A teenager has been charged with the murder of 33-year-old Rodney Piper of Golden Grove, more than two years after a group of young men reportedly beat him to death following a dispute over a stolen phone.

Piper was reportedly attacked on September 9th, 2023, after he confronted a group of individuals he believed had stolen his phone. He was badly outnumbered and sustained injuries that left him in a coma. He was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit at the Sir Lester Bird Medical Centre, where he died eight days later on September 17th. A coroner’s jury subsequently ruled his death a murder.

In March this year an 18 year-old was charged with his murder but since he was a minor at the time of the alleged offence he is being treated as a minor. He was remanded to prison but was granted bail in the High Court on April 1.