The boy accused of the attack enters court. Picture: Cameron Richardson Source: The Daily Telegraph
Facebook image of Liam Knight, (front left) with brothers Todd, Shane and Kyle. Source: The Daily Telegraph
THE teen who allegedly threw a metal rod at Liam Knight during a gatecrashing incident last weekend - piercing the 17-year-old's skull - has been refused bail this morning.
The North Ryde boy, 16, who had handed himself in to police just before 6pm yesterday, was charged just before midnight with recklessly causing grievous bodily harm, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, two counts of common assault, affray and breach of bail.
The development came as it was revealed Facebook threats were allegedly posted by a group of teenage males just hours before the party, one of which said they were going to do some "smashing on the North Shore".
The teen, who can't be named for legal reasons, appeared in Bidura Children's Court today dressed casually in a white t-shirt, brown pants and thongs as he applied for release after being held in custody overnight.
The court heard the teen's cousin had identified the 16-year-old as being one responsible for the attack, which allegedly happened when the gatecrasher climbed on a roof and started throwing building materials at partygoers.
But his lawyer Gregory Stanton suggested the teen might have been "fingered" for the crime by one of his friends - who were potentially also implicated in the attack.
He said the teen's cousin had not been at the scene of the events and it was not clear if any independent witnesses had identified his client.
Magistrate Elizabeth Ellis said Liam - who had been standing in the backyard as the items were thrown - had been "the wrong person in the wrong place" when he was hit in the head.
She said there was "a real question mark" over whether the teen was the one who threw the metal rod "like a javelin".
But she refused to release him from custody, noting he had previously failed to appear in court and was already on bail for unrelated offences at the time of the attack.
The accused teen's mother and sister were in court for the bail application and they sobbed as the decision was given.
Outside the court, the teen's family lashed out at the media - with his mother claiming her son was innocent of causing Liam's tragic injuries.
"Leave us alone ... we haven't done anything wrong," she said.
"It's not my son (who) did it, I know."
The accused teen will return to court on February 26.
Seventeen-year-old private schoolboy Liam is still in an induced coma in a critical condition in the Royal North Shore Hospital.
His doctors are expected to try to bring him out of sedation today to properly assess his head injuries.
His family, who were told of the developments in the police investigation last night, said they remained positive and hopeful of Liam's recovery.
The group that attacked the party Liam was at is also suspected of assaulting another party-goer about 200m from the venue minutes after the attack on Liam.
Police Minister Michael Gallacher urged the remaining teens in the group to hand themselves in.
"Don't make the situation worse for yourself by hiding because you will eventually be caught," Mr Gallacher said.
"I strongly urge those who were involved in this incident to come forward now before police come knocking."
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