A teenage boy has pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of another teen at a gatecrashed birthday party.
He died three weeks later in hospital, on April 10.
Police at the time believed Jason had been hit twice in the head with a screwdriver after stepping in as peacemaker when three people tried to crash the party at Tooradin.
A now-18-year-old boy pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the Victorian Supreme Court on Thursday.
He cannot be identified because he too was 17 at the time.
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When asked how he pleaded to the charge of killing Jason, the boy looked at his lawyer before saying “guilty, yeah”.
The teen, who is in custody, will face a pre-sentence hearing in March next year.
Jason was described by family after his death as an outdoorsy boy who loved fishing, camping, four-wheel-driving and playing football.
He had signed up for an apprenticeship, bought a car and “just loved life”, his mother Carolyn said.
