A magistrate has used the recent murder of Jill Meagher as a warning to a teen in children's court.
A MAGISTRATE has referred to the murder of Brunswick woman Jill Meagher to warn a 15-year-old girl of the dangers in the community.
The girl, who cannot be named because she is aged under 18 yeas, was bailed from a children’s court on Monday.
The girl is facing charges of theft and obtaining property by deception charges.
She attended court last week but absconded before her matter was dealt with and a warrant was issued for her arrest. The magistrate said the girl was a young person who was at risk because of her behaviour.
He said if anybody needed a reminder of the risks they only needed to look at what had happened recently in Brunswick.
He said it wasn’t fair, it wasn’t acceptable but it was a reality.
Ms Meagher’s body was found in a shallow grave north-west of Melbourne on Friday morning, almost a week after she disappeared from a Brunswick street in the early hours of September 22.
Coburg man Adrian Ernest Bayley, 41, has been charged with her rape and murder.
The magistrate said he could preach to the girl as much as he liked but his words were empty unless she took them on board.
He said the worst thing that could happen to a young person was if coming back to court became something normal.
The magistrate said he was running out of patience with the girl and she was the one who would ultimately suffer.
The matter was adjourned until a later date.
