Four teenage girls have pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Kristie McBride, who died after being stabbed during a violent street brawl in Warrawong in 2023. The pleas were entered in the Supreme Court in Sydney on Monday afternoon, ending a week of pre-trial negotiations that reduced the charges from murder.
The girls, aged between 16 and 17, appeared before Justice Richard Cavanagh. The brawl occurred on the evening of November 22, 2023, when a group of teenage girls armed with knives arrived on Wegit Way, Warrawong to confront another group that included the daughter of Kristie's sister, Carly McBride. The confrontation had been arranged on social media and quickly escalated into violence.
During the brawl, Carly McBride, 38, armed herself with a baseball bat and struck one of the teenagers, while Kristie McBride, 39, was stabbed multiple times and died a week later in Wollongong Hospital. Carly McBride, who pleaded guilty to affray last year, was sentenced in December to a two-year community corrections order, including drug and alcohol rehabilitation and psychological therapy.
The crown did not apply for a variation of the teenagers' bail conditions, with two remaining in custody and two on bail. A Juvenile Justice background report has been ordered for all four. A sentence hearing is scheduled for December 15, with sentencing expected in February.
