Judge Reynolds said he was concerned state prosecutors had argued the boy was the principal offender in the group due to their claims he delivered the fatal stab wound. "[The boy] did not lead the charge up the escalator and chase Paddy Slater... he was a follower... he wasn't a controlling influence at all," he said. Judge Reynolds also concluded he could not be sure beyond reasonable doubt that the boy was involved in the attack on Mr Slater, and that he was in possession of the fatal weapon, a screwdriver, before the attack. "I'm not satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that he was even there when Patrick Slater was stabbed," he said. "As to providing encouragement... when the leaders of the [accused's] group took off first [after Mr Slater]... I have no doubt [the boy] behind them was not in their minds at all.

"While there were occasions when [the boy] threw things... and was armed... I am not satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that his thinking was elevated beyond wanting to belong. "Clearly he should not have been in Perth at that time of night and unsupervised, but there he was, an 11-year-old boy." Prosecuting lawyer Sean Stocks, in his opening address on November 20, alleged a fatal stab wound through Mr Slater's heart was made by a screwdriver the 11-year-old was seen holding in CCTV footage, prompting the state to reject the boy's offer to plead guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter. "That's the screw driver that killed Patrick Slater and (the accused) is holding the murder weapon less than one minute after it was used to kill someone," he said. "It's covered in the blood of Patrick Slater."

CCTV footage captured most of the accused group's altercation with Mr Slater and his group. The groups had been involved in three altercations throughout the evening in Perth's CBD between 2.45am and 3.30am, with the boy present at each. He was seen riding his bike around the groups during the first brawl, throwing rocks and other objects at the other group during the second, and then holding weapons and running in the direction of Mr Slater during the third and ultimately fatal altercation. During the third altercation, the eight males were seen on CCTV running up an escalator at the bus station, each having just armed themselves with makeshift weapons including star pickets, rocks and bottles. The boy was the sixth to run up the escalator, allegedly carrying a bottle in one hand and a socket bar in the other.

Mr Stock's said the actual attack on Mr Slater took place in an area not captured on CCTV. "Paddy is last seen alive running from (the accused's) group," he said. "Forty-nine seconds later the accused's group starts to walk back (towards the escalators)". He said when the accused's group made their way back down the escalator, the boy appeared to be holding a screwdriver. The screwdriver, a socket bar and a machete belonging to Mr Slater were later recovered dumped at the Elizabeth Quay construction site.

The screwdriver had Mr Slater's blood on it, while the accused boy's finger print was found on the socket bar. The boy's lawyer Christian Miocevich said his client did not dispute the CCTV footage evidence, or that he had in his possession a socket bar - but he claimed there was no evidence the boy delivered the fatal blow to Mr Slater. He also claimed the boy was 15 to 16 seconds behind Mr Slater during the chase, and may not have caught up to him to take part in the assault. "You can't see who took the screwdriver there (up the escalator)," he said. "(The boy) is the youngest and smallest in the group ... at no time did he play a leadership role, he's in fact following the others."

A person can be found guilty of murder if they cause the death of another, aided another in the death of another or acted in a group of two or more and formed a common intent to carry out an unlawful purpose where death was a probable consequence. Five men - Christopher Birdsall, Stefan Mead, Clinton Mead, Dylan Anthony and Robert Pickett - and one teenage boy were previously found guilty of murdering Mr Slater during a Supreme Court trial in July. The men were sentenced to life in prison with minimum terms ranging from 16 to 18 years. The teenage boy, then 17, was sentenced to 12 years jail. Another teenage boy, aged 14 when he was charged, pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter in the Perth Children's Court and was sentenced to four-and-a-half years jail. The boy will be sentenced on December 21.

He has been in custody since being arrested shortly after Mr Slater's death. Family members of both Mr Slater and the accused boy were in court to hear the verdict read. The boy's grandmother said outside court she had no comment, and Mr Slater's family also declined to comment. Earlier this year, a cousin of Mr Slater called for violence amongst aboriginal people to be addressed after five men and a teenage boy were found guilty of his murder. Vanessa Brockman said justice had been served but called for calm in the verdict's aftermath. "To other Aboriginal families out there, our family isn't perfect and violence is something we live with everyday," she said.

"But with that said, the accepted level of violence among our people must be addressed to stop this happening again. Loading "As a community we need to take a long hard look at ourselves and change what we're doing to protect our future generations. "The murder of our brother has had a devastating and profound effect on our family. Paddy was a quiet young man who didn't deserve what happened to him."