Looking back at September 30, 1993
A schoolboy was jailed for a minimum of nine years yesterday for murdering a 17-year-old stranger in an unprovoked stabbing at a dance party.
In sentencing the 17-year-old youth in the Supreme Court, Justice Jeremy Badgery-Parker said he was unable to find any satisfactory explanation for the attack upon a completely innocent victim.
"Whether it stemmed from an excess of youthful aggression or from a perceived need to preserve face, I am quite unable to say," he said.
"The prisoner chooses not to explain what was in his mind at the time.
"He had no criminal record and "an excellent reputation as a quiet and non-violent person".
The youth, who cannot be identified,was found guilty of murdering Geoffrey Berrett at the Hills Entertainment Centre, Castle Hill, in Sydney's north-west, on November 13 last year. The jury rejected the youth's claim that Geoffrey had pulled a knife on him first.
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