Umbrella attacK case not open and shut The murder of a promising young man who went to his friend’s aid seemed an ‘openshut’ case to Homicide Squad detectives. But it dragged on for nearly seven years, involving two Supreme Court trials and two applications to the Court of Appeal.
valuing our people editorial Mark Tesoriero
I
t was a crime that gained notoriety as much for the weapon involved, as for the tragic loss of a young man with so much life ahead of him. Christopher Thomas Williams, 18, died after being stabbed in the head with the metal prong from an umbrella while waiting at an Essendon tram stop with friends on 21 October 2003. Like the classmates he had been celebrating with earlier at the Royal Hotel in Essendon, Mr Williams was buoyant about the future.
"Christopher being Christopher, he didn't think that was fair and went to the young woman's defence and questioned what the boy had said." 20
JUNE 2010 POLICELIFE
He had just finished Year 12 classes and was about to tackle his final exams. Phoenix Taskforce’s Detective Acting Sergeant Adam Forehan investigated the murder while working at Victoria Police’s Homicide Squad in 2003. “It was nothing more than an absolute tragedy,” he said. “I’m still in contact with the family to this day.” While at a tram stop on Mount Alexander Road, one of Mr Williams’ female friends was insulted by another teenager – a 14-year-old boy – about the length of her skirt.
Aggressive and confrontational, the boy – who cannot be named for legal reasons – called the young woman a “slut” and a “disgrace”. “Christopher being Christopher, he didn’t think that was fair and went to the young woman’s defence and questioned what the boy had said,” Det A/Sgt Forehan said. Holding an umbrella in his hand, the 14-year-old lunged forward in a “spear-like motion” and made contact with Mr Williams’ head. Coming forward again he delivered the fatal blow, thrusting the umbrella’s metal tip five centimetres into his victim’s skull. “It hit him with such a force that the medical examiners compared the force to the impact of a bullet,” Det A/Sgt Forehan said. Mr Williams died five days later in hospital.