WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains an image of a person who has died.
Family members, friends and police have gathered at Cassius Turvey's memorial tree in Perth today to celebrate the late-teen's 16th birthday.
Loved ones were encouraged to lay flowers and leave handwritten cards for the schoolboy, who will be "forever 15".
Cassius, a Noongar Yamatji boy, was allegedly chased down and attacked with a metal pole as he walked home from school with friends on October 13, 2022.
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He suffered serious head injuries and died in hospital 10 days later, triggering an outpouring of grief and anger across the nation, with some Indigenous leaders alleging the attack was cowardly and racist.
Cassius has been remembered as a loving son and a role model to his friends.
He had started his own lawn-mowing business and was invited at age 11 to deliver an acknowledgment of country at the WA parliament.
His mother, Mechelle Turvey, and local Aboriginal Elders, created the memorial tree late last year, as a space of remembrance and reflection at Weeip Park in Midland.
Brodie Lee Palmer, 28, Mitchell Colin Forth, 25, Jack Steven James Brearley, 22, and Aleesha Louise Gilmore, 21, pleaded not guilty to murder in May.
All four are committed to stand trial in 2025.
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