Australia’s youngest convicted murderer arrested less than a month after his release from prison

Australia’s youngest convicted murderer has been arrested less than a month after he was released from prison after allegedly breaching supervision orders and possessing child abuse material.

The man, who can only be known as SLD, was just 13 when he murdered Courtney Morley-Clarke, 3, on NSW’s Central Coast in January 2001.

He pulled her from her bed in the middle of the night and stabbed her through the heart before he left her body in long grass nearby.

He was caught after it was noticed he’d gone missing from his own home the morning the girl was taken.

He initially lied that he had gone for a walk and was playing with his pet duck in the middle of the night before returning about 2.45am.

He led police, who were frantically searching for Courtney, on a wild-goose chase before admitting he killed her and taking them to a stretch of the street where officers found a pool of blood and a steak knife.

The three-year-old’s body was discovered nearby.

SLD spent more than 20 years in jail for the murder; however, he was arrested just a month after he was freed for breaching the terms of his release – which prohibited him from having contact with children – when he spoke to a woman with a child at Bulli Beach in 2023.

He was sentenced to another year and a half in prison.

Following his release last month, SLD was arrested about 4.55pm on Wednesday afternoon in Campbelltown.

He was charged with four counts of fail to comply with extended/interim supervision order and possess child abuse material.

Bail was refused, and the man fronted Campbelltown Local Court on Thursday.

The matter is set to return to the same court on April 24 for mention.

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