Murder charge against WA boy dropped

Charges against one of the six boys accused of murdering a 28-year-old West Australian man have been dropped during the trial.

Six boys, aged between 14 and 16, were accused of murdering Tauri Litchfield in Mandurah, south of Perth, last March by assaulting him and chasing him until he tripped over a wall in a carpark and suffered fatal brain injuries.

But on Tuesday, the Perth Children's Court heard the murder charge against one of the boys, aged 15, had been discontinued.

He has been on remand in juvenile detention for the past 10 months but will now be released.

Five other boys remain on trial for Mr Litchfield's murder.

The court previously heard one of the boys, aged 14, had tried to pickpocket Mr Litchfield who then slapped the teenager on the back of his head with an open palm.

The teenager then punched Mr Litchfield in the jaw, knocking him onto his back into some bushes, before the group surrounded him and chased him until he fell.

The trial continues.