Arabic version: إحالة مراهقين من ساحل صن شاين إلى المحاكمة
According to ABC News, two Sunshine Coast teenagers have been committed to stand trial in the Supreme Court in Brisbane over the alleged murder of soccer coach Zdravko Bilic. The teens are charged with murdering the 57-year-old at his Warana home in July 2025.
The pair, now aged 16 and 18, appeared in the Maroochydore Children’s Court on Friday. Neither entered a plea or applied for bail. The teens cannot be identified under Queensland law. Seven witnesses were cross-examined during the court proceedings.
The 18-year-old’s lawyer, Simon Lewis, questioned three police officers and a justice of the peace about the support arrangements available to his Indigenous client after his arrest in Toowoomba. The court heard the teenager spoke with a legal representative from the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Service and was questioned twice that night. A senior constable said he believed a justice of the peace was an appropriate support person, but acknowledged he was unaware of the hierarchy of support people for an Indigenous minor.
Lawyer Adrian Braithwaite questioned three witnesses in relation to the other teenager. The court heard the teen had asked to make a phone call to an underage person, but police said the call could not be made until the next morning after an interview. A support person told the court the teen said during a final interview break that he would tell police what they wanted to hear so he could call the girl. The public prosecutions office will set a trial date.
