Two young men have been sentenced to lengthy prison terms for their roles in the 2023 murder of Ethan Hoac, a 14-year-old boy who was attacked while walking along a Melbourne street with friends. The Supreme Court of Victoria heard that the killing was random and unprovoked, with the judge describing the violence as appalling and cowardly.

Ethan was attacked near the intersection of Furlong Road and Bailey Street in St Albans, in Melbourne's north-west, on 26 June 2023. According to evidence presented in court, three teenagers were travelling in a stolen car when they encountered Ethan and his two friends. The group drove past, circled back and struck Ethan with the vehicle.

Two masked passengers then got out and attacked the teenager with machetes, kicking and stabbing him. The court heard that Ethan suffered approximately 30 stab wounds in less than a minute. He died in an ambulance while being taken to hospital.

Justice Mandy Fox said there was no connection between the attackers and Ethan or his friends, and nothing explained why the group had chosen to target him. The judge emphasised that the teenagers posed no threat to their attackers.

The two latest sentences were handed down on 23 October 2026. One offender received 18-and-a-half years in prison, while the other was sentenced to 17 years. The third offender had already been sentenced in 2025 to a maximum of 17 years behind bars. The offenders were 17 at the time of the murder and cannot be publicly identified for legal reasons.

The driver of the car received the longer sentence. He had pleaded not guilty and was found guilty by a jury, meaning he did not receive the sentencing discount available for an early guilty plea. He appeared by video link from youth detention after refusing to attend court in person.

The second offender pleaded guilty earlier and wrote an apology letter to Ethan's family. Justice Fox accepted that the letter was genuine and that the offender had developed some remorse for his actions.

Ethan's mother, Annie Huynh, has described her son as a happy, positive boy who loved making people laugh. She and other family members have attended numerous court proceedings since his death. The sentencing has brought another stage of the long legal process to a close for the family, although the loss of their son remains permanent.

The court also heard that the three offenders had experienced difficult childhoods and had previous involvement with the criminal justice system. Those circumstances formed part of the broader background considered in the proceedings, but the judge's findings made clear the severity of the attack and its devastating consequences.

The case has drawn attention to youth violence, the use of stolen vehicles and machetes in street attacks, and the lasting impact of violent crime on families. The sentences reflect the seriousness with which the court treated the killing of a child in a public place.

The prosecution and sentencing proceedings have established the criminal responsibility of the three offenders. The latest rulings deliver substantial prison terms for two of them, while the family continues to remember Ethan and seek a measure of closure after more than three years of legal proceedings.