Affluent Streets, Private Schools: Unraveling the Clayfield Stabbing

A woman walks her dog down a street in Clayfield. It’s windy, but sunny, and tradesmen rush about renovating multimillion-dollar homes.

Most of the houses are empty on this weekday afternoon. A scattering of teenagers, having ditched their private school blazers during the holiday weeks, roam palatial properties barefoot and carefree. In a nearby park, small children laugh and squeal in the playground.

But just days earlier, flashing sirens and homicide detectives swarmed the streets, slicing through the gentle holiday buzz following reports of a brutal stabbing.

Halfway up the road, a towering white wall wraps around a property protecting the home from peering eyes. Behind it is a sprawling home with bay windows lapping up vistas from Brisbane’s city skyline.

The events inside this $5.4 million home reverberated beyond the close-knit neighbourhood and captured the nation’s attention.

Greg Josephson, the co-founder of clothing chain Universal Store, was found dead upstairs on Thursday evening. He suffered critical injuries, with paramedics unable to save him.

There’s still lingering disbelief. It’s an affluent neighbourhood where doting parents bond through connections formed at Brisbane’s most prestigious private schools.

One neighbour recalls hearing the sirens on Thursday evening after 8pm, and paramedics thrashing along the white wall to get into the property, searching for the ambiguous entry to the sprawling property.

What they discovered inside is now the centre of a major homicide investigation. Several teenagers – police estimate about 30 – were at the house.

A 15-year-old boy at the party is now in custody. Prosecutors in the Childrens Court are currently compiling their brief of evidence. It’s unclear if the teen will fight the charges through private legal representation, but he has applied for Legal Aid in the meantime.

As dozens of police vehicles lined the street that night, Inspector Jane Healy told reporters that emergency services had received a call about 8.15pm from a young male. He had also suffered a minor injury, police said.

Officers described the remnants of the party as a hive of confusion, with oblivious teenagers struggling to reason with the police and unaware of what had taken place.

“From that [call], police attended this address, and that male person indicated to us that he had some knowledge of something that had happened here tonight, and is assisting police with enquiries,” Healy says.

“There were about 30 young people here. It was quite chaotic and quite a confusing scene and confronting scene when police arrived.”

It’s the latest private school party to be thrust before the glare of media headlines. Earlier this year, a Brisbane Boys College student was taken into custody after hundreds of teenagers trashed an Airbnb in East Brisbane, throwing a couch and lawnmower into the pool. The school’s principal later launched an internal investigation.

Other reports of scandals continue to engulf various boys’ schools in the city, raising concerns about toxic masculinity and the influence of excessive privilege. Some schools appear to be in an endless cycle of damage control over reports of Snapchat scandals, degrading videos, and ranking and so-called “rape lists”.

But in Clayfield, multiple neighbours said there was practically no noise from the fateful party. Even the house immediately beside the Josephsons was unaware of any revelling teenagers until police arrived.

The accused’s enrolment at one top private school has raised concerns from parents about the checks and balances for entry.

Meanwhile, the community at St Joseph’s College Gregory Terrace, where Greg graduated in 1984, is reeling from his violent death.

On the night of the stabbing last week, the accused boy allegedly left the property and was arrested about two blocks away.

This week, police appealed for witnesses and dashcam footage in the areas of Alexandra Road, Oriel Road and Barlow Street, to help detectives narrow in on a 90-minute window and piece together a timeline of events before the alleged murder.

Rumours are rampant about the weapon allegedly used to kill Greg, which was found by police, but authorities are yet to formally confirm what it was, or how it was used.

The horrific events of Thursday night are difficult for the community to comprehend. Some days later, neighbours walk their dogs past the home, and police are no longer swarming over the streets.

One neighbour, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, recalls her childhood growing up beside Greg and his wife Tamra.

The young woman said she had known the couple since she was three as a direct neighbour in another Brisbane suburb before moving to Clayfield. The Josephsons coincidentally moved in about a year later.

“They were such a beautiful family,” she told this masthead through a strained smile. “They were always supportive, they were always there for us.

“They were a lovely family, always spreading love, and I think one thing the community can get out of this, is, despite everything, they’re such a loving family.

“I remember we used to build lemonade stands in the street and they would come out and buy a packet of Oreos to support us, when we were like five years old.

“There’s a lot of love on this street, and Tam and Greg contributed to that.”

Another neighbour, who also asked not to be named, recalls her son coming home that night, and stopping at the nearby IGA and hearing about an incident.

The family had assumed it was a robbery, and never imagined Greg, who they knew, had died.

“They’re a very nice family,” she says, recalling how Greg was actively involved in the community.

Many neighbours lamented that speculation was rife, with online theories only causing further trauma for the grieving family.

Some questioned how such a tragedy could allegedly unfold at the hands of a teenager. Others wondered about wider societal issues at play, and how technology had engulfed children with corrupt influences.

The neighbourhood has now been indelibly marked by a tragedy that no one expected. At the centre of it is a grieving family.

Photos shared by Greg recently show a glimpse into his life. On Christmas Day, the 58-year-old posted a photo of his wife, Tamra, smiling, standing on a beach, a cruise ship in turquoise water in the distance. Friends have left comments on the photos remembering Greg as a gentleman, with a beautiful laugh, who was always there for them.

Other photos show adventures of horseriding, skiing, riding motorbikes, family trips across Australia, and at island resorts in Fiji and Bali.

The family have declined interviews, and ask that the media leave them to grieve in peace.

The Josephsons were an active part of the Brisbane community, and had been dedicated members of the St Agatha’s Parish, where Tamra was a volunteer.

The pair had also recently donated to St Joseph’s College. After leaving the boys school, he went on to study commerce at Griffith University.

He then held positions with Westfield and Lendlease, and by the late 90s, launched the Universal Store alongside brother Michael, with the first store opening in Brisbane’s east side in Carindale. Retail ran through his blood – his uncle had owned the Lee Cooper brand, while their grandfather owned the workwear brand Can’t Tear ’Em.

The brothers eventually moved on from Universal, selling the company for $100 million in 2018. It is now worth almost $600 million, with more than 80 shopfronts across Australia.

Before his death, Greg and his wife had been planning to sell their property, shifting their focus to multiple business ventures on the Sunshine Coast, including the Rosecliff Farm Cottages in Cooran, Café Doonan and the Eumundi Hotel.

In an article on the listing, Greg had said the renovation brief was to give the property a five-star hotel feel.

“We’re sad to sell, but we’re relocating to Noosa where we have a house and business interests,” he told News Corp in early June.

It remains unclear how the case against Greg’s alleged killer will play out, with the accused teen set to be the first major test of Queensland’s controversial adult crime, adult time legislation.

Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter .