The Invercargill Woke 7 Murder Case – all the ingredients for a dark lo-fi movie

4 of the Invercargill Woke 7

There are times when a crime manages to encapsulate all the fission and frenzy of the current cultural times, and the Invercargill Woke 7 Murder Case is just so incredible I feel like I need to start writing a movie script.

7 woke warriors from Invercargill plot to bring vengeful justice to a young man they all suspect of harassing women.

They lure him to a place with the promise of sex and then stab him 14 times to bring down the patriarchy.

It writes itself doesn’t it?

Invercargill teen died from loss of blood after stabbed 14 times, court hears
A 19-year-old Jack McAllister died from loss of blood after suffering 14 stab wounds, including one which severed a major artery, the Invercargill High Court was told on Thursday.

Christopher Brown (20), Laura Scheepers (19), Natasha Ruffell (27), David Wilson (20), and a 24-year-old woman with name suppression, are standing trial at the High Court, Invercargill, all facing a single charge of murdering McAllister.

Crown lawyer Riki Donnelly, in the opening address to the jury, said while none of the five defendants was physically involved in the stabbing, each had played their part.

Brayden Whiting-Roff, who has previously pleaded guilty to McAllister’s murder, was the principal offender, Donnelly said.

McAllister, also known as Jade Fearn, died from injuries sustained during an attack at Stadium Southland on June 7 last year.

The crown alleged McAllister had been lured to Stadium Southland by Laura Scheepers, with the promise of sex, to lull him into a false sense of security, who then relayed where she was to defendant Christopher Brown.

The other defendants, along with Whiting-Roff, arrived at Stadium Southland, where the assault took place, Donnelly said.

He said there was “significant animosity” towards McAllister by a number of individuals in the group, based on a belief McAllister had acted “inappropriately” towards girls.

Donnelly said evidence would show the defendants had a shared understanding of the elements involved leading up to the incident, and each knew the probable consequences of their assistance.

Members of the jury were shown CCTV footage of the incident at Stadium Southland, including a moment the crown alleges was Whiting-Roff stabbing McAllister.

In the post MeToo world of zero tolerance immediate condemnation, where accusation is the new evidential threshold and due process dead, these type of vengeance killings driven by social media whispering campaigns are being seen increasingly in India…

India WhatsApp killings: Why mobs are lynching outsiders over fake videos
At least 20 individuals have been lynched or beaten to death in incidents across India, where rumours on WhatsApp have inspired vigilante mobs to swarm visitors accused of being child kidnappers. Dozens more have been injured in similar attacks.

…as social media bypasses courts and people start taking justice into their own hands, the sensible sentencing lynch mob mentality of punitive punishment is becoming adopted by everyone who gets angry.

This case will be fascinating to see the rationalising the Invercargill Woke 7 used to justify the stabbing to death of Jack McAllister. What an incredibly sad and desperate story.