The troubled son of singer Nick Cave had reportedly been facing more criminal charges before he died at the age of 31.
Jethro Lazenby was found dead in a dingy motel room in Melbourne, Australia last Friday.
He had been released from jail the day before, after being locked up for violently assaulting his mother in a row about cigarettes.
Now it has emerged Jethro – who enjoyed a successful career as a model before his downward spiral into drug use – was facing more criminal charges before his death.
These included a string of petty thefts, according to court documents obtained by Daily Mail Australia.
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The website reports that on November 1 last year, police arrested Jethro after he was caught shoplifting from a Melbourne CBD 7-Eleven store.
He was accused of stealing a bag of Smith’s crisps and a packet of chilli beef jerky worth just $12.50 (£7).
Later that day he was caught stealing food again, allegedly helping himself to two meat pies and a smoothie costing $11 (£6).
Jethro had also been arrested for attacking his girlfriend in the past in a squabble over money – immediately assaulting her after being released on bail.
Sources told the publication Jethro had struggled with drug addiction for most of his adult life.
After the assault on his mum – a former model called Lee-Anne ‘Beau’ Lazenby who hooked up with Nick Cave in around 1990 – Jethro pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful assault and breaching court orders.
He was due to appear in court for sentencing on June 29, and had a series of other crimes listed on the court system at the time of his death.
The brutal attack on his mother at her home in Melbourne’s Collingwood area is said to have left her bloodied and bruised.
She made up a bed for him after finding him on her front porch just after midnight on March 7, the Herald Sun reported at the time.
But a court heard things turned bad the following morning and Jethro lashed out when his mum refused to buy him a pack of cigarettes.
A police summary reportedly read: “While standing in front of the victim, the accused has then reached forward and grabbed both the victim’s shoulders with his hands.
“He lunged forward and kneed the victim to the face and nose, causing bleeding and bruising.”
After being locked up for the crime, a judge later granted Jethro bail on the condition he undergo substance abuse treatment and not have any contact with his mum for two years.
Not being able to stay with family is how he is believed to have wound up at the motel on the night he died.
His cause of death is yet to be disclosed and a private funeral is expected to take place in the coming weeks.
It is the second family tragedy to strike the Cave family in recent years – after Nick and his wife Susie lost their teenage son Arthur seven years ago.
Jethro’s half-brother was 15 when he fell from a cliff in Brighton after taking the hallucinogenic drug LSD.
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