Liam revelled in the pirate's life

Liam once said he'd like to steal a Harley. Picture / Michael Craig

His mates on the North Shore didn't call him "Crazy Liam" for nothing.

Take the time Liam Ashley stole a car from his father's work and went on a joyride, pulling a series of burnouts on a grass verge before its windows were smashed out.

But his fun with the car wasn't over yet - with some friends watching on, he drove it off a boat ramp and dumped it in the sea.

"His parents probably wouldn't want me telling you about that, but that was Liam," Daniel, one of his pallbearers, said yesterday.

"He would do anything for fun, and even though it could be totally crazy, he never meant anything bad by it. It is not like he would hurt anyone."

Liam's pursuit of fun ended in the back of a Chubb prison van nine days ago, when the 17-year-old was murdered, allegedly by an adult prisoner he was sharing a cage with in the vehicle.

His parents, exasperated by his latest antics that included the stealing of yet another car from his mother, had wanted him to experience first-hand the penalties for breaking the law if an adult. It was a last resort after a years of dealing with his Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD).

Daniel, Liam and their mates led what they called the "Pirate Life", a slogan since emblazoned on the back of "Crazy Liam" T-shirts.

"Liam loved that saying," said Daniel, also 17, who did not want his last name used. "It was because we lived life like pirates, cruising around, doing what we wanted. Drinking rum and having fun."

They would hang out at the Birkenhead skate bowl, drinking, smoking cigarettes and weed. There was trouble with police, but "nothing major," said Daniel, "just disorderly behaviour and drinking in public".

Daniel was on bail when he spoke at Liam's funeral on Wednesday, on a minor theft charge for which he was given diversion when he appeared in court the following day.

However, he is adamant the boys were just "doing normal teenage stuff". Liam was a mischief man among mischief-makers.

"My parents didn't want me hanging around him, but they didn't understand. He was a victim of ADHD, his friends were everything to him.

"There are guys our age doing things a million times worse than Liam ever did. All the bad things he did, it was against his parents. And everything he ever did, he got snapped for."

The last time Daniel saw Liam it was in the Honda CRV jeep he had stolen from his mother that he was to be arrested for. He knew it was stolen; they always were.

Liam ended up in the North Shore District Court on 10 charges, seven of which he pleaded guilty to on the day of his death, all stemming from offending against his parents.

The next he heard of Liam was a phone call from his mother, Lorraine Ashley. "His mum rang up and said there was bad news. I thought, 'What has he done now?' Then she said he was dead."

Daniel, who first met Liam when they were about 6, is sure his mate would have been terrified in the Chubb van, despite his penchant for risk-taking. A 25-year-old man, who has name suppression, has been charged with Liam's murder.

Daniel said if there was a man Liam idolised it was his father Ian, who runs Milano International, a car importing company, where his son had recently been working. Daniel said Liam thought everything his father did was the best, "the best car, the best bike [a Harley Davidson], the best this, the best that".

And what were Liam's hopes for the future? He once said he wanted "to steal a Harley-Davidson," said Daniel.

"Liam didn't live in the future. He didn't live in the past. He lived in the now."

Father tells of son's struggles

By age 3 Liam Ashley was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) and by age 5 he was prescribed Ritalin.

His father Ian revealed yesterday the family's struggle with Liam's ADHD, saying they had never heard of the disorder when Liam was diagnosed in 1992 and went in search of all the literature they could find. He described his wife Lorraine as "a true angel from heaven" for being Liam's full-time caregiver, and managing three other children's needs.

Liam lasted a short time at his first school before he was asked to leave.

He made progress with some specialised support at other schools but this was "taken away" and Liam went across Auckland to Waimokoia Special School in Half Moon Bay, a last-stop primary for the country's most difficult kids. Liam's return to mainstream education was a failure.

He was sent to board at Christchurch's Halswell Residential College for boys with intellectual and social difficulties, Although Liam flourished, Mr Ashley said he longed to be with his family and they reluctantly brought him back to the North Shore just before his 15th birthday. He lasted only a year and went to work cleaning cars at Mr Ashley's business.

Mr Ashley said Liam had begun to experiment with cars, alcohol, drugs and girls. It was not long before he started to take money or family possessions to trade and sell.

Mr Ashley said that despite the family trying all avenues of teenage support, the offending escalated and they decided to "entrust" Liam to the justice system to show him where he would end up once he turned 18.

"The rest has been well documented."