Lachlan Young, 23, shocked a Victorian courtroom on Friday by pleading guilty to the brutal 2024 murder of his ex-girlfriend, 23-year-old Hannah McGuire—bringing his murder trial to an abrupt halt.
The admission came just over a week after his trial began in the Supreme Court of Victoria. Young had previously denied the charges.
According to prosecutors, Young killed McGuire on April 5, 2024, then set her body on fire inside her car and abandoned it in a bushland area near Ballarat, Australia. He initially claimed the killing was spontaneous and unplanned.
But a key witness, Young’s friend Benjamin O’Keefe, testified that Young had premeditated the attack, intending to crash the car with McGuire inside because she was leaving him and “going to take the house and other things,” ABC News reported.
O’Keefe also told the court that he saw Young setting the car on fire but had no idea McGuire was still inside.
McGuire’s parents, Debbie and Glenn McGuire—who run the National Hotel Clunes pub—alleged in court that Young had mistreated their daughter during their relationship. They later reacted to the guilty plea in a Facebook post:
“No other result would have been fitting. All for you Hannah, my sweet girl. Something tells me, it’s going to be a big night at the Nash.”
Young is now awaiting sentencing.
