Two young women from Australia were found guilty by the Brisbane Supreme Court of torturing a man who subsequently died after falling from a fourth-floor apartment, News.com.au reported Tuesday.
The incident took place at a local hotel in May 2020, according to News.com.au. Two women, then aged 16, allegedly filmed the torture of Cian John English and his friend during a drug-fueled party. English and his friend were allegedly lured to the hotel room by the two women, along with Lachlan Paul Soper-Lagas, Jason Ryan Knowles, and Hayden Paul Kratzmann. The situation turned deadly when one of them accused English and his friend of stealing drugs, leading to a brutal assault. In an attempt to escape, English fell from the balcony to his death. (RELATED: Man Plunges To His Death At The Weeknd Concert)
Soper-Lagas, Knowles, and Kratzmann were sentenced for manslaughter. The two women, now 19 and 20, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were found guilty of one count of torture and two counts of armed robbery. Both women received two years of probation without a recorded conviction, per news.com.com.
Two women sentenced after filming man being tortured in hotel room before he fell to his death https://t.co/q55qFt2zeu pic.twitter.com/bM4gn4ZELW
— New York Post (@nypost) November 21, 2023
Despite their protests of innocence, the two men were subjected to almost half an hour of torture and assault in the hotel room, news.com.au reported. The court was shown videos of the abuse that were filmed by two young women. One video reportedly showed the 19-year-old woman as she said “this is why you don’t steal from the boys.”
Another video, taken by the 20-year-old, showed her allegedly forcing Mr. English to clean his own blood from the floor. It was also revealed that after English’s fall, these women reportedly chose not to call for help. Instead, they gathered their belongings and left the scene, later uploading the videos to social media, per news.au.com.
The defense attorneys for both women addressed their clients’ backgrounds and actions. Angus Edwards, representing the 20-year-old, highlighted her difficult childhood and heavy use of Xanax. He suggested that this contributed to her lack of empathy and memory of the events. Martin Longhurst, representing the 19-year-old, acknowledged the nature of her actions, noting her lack of remorse and understanding of the deep loss felt by Mr. English’s family, news.com.au reported.