Kaiden's Story
Kaiden was born on the 22nd of June 2007. It was a Friday. He was born nice and early, perfect timing, for his whole family to meet him before everyone set off for work and school.
He was my baby, my youngest child of three. Three boys.
Kaiden came into the world ready for anything!
He was adventurous, brave, confident, friendly and quite independent. I called him a collector! He was a collector of friends! Everywhere he went he made a new friend. He had friends everywhere. In every town.
He was also a connector. He connected different groups of people together. He was the reason different walks of life became friends.
He was a beautiful child to raise. He was a free spirit which kept me on my toes. But his heart was kind, fair and forgiving.
He always told me he loved me. If you were his mate, he told you he loved you. 'Luv ya'. He never left anyone without saying 'Luv ya'.
He brought so much into our lives. His crazy relentless need for excitement, his high energy levels, his loudness, his hilarity, and... oh my goodness his friends, they were everywhere!! So many friends but they were all so loyal to him. He looked after them all. His floor was full of people sleeping. The kitchen was noisey with the sounds of him cooking up a feed for everyone.
Kaiden made our home theirs. But he demanded respect from them. For me. Our home. And they all showed it.
He had wonderful plans for his life. He found love early in life with his partner Jayla. For two years they were inseparable. She lived with us. They had found each other and that's all they needed. Young love, a precious gift.
On the 27th of September 2025 we turned the page on the cruelest of chapters. My precious son’s life was taken. He was ambushed, outnumbered and seriously attacked. His injuries were described as unsurvivable.
We had him for 18 years 3 months and 4 days. That's 6,673 days in total. We had him for 13,346 sunsets and sunrises. 18 summers, 18 Christmas's, 18 birthdays, and l had him for 18 Mother's days.
Then it all stopped.
We can't go back. And going forward is so painful. And yet here I am. Fighting for justice. Fighting to tell Kaiden's story. Fighting so he's never forgotten.
This matter is currently before the courts and legal proceedings are ongoing.
The Boorun Boys
Kaiden was a proud member of the Boorun Boys Dance Group on Gunaikurnai Country in Gippsland, a group of young men coming together to learn, practise and strengthen culture through dance.
The Boorun Boys were recognised in 2024 as winners of the ABC Takeover competition, an initiative that gives local young people a powerful platform to share their voices and stories.
Kaiden dreamed of the boys travelling across Australia, performing and sharing culture with others, keeping tens of thousands of years of knowledge, connection and brotherhood alive.
You can watch Kaiden dancing and see the strength and pride he carried in this interview carried out by ABC News.
Kaiden's Art
Kaiden was also a talented artist, using creativity as another way to express who he was and where he came from.
Kaiden loved his art and had plans to keep creating, a future we wish we could have seen come to life.