Teen Sentenced to 17 Years for Killing Melbourne Doctor

A teenager who fatally stabbed a Melbourne doctor during an attempted citizen's arrest following a home burglary was sentenced to 17 years in prison on Wednesday, with eligibility for release in just over 10 years.

The now 18-year-old offender, who cannot be named due to his age at the time of the crime, received the term in Victoria's Supreme Court after a jury convicted him of murdering 33-year-old general practitioner Ash Gordon in Doncaster, in Melbourne's northeast, in the early hours of January 13, 2024. Justice Amanda Fox imposed a non-parole period of 12 years, accounting for time already served, making the offender eligible for parole in 2036.

According to court proceedings, the offender attended a house party with around 20 other teenagers that night. Around 4 a.m., as Gordon and his housemate slept in their three-level townhouse, the offender and another teen broke in through a partially open garage door, targeting keys to Gordon's black Mercedes-Benz, which was visible from the street. The intruders covered their faces, removed their shoes, donned gloves and entered quietly, stealing sneakers, headphones, laptops, a wallet, jewelry and keys to the housemate's...