Jaden Martinovich: Teen murderer double crossed in North Perth phoney drug deal jailed for at least 14 years

A young man who murdered a teen with a fatal stab to the heart in a phoney drug deal that went horribly wrong has been jailed for life and must serve a minimum term of 14 years. Jaden Anthony Martinovich was 18 in August 2022 when he met the 17-year-old boy in a North Perth car park after arranging via social media to sell him DMT for $250. But he did not know that a friend who came along, also aged 17, was the victim’s best mate — and together they had plotted to steal Martinovich’s Mazda. The plan was that the victim would drive off in the vehicle and the mutual friend would pretend to try to stop him. Handing down the sentence on Friday, Supreme Court of WA Justice Bruno Fiannaca described the scenario as “a tragic culmination of foolish and reckless decisions of two young men intent on acting like gangsters”. Before stepping out to do the deal, Martinovich grabbed a flick knife “in case s... goes south”. The teen then jumped into the driver’s seat and Martinovich, now aged 21, tried to pull him from the car. After the victim attempted to drive off with the hand brake on, Martinovich dragged him out of the vehicle and stabbed him in the chest. The mutual friend walked home, and Martinovich and a 14-year-old who had also come along ditched evidence including the knife at three different locations. On the way to his Karrinyup residence, Martinovich didn’t realise he was being recorded on dash-cam bragging: “If you f... with me, you get stabbed”. “I’m going to sleep like a baby tonight knowing I’ve plunged a knife into some f...ing c...’s vital organs ... I love doing that,” he said. But he also tried to reassure the frightened passenger: “The guy won’t die. It was just a small stab”. Martinovich also said the fake drug deal had been “a stupid f...ing idea”, blaming the mutual friend for the plan. Later, when interviewed by police, he was evasive then lied, claiming the deceased had been holding the knife and he pushed it back towards him during a struggle. Martinovich eventually admitted: “Anyone seeing those videos would think I’m an absolute monster”. He told police that what the boy had done was wrong but didn’t deserve what happened to him. The teen died in hospital six days later. Justice Fiannaca said the dash cam footage showed Martinovich going through “a rollercoaster of emotions and rationalisations”, including projecting “a tough-guy persona”. But after dropping off the younger teen, he was captured “self-absorbed chastising”. “That’s called a f...ing wake-up call, Jaden. You stupid idiot,” Martinovich said to himself. “What do you want? 250 smackaroos. Now you have committed a felony.” Justice Fiannaca said Martinovich, who had been working as a used car salesman, had been raised by his now-divorced parents as Jehovah’s Witness and they had worked hard to instil pro-social values. Martinovich changed his plea in September after initially pleading not guilty, but the judge accepted he was genuinely remorseful. Justice Fiannaca said his family had been subjected to a torrent of abuse and threats on social media by the victim’s relatives, which was “shameful behaviour”. He also noted Martinovich had been attacked in prison by someone who “at least identified themselves as being associated with the deceased”, landing him in hospital then the protective unit.