Two worlds that don't normally connect did so with tragic results in Melbourne this week.
Easton Woodhead is a graduate of the same exclusive private school that produced three Australian prime ministers. Wayne "Mouse" Perry was a homeless man who days before his death, told The Age newspaper he had to sleep with one eye open because he didn't know who was going to bash, stab or rob him.
Forty-two-year-old Mousey was well known and well liked amongst the homeless community in Melbourne, but he was stabbed to death. Friend Delwyn Block says he was a "gentleman" who "would not hurt anyone" – "a kind, loving sort of person".
He'd spent 28 years living rough in Melbourne and was working with the Salvation Army to get off the streets – a life that's in stark contrast to the teenager charged with his murder.
Nineteen-year-old Woodhead appeared in court this week, his first time ever in police custody.
Just a year ago he graduated from one of the city's most prestigious private schools, Melbourne Grammar, but his lawyer told the courts he'd been using cannabis and having suicidal thoughts.
It's alleged the teenager stabbed Mr Perry after he was heard ranting about the ownership of the dead man's motorbike.
Mousey had recently given an interview about the danger of life on the streets. Now his death has left others fearing for their safety.
"There are a few people out there that are very scared and don't trust the people around them," says friend Anthony Hodges.
The Salvation Army's Major Brendan Nortel has known Mousey since he was a teenager and wants this crime to mark a change in the way people view the homeless.
"They need to be treated with respect and dignity, as all human beings should be," says Mr Nortel.
Woodhead will reappear in court in May.
3 News
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