Third man found guilty of unprovoked machete murder of 14-year-old Ethan Hoac

In short: A third man has been found guilty of the murder of 14-year-old Ethan Hoac in an unprovoked machete attack in Melbourne's north-west three years ago. The man, who deliberately crashed into the boy and watched on as two others stabbed him to death, was found guilty of murder in Victoria's Supreme Court today.

What's next? The now 20-year-old has been in custody since 2023 and will be sentenced at a later date. A man who deliberately crashed into a 14-year-old boy and watched on as others stabbed him to death with machetes has been found guilty of murder. Today's verdict in Victoria's Supreme Court means three people have now been held responsible for murdering Ethan Hoac in St Albans late on June 26, 2023. The court heard Ethan and two friends were on Furlong Road when they were set upon by the trio, who were in an SUV. The driver crashed into Ethan, knocking him to the ground, before two machete-wielding passengers climbed out and stabbed him dozens of times. The attackers then drove off. The unprovoked attack lasted less than a minute. Those involved were all under 18 at the time of the incident and cannot be identified for legal reasons. In 2025, one of the killers was sentenced to a maximum of 17 years' jail. In sentencing remarks, Justice Jane Dixon said it was hard to comprehend the horror of the murder and called the crime "appalling" and "vicious". The ABC can now report that another of Ethan's killers pleaded guilty to murder in May this year. The most recent trial centred on the actions of the driver, and whether he could be found guilty of murder on a complicity basis. Prosecutors argued the man, who was aged 17 at the time, did not stab Ethan but entered into an agreement with the other killers to murder the boy or cause him very serious harm. The accused's lawyers argued there was no plan to attack Ethan but things "spiralled very rapidly and tragically out of control". Barrister Philip Dunn KC said it was the SUV passengers who were responsible for Ethan's death, not his client. "They murdered him. They chopped him up with machetes," Mr Dunn told the jury. However, after deliberating for four days, the jury ruled the driver was also criminally responsible for murder. The now 20-year-old has been in custody since July 2023 and will be sentenced at a later date.