Nick Cave confirms death of his son, Jethro Lazenby

Nick Cave And Son
(Image credit: Nick Cave/Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images for Gucci : Jethro Lazenby / Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images)

Nick Cave has confirmed the death of his son, former model/actor Jethro Lazenby.

A statement issued by the singer reads, "With much sadness, I can confirm that my son, Jethro, has passed away. We would be grateful for family privacy at this time."

Last month, Lazenby, 31, pleaded guilty to unlawful assault and breaching court orders, after admitting to attacking his mother, Beau at her home in the Melbourne suburb of Collingwood, on March 8. 

BBC News reports that Lazenby had been released on bail from Melbourne Remand Centre on May 5, after being ordered to undergo substance abuse treatment and avoid contact with his mother for the next two years.

In court, Lazenby's lawyer Sean Ghattas said his client has been diagnosed with schizophrenia and asked for him to be spared a prison sentence, but Magistrate Donna Bakos replied: "I'm not sure I agree with you."

She noted "considerable criminal history" in Lazenby's past, which included violent assaults on his girlfriend in 2018 which saw him jailed.

Nick Cave lost another son in July 2015, when 15-year-old Arthur Cave fell off a cliff in Brighton.

Paul Brannigan
Contributing Editor, Louder

A music writer since 1993, formerly Editor of Kerrang! and Planet Rock magazine (RIP), Paul Brannigan is a Contributing Editor to Louder. Having previously written books on Lemmy, Dave Grohl (the Sunday Times best-seller This Is A Call) and Metallica (Birth School Metallica Death, co-authored with Ian Winwood), his Eddie Van Halen biography (Eruption in the UK, Unchained in the US) emerged in 2021. He has written for Rolling Stone, Mojo and Q, hung out with Fugazi at Dischord House, flown on Ozzy Osbourne's private jet, played Angus Young's Gibson SG, and interviewed everyone from Aerosmith and Beastie Boys to Young Gods and ZZ Top. Born in the North of Ireland, Brannigan lives in North London and supports The Arsenal.