing tennis due to an injury.
The teenager was apologetic for his crimes but said he was aware his actions could not be undone.
The second teenager was born in Burundi, East Africa, and fled home in an effort to avoid witnessing domestic violence between his parents. He then started smoking cannabis and drinking alcohol after falling into the wrong crowd.
He admitted to the court that it was normal for those in his group to carry weapons so they could defend themselves.
One of the teens who was waiting outside the house was sentenced in the state’s Children’s Court in February and walked free with time already served.
The other boy who did not enter the house was sentenced to two years and six months in custody to serve 50 per cent of this by a separate Judge, Ian Dearden.