A teenager has pleaded guilty to killing 82-year-old Canberra man Richard Cater, as terrifying details of the attack emerged in the ACT Supreme Court today.
Graphic content warning: This story contains details which may be upsetting for some readers.
Mr Cater was being dropped off at his Palmerston home in Canberra's north by friends after a night out at a restaurant when the teenager launched his attack in March, 2019.
Court documents reveal the teenager descended on the group, violently attacking one man and tearing at his mouth, and then snapping the neck of a woman who tried to help.
Throughout the attack the boy repeatedly threatened them and made "monster prehistoric sounds".
"I'm going to kill you, I'm going to kill you," he said.
Mr Cater got out of the car to help, but moments later was on the ground with the youth stomping on his head.
He later died in hospital as a result of his injuries.
The court documents reveal the first victim managed to subdue the teenager by hitting him on the head with a spade.
But when police arrived, the teenager jumped up and lunged at them.
Four officers struggled to control the teenager for an hour and a half. They used pepper spray but it had no impact.
The court documents reveal the teen had taken two LSD tabs in the hours before, which he told friends he had bought off the dark net.
When he was eventually taken to hospital, he was placed in an induced coma for 12 hours until the LSD wore off.
It was also revealed that when he woke he had no memory of events, something experts have put down to the amnesia effect of the ketamine used to subdue him after the attack.
The teenager pleaded guilty to murder and two charges of serious assault.
A sentencing date has not been set.
