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The teenage boy charged with Universal Store co-founder Greg Josephson’s murder looks set to be the first major test of Queensland’s controversial adult crime, adult time legislation.
Under the new laws, which were a key plank of Premier David Crisafulli’s election pitch last year, juveniles can face life sentences for serious criminal offences.
Asked about the prospect of the boy being the first to face a murder charge under the new regime, Crisafulli played it safe.
Greg Josephson co-founded Universal Store with his brother, Michael.Credit: Instagram
“I’m just mindful at the moment, where a family’s lost someone in recent hours, I might reserve my comments on that in particular,” he said.
“But, just more generally, when things like this happen … it makes people particularly reflect about how precious life is and we’ll let the courts do their job.”
The boy stands accused of fatally stabbing Josephson, 58, on Thursday night during a house party at the wealthy businessman’s Clayfield property, which was worth more than $5 million.
During an election debate last year, then-opposition elader David Crisafulli pledged to resign as premier if he could not reduce youth crime rates in his first year.Credit: Dan Peled / Brisbane Times
Police were called to the scene of the party, with about 30 teenagers, to find Josephson critically injured in the top floor of the home.
Detectives were working to determine the circumstances of his death, confirming they had located the alleged weapon used, but would not elaborate on other details.
Responding officers described the scene as “chaotic”.
“It was a confusing situation because it was a party, obviously, and when police turn up at a party it was confusing until obviously all persons present understood what was going on and why police were there,” Detective Acting Superintendent Craig Williams said on Friday morning.
A triple-zero call had been made to police, Williams said, but whether the call came from inside the home was still being investigated.
Police outside the house on Friday.Credit: William Davis
“It’s an extremely distressing job, of course, when a young person is involved and any time there’s loss of life,” he said.
“It’s distressing for the family, it’s distressing for the community, and the innocent people at the house who had nothing to do with it.”
The accused boy was found in a nearby street by officers and remained in custody, with the Children’s Court on Friday hearing he had been taken to hospital. His case was adjourned to September 2.
Josephson founded the Universal Store in 1999 with his brother Michael, with the first store opening in Carindale in Brisbane’s eastern suburbs. The brothers no longer own the company, having sold it for $100 million in 2018. As of December, there were more than 80 Universal Store shopfronts across Australia.
The Clayfield home in which Greg Josephson’s body was found on Thursday night.
The 58-year-old was most recently the chief executive of Josephson Holdings, and previously held roles at Westfield and Lendlease.
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The Josephson family home, with six bedrooms and six bathrooms, sat on a 1259-square-metre block and had been listed for sale last month.
It was bought in May 2016 for $1.91 million and had undergone extensive renovation since.
On Friday afternoon, Josephson’s family issued a statement through police asking for privacy.
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