Ethan Hoac: Teen’s killer delivers apology, says he has ‘matured’ since random murder

A young man involved in the brutal random killing of a 14-year-old boy has apologised for his actions, saying hearing about the impact on the boy’s family had changed him.

Ethan Hoac, 14, was deliberately hit by a car and then stabbed more than 30 times while walking along the side of the road in St Albans in Melbourne’s northwest in June 2023.

The young boy had spent the afternoon with friends in Melbourne’s CBD and was on his way home from Ginifer railway station when the attack unfolded about 10.52pm on June 26.

Minutes earlier, three 17-year-old boys, who were unknown to Ethan and his friends, had driven past in a stolen Volkswagen Tiguan before doing a U-turn and searching for the group.

As Ethan and his friends were crossing Bailey St, the driver intentionally struck Ethan as his friends scattered.

Two of the 17-year-olds, wearing masks and welding machetes, then descended upon the injured boy, kicking, stabbing and slashing at him in a 37s attack before fleeing.

“Beyond the ferocity of this attack, a highly disturbing feature is why Ethan was brutally murdered,” Crown prosecutor Erin Ramsey said.

“He was unknown to the offenders; he was walking home, with his friends, in the street.”

One of Ethan’s killers, now 20, appeared in the Victorian Supreme Court on Tuesday for a presentence hearing after pleading guilty to murder.

His barrister Samuel Tovey described the actions of the man, who cannot be named because he was a child when the attack occurred, as “extremely serious offending”.

Mr Tovey said his client had “come to more fully and truly appreciate” the devastating impact of his crime on Ethan’s family after an earlier court hearing where victim impact statements were read.

“(He) comes before the court today at 20 years old, in my submission, genuinely sorry for what he’s done,” he said.

“Through his plea he accepts responsibility for his part in this brutal incident.”

In July, Ethan’s mother Annie Huynh shared a harrowing statement about her grief in court.