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‘Extraordinarily cruel, sadistic, barbaric’: Perth teenager jailed over kangaroo killing spree
By Rebecca Peppiatt
A Perth teenager who went on a Christmas Eve kangaroo “killing spree” has been sentenced to eight months in prison for deliberately mowing down 11 of the animals.
Boston King, 18, was sentenced on Tuesday for what a magistrate described as the “extraordinarily cruel, sadistic, barbaric slaughter” in 2022. He had admitted to drinking with friends at a pub in the outer northern suburb of Bullsbrook before driving his Landcruiser into the kangaroos.
During the sentencing at Midland Magistrates Court in the city’s north-east on Tuesday, the gallery heard Boston drove into the first kangaroo before pausing and exiting his vehicle and using a knife to cut off the animal’s tail and leg, hanging the leg on a nearby fence.
He then drove on, mounting kerbs and hitting more animals in what he described as “having fun” while being encouraged by two friends who were passengers in the car.
The community of the semi-rural area of Bullsbrook was devastated, saying the animals were well known to locals, could be hand-fed and were known by names.
CCTV captured some of the assaults and animal welfare groups told 9 News Perth at the time that not all of the animals would have died instantly.
“It was obviously a targeted session of killing, it was a killing spree,” one said.
“The lengths that they’ve gone to, to really dismember and inflict pain on these animals is just – it’s a nightmare, for all the local residents.”
On Tuesday, magistrate Gregory Benn agreed, ignoring Boston’s lawyers’ requests for a community service order, calling it “absolutely appalling behaviour”.
“You made the decision to go out and drink that night, Mr King, no one forced you to do that,” he said.
“You made the decision to drive affected by alcohol, and you made the decision to commit these offences – and it wasn’t just one momentary lapse of decision-making. You actually, after ploughing into the first, got out [and] used a knife to remove the tail and the leg.
Animal rights protestors outside court during the sentencing of Boston King on Tuesday.Credit: Rebecca Peppiatt
“Whether you or your mate hung the tail on the gate, [it] is still somewhat disturbing in the context of the offending, Mr King.”
The magistrate went on to say that a term of imprisonment would act as a deterrence to King and others considering similar behaviour.
“[These] animals presented you with no threat, weren’t doing any harm to anyone, and who it could be said had as much right to live peacefully in this world, just like you or your mates,” he said.
“Kangaroos that were an important part of this local community and they had to get up in the morning and see your handiwork spread all over the road.
“People who regarded these kangaroos as something special, an important part of their lives. That’s the kind of impact that your behaviour has had on the community.”
The court heard how King had been subject to online threats since the incident, with some saying he was “a dead man walking” and “we’re going to hit you with our car”.
“Very nasty online comments, vile threats and abuse in his direction,” King’s lawyer told the court.
“They said, ‘We have money for a hitman’.
“For an 18-year-old this has affected him, this has gone to another level.”
But Benn was unmoved by this and felt imprisonment was the only reasonable outcome.
“[You used] your vehicle as a weapon,” he said.
“Not to mention the impact that this kind of offending has on the wider community and the disgust and the horror that right-minded reasonable members of this community can reasonably hold about this kind of behaviour, who can legitimately condemn this.
“The penalty I impose has to reflect the very serious nature of this offending, and act as a personal [and general] deterrence.”
Wild scenes erupted outside court between King’s mother and protesters who heckled the teen and allegedly threw red liquid on him as he entered the court.
King will be eligible for parole after four months for the animal cruelty charge. He was given an 18-month driving ban and a $1000 fine, including court costs for reckless driving.
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