Karen Malcolm death: Teenage boy who fell prey to ‘sextortion’ plot ploughed his 4WD into grandmother’s car on the Sunshine Coast, killing her instantly
A teenage boy who was tricked into sharing intimate photos of himself in a “sextortion” plot was so upset by the threat of his photos being made public that he drove his car into oncoming traffic and killed a grandmother.
Karen Malcolm, 63, was returning home from her job as a bus driver on August 9, 2022, when the 17-year-old boy pulled his SUV into her lane on the Bells Creek Arterial Road near Corbould Park on the Sunshine. Coast at more than 100 km/h.
The grandmother was killed instantly in the head-on collision. Her killer, now 19, suffered only minor injuries.
Grandmother Karen Malcolm (pictured), 63, was returning from her job as a bus driver on August 9, 2022 when a 17-year-old boy drove his all-terrain vehicle into the lane on the Bells Creek Arterial Road near Corbould Park. on the Sunshine Coast at more than 100km/h
The teenager had fallen prey to a Snapchat ‘sextortion’ scam and was so distressed that he wanted to commit suicide. He suffered only minor injuries in the head-on collision (stock photo)
He was sentenced to three years in prison in the Brisbane Supreme Court on Wednesday after pleading guilty to a manslaughter charge. The courier post.
He will serve 18 months in an adult prison before being released.
The court heard that in August 2022 the teenager was enticed into sending explicit photos via Snapchat to a person claiming to be a young woman named Amber Rose.
After sending the photos, the scammer threatened to make them public unless he transferred $900.
The boy transferred $500 and borrowed another $200 from a friend.
But that didn’t stop the scammer from sending one of the photos to one of the boy’s friends.
He begged the blackmailer to stop and threatened to commit suicide.
The court heard that in August 2022 the teenager was enticed into sending explicit photos via Snapchat to a person claiming to be a young woman named Amber Rose.
“I hope you sleep better knowing you killed me,” his last message to the scammer read.
On the evening of August 9, the teenager got into his Toyota Landcruiser, which he later converted into Ms Malcolm’s Toyota Kluger.
She tried to dodge, but it was too late.
“Mrs Malcolm died instantly as a direct result of the injuries sustained in the collision,” Judge Peter Davis said.
He added: ‘I accept that the explanation for your offending is that you panicked when you were threatened by Amanda (sic) Rose and that the threat of disclosure of the photographs had such an impact on you that you attempted suicide to commit by causing a car accident in which you hoped to die.’
The court heard Ms Malcolm has been a bus driver for almost 30 years, with the latter part of her career driving school buses.
Judge Davis said her loved ones had suffered “grief and misery” in the aftermath of her sudden death.