The bid to secure bail for a 12-year-old boy charged with murder over the death of a 26-year-old man in Perth has had a setback, with a family member failing to be deemed responsible for the child.
Patrick Slater, 26, was attacked with star pickets, screwdrivers and rocks during a brawl between two groups near Elizabeth Quay Station in the early hours of January 27, and later died in hospital.
The boy is one of the youngest people charged with murder in Australia and was 11 at the time of the alleged offending.
In the Perth Children's Court on Friday, the boy's defence lawyer Helen Prince nominated his 22-year-old brother as the person who would be responsible for him if he was released from juvenile detention.
However, the president of the court, Judge Denis Reynolds, said the brother would not be allowed to perform that role, suggesting Ms Prince seek some sort of external arrangement for a bail application to be successful.
Judge Reynolds noted the brother was trying his best in a difficult family environment, getting a mortgage so he could house his family - including some of his 13 siblings - while their parents battled ongoing substance abuse problems.
He'd worked, studied and no doubt had good intentions and great loyalty to his sibling, but also had been convicted on six occasions over a short period of time for driving under suspension or disqualification, once when he was subject to a suspended imprisonment order.
Judge Reynolds also said he was worried about the presence of firearms in the house, even when they were secured in a locker.
The court heard police had searched their nearby grandmother's house and found a gun plus ammunition that the older brother had stashed on top of a wardrobe.
The boy has been remanded in custody and will next appear in court on May 20, as will two co-accused boys, aged 14 and 17.
The trio are among eight males who have been charged over Mr Slater's death.
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