Three individuals – Lachlan Paul Soper-Lagas, aged 21, Jason Ryan Knowles, aged 25, and Hayden Paul Kratzmann, aged 23 – have admitted their guilt in the manslaughter of a young man named Cian John English, who tragically perished following a four-story fall from a balcony during a festivity in Surfers Paradise.
In an occasion marked by a sombre air, the confessions were presented before Brisbane Supreme Court on a recent Thursday, where the presiding judge was convinced to withdraw the original, more serious charge of murder, opting instead to accept the manslaughter pleas proposed by the defendants.
Mr. English, a promising youth of 19, had met with his untimely death on May 23, 2020, precipitating from the fourth-floor of Surfers Paradise’s View Pacific resort.
Adding to the grim litany of their transgressions, each of the three young men acknowledged guilt for two instances of armed robbery executed in partnership, two instances of torture, and a single instance of theft. The assorted condemnations led the court to confront a disheartening rampage of felonies beyond the manslaughter charge.
Details unveiled during the hearing revealed the trio had coldly dispossessed another man of his footwear, belt, wallet, bag, and Apple-branded earbuds, pilfering items without regard for the anguish wrought upon their victim.
In a further indictment of Mr. Kratzmann, an additional plea of guilt was lodged for the separate charge of entering a structure with criminal intent – a final damning testament to the trio’s destructive night of crimes.