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Law & Justice · Global

Teenager who killed Ethan Hoac receives 17-year sentence in Melbourne

A teenager who pleaded guilty to murdering 14-year-old Ethan Hoac was jailed for 17 years after a machete attack in Melbourne’s northwest. The sentence includes a minimum term of 12 years and six months, while Hoac’s mother urged the jailed killers to learn from their actions.

AI-assisted synthesis · Based on 2 outlets' reporting · Article text read from 1 of 2 outletsHow it's made

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2 outletsLatest reporting 3 min read
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Photo: Melbpal / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

What happened

Key facts

  • Ethan Hoac was 14 when he was attacked in Melbourne’s northwest.
  • Hoac was walking with two friends when a stolen car was intentionally driven into him.
  • Hoac suffered 30 stab wounds and died on the way to hospital.
  • One teenager pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced on Friday to 17 years in jail, with a minimum term of 12 years and six months.
  • The sentence closely resembled the sentence imposed on the other attacker in late 2025.
  • Victorian Supreme Court Justice Amanda Fox said the sentenced teenager had shown “emerging” remorse after writing an apology letter to Hoac’s family.
  • Hoac’s mother, Annie Huynh, said she hoped the attackers would learn from their actions and avoid causing other families similar suffering.

The brief

One of the teenagers who stabbed 14-year-old Ethan Hoac pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to 17 years in prison, with a minimum term of 12 years and six months, nine.com.au reported. The sentencing follows a similar prison term for the other teenager in late 2025. ABC Australia’s headline also identifies the case as the murder of Hoac and says the killers were jailed.

Hoac’s mother, Annie Huynh, said he was stabbed to death in 2023. According to nine.com.au, Hoac had been walking with two friends one evening in June when a stolen car was intentionally driven into him. Two teenagers wearing face masks then got out carrying machetes and stabbed him.

The attack took place in Melbourne’s northwest on June 26 and lasted less than a minute, nine.com.au reported. Hoac suffered 30 stab wounds and died on the way to hospital. The outlet describes the attackers as part of a trio who were 17 at the time, while its account of the assault says two teenagers got out of the car and stabbed Hoac.

After the sentencing, Huynh said she hoped the teenagers would learn from what they had done and avoid causing other families the kind of hardship her family experienced. Her remarks were reported by nine.com.au. Victorian Supreme Court Justice Amanda Fox said the sentenced teenager had shown “emerging” remorse after writing an apology letter to Hoac’s family.

Justice Fox also characterized the trio’s physical violence as substantial and called it “unprovoked and cowardly,” according to nine.com.au. The reported sentencing accounts place the two teenagers’ prison terms at similar levels: one was sentenced to 17 years, with a minimum of 12 years and six months, and the other received a similar sentence in late 2025.

The account also records the guilty plea, the judge’s assessment of remorse, and Huynh’s hope that the teenagers would learn from the case.

Why it matters

  • Hoac, a 14-year-old, was the victim of an assault involving a stolen car and machetes; nine.com.au reports he suffered 30 stab wounds.
  • Hoac’s family bears the direct loss: his mother, Annie Huynh, described the hardship her family experienced and expressed hope that other families would not face it.
  • The court imposed a 17-year prison sentence with a minimum term of 12 years and six months after a guilty plea; the other teenager received a similar sentence in late 2025.

What to watch next

  • Whether the sentenced teenager serves the 12-year-and-six-month minimum term before becoming eligible for release.
  • How the teenager’s sentence compares with the similar sentence imposed on the other teenager in late 2025.

How it's being covered

Coverage analysisShow details
3 source articles · 2 unique outlets
Outlet political mix: Too few rated· 2 Center
Where the outlets are based: Asia 100%
Outlet political mix
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Center
Right
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2 outlets
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Geography
Where the outlets covering this story are based.
2 unique outletsDominant coverage: Asia
Limited coverage
  • Coverage is currently limited to 2 outlets.
How we measure coverage

How outlets' accounts compare

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Timeline

Developments from this story's sources, dated background we compiled and fact-checked, and our earlier coverage. Each row says which.
  1. The Supreme Court of Victoria, established in 1852, hears the state’s most serious criminal cases, including murder prosecutions.
    Background · from our historical context
  2. Victoria passed the Children’s Court Act, creating a separate court for children.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  3. Victoria passed the Children and Young Persons Act, reorganising child-protection and youth-justice laws.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  4. Victoria passed the Sentencing Act, setting out sentencing purposes and requiring courts to consider guilty pleas.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  5. Victoria passed the Children, Youth and Families Act, replacing the Children and Young Persons Act.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  6. Hoac was walking with two friends one evening in June 2023 when a stolen car was intentionally driven into him.
    Reported in this story's sourcesSource:nine.com.au
  7. Ethan Hoac was attacked and fatally stabbed in Melbourne’s northwest.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  8. The other attacker in Hoac’s killing was sentenced.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  9. The attack in Melbourne’s northwest on June 26 lasted less than a minute; Hoac suffered 30 stab wounds and died on the way to hospital.
    Reported in this story's sourcesSource:nine.com.au

How we got here

On June 26, 2023, 14-year-old Ethan Hoac was walking with two friends in Melbourne’s northwest when a stolen car was driven into him and he was stabbed; his mother, Annie Huynh, said he died on the way to hospital.

That date is the case’s immediate criminal-law backdrop: the subsequent proceedings involved a child accused of murder, bringing Victoria’s youth-justice rules into a Supreme Court case. Victoria’s Children, Youth and Families Act 2005 sets out the state’s youth-justice framework, including the principles courts apply when sentencing children.

Original sources

3 articles from 2 outlets · Asia · Show all

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