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Channel 10 star Narelda Jacobs has burst into tears as she talks about the alleged murder of an Indigenous schoolboy after he was chased and beaten with a metal pole just after getting off his bus.
Cassius Turvey, a 15-year-old Noongar Yamatji boy from Perth, was reportedly beaten with a metal pole while walking home from school with friends and died on October 23.
Ms Jacobs, a Whadjuk Noongar woman also from Perth, made an emotional plea this week when she presented to Studio 10, calling on Australians to come together as vigils are held across the country for Cassius on Wednesday.
“When I see those pictures from home, that’s my whole family,” Jacobs said in a cracking voice.
“Across the country, we feel this so deeply… I can’t tell you enough how important the vigils will be this week.”
Cassius Turvey (pictured), 15, was reportedly beaten to death as he walked home from school
Mrs. Jacobs collapsed talking about Cassius, saying she has connections to his family
Ms Jacobs said Cassius was part of her family and called on Australians to stand up.
“We will see people show up in record numbers across Australia because we want an end to the violence, we want an end to the alleged racism that allegedly killed Cassius, and we need allies to stand up,” she said tearfully. in the eyes.
“Australians have had enough and we will stand in solidarity with Cassius’s family, who are also my family, so please come out.”
Ms. Jacobs also said she has a close relationship with Cassius’ family.
She called Cassius her cousin and said her daughter Jade, who lives in Perth, had been asked to paint his coffin.
Jade also performed a smoking ceremony with her cousin Elijah to “tell any evil spirits to leave and welcome the good spirits to sit by the coffin and be there for Cassius as he joins the ancestors.”
A smoking ceremony will be held Monday at a vigil for Cassius Turvey at Midland Oval in Perth (pictured)
She also joined fellow Indigenous TV star Tony Armstrong in calling out Channel 9 and 7 for failing to provide extensive coverage of the story and being “absent from this entire conversation.”
Thousands of Australians are expected to pay their respects to Cassius Turvey at events and vigils on Wednesday.
Aboriginal leaders in Perth condemned the tragic death of the Cassius and urged authorities to heed their concerns.
Jack Steven James Brearley, 21, has been charged with murder and is due to appear in court in Perth on Nov. 9.
More than 40 events in Cassius’ honor are scheduled for this week, including gatherings in every capital city, regional centers of man, New Zealand and Los Angeles.
Monday’s vigil (pictured) will be followed on Wednesday by many more across Australia and overseas
More than 1,000 people mourned the teen Monday night at a candlelight vigil in Perth attended by Noongar elders and state and federal politicians.
Those in attendance were invited to take gum leaves or branches and add them to 15 smoking fire pits arranged in a circle, each representing a year in Cassius’s life.
Cassius’ uncle Mark Kickett said the voices of the First Nations must be heard.
“It is now time for us to look very deeply into our own souls and understand what must happen if healing does indeed come,” he said.
“It’s time for the voices of Aboriginal, Islander and First Nations people to stand up and be heard and counted.”
Hundreds came for Monday’s vigil (Cassius’ mother Mechelle is pictured on the left)
Local federal MP Tania Lawrence, who paid an emotional tribute to Cassius in parliament last week, said a national dialogue was needed.
“Ready or not, we need to have that conversation,” she told AAP.
“I think there’s an undercurrent of racism that has gripped Australia for too long, and we can’t be defined by it.
“We have to be better than this, and right now we’re not.”
Friends and family described Cassius as a “teddy bear” with an infectious smile who was always there for others.
His mother Mechelle Turvey told the name of her son during the wake, a nod to the boxing great Muhammad Ali, who represented him ‘to the bone’.
“So many people have said so many things about Cassius, but my son is my best,” she said.