Declan Cutler's father has delivered an emotional message as his son's killers are brought to justice.
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"Knife crime needs to stop," Bryan Beattie told the Supreme Court in Melbourne on Tuesday.
His 16-year-old son was kicked, stomped on and stabbed to death in a frenzied attack by a gang of teenagers when he left a party in Melbourne's north in March 2022.
One boy and two young men, who have pleaded guilty over the 16-year-old's group killing, faced a pre-sentence hearing on Tuesday.
One has admitted murder, another manslaughter and the third has pleaded guilty to intentionally causing serious injury in circumstances of gross violence.
None of them can be identified as they were children at the time of the killing.
A fourth boy, who was 13 at the time and is the youngest of the group, has pleaded not guilty to murder and is facing a judge-alone trial.
The group met up at a house in Tarneit on March 12, before driving over to a Reservoir party after seeing a series of antagonistic videos posted online, prosecutor Kristie Churchill told the court.
Declan was split up from his friends after leaving the party and was alone when a group, carrying four knives, pulled up in a car.
In a two-minute attack, several members of the group stabbed and kicked Declan as he laid on the floor.
They fled in their car but returned briefly, where one of the boys kicked Declan again.
"Declan was obviously very young and the group having metered out their attack upon him have fled the scene, leaving him either dying or deceased," Ms Churchill said.
She described the offending as a "brutal" and "unprovoked" attack, in retribution for a video posted online.
Emergency services were called but Declan had so many stab wounds he could not be saved.
He died on the footpath in the early hours of March 13.
His father cried as he stood at the witness box to speak publicly for the first time since his son's "senseless" murder.
"My son deserves justice, he deserves for his life to have meaning, he deserves for his dad to fight for his name," Mr Beattie said.
He said the "cowards" who took his son's life were "out for blood", and pleaded for Justice Elizabeth Hollingworth to make an example of them in deciding their jail terms.
"We need to make an example of these teens, so that kids across the country drop the weapons," Mr Beattie said.
"Please make sure the next generation of kids don't have their lives cut short like Declan did."
The three males will be sentenced at a later date.
Australian Associated Press
