Director of Public Prosecutions v De Baize
[2025] VCC 1419
•25 September 2025
| IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA AT MELBOURNE CRIMINAL DIVISION | Revised Not Restricted Suitable for Publication |
CR-25-00994
| DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS |
| v |
| LEANNE DE BAIZE |
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JUDGE: | HER HONOUR JUDGE RIDDELL | |
WHERE HELD: | Melbourne | |
DATE OF HEARING: | 8 September 2025 | |
DATE OF SENTENCE: | 25 September 2025 | |
CASE MAY BE CITED AS: | DPP v De Baize | |
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION: | [2025] VCC 1419 | |
REASONS FOR SENTENCE
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Subject:CRIMINAL LAW --- SENTENCE
Catchwords: Causing Serious Injury Intentionally --- Make Threat to Kill --- Theft --- Plea of Guilty --- Older Vulnerable Female Victim --- Aunt --- Breach of Trust --- Offending Occurred in Victim’s Home --- Protracted Incident --- Use of Weapons --- Level of Premeditation --- High Moral Culpability --- Plea of Guilty --- Genuine Remorse--- Offender Victim of Abusive Relationship --- Lengthy History of Drug Abuse --- Suicidal ideation --- PTSD --- Paranoia
Legislation Cited: ---
Cases Cited:R v Verdins & Ors (2007) VSCA 102
Sentence: 6 Years and 6 months Imprisonment --- Non-Parole Period of 4 Years
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APPEARANCES: | Counsel | Solicitors |
| For the DPP at Plea For the DPP at Sentence | Ms C. Davis | Office of Public Prosecutions |
| For the Accused | Mr B. Nibbs | Cao & Co Legal |
HER HONOUR:
1Leanne De Baize I am about to sentence you in relation to acts of violence and threats to your elderly aunt, Christiane Monique Crivari. You have pleaded guilty to three indictable offences; one of make threat to kill, one of causing serious injury intentionally, one of theft of her car, and summary charges of driving whilst suspended.
2You were 41 years old and are now 42, and without any prior criminal history or history for violence. At the time of this offending you were using methamphetamine, which resulted in a drug induced psychosis.
3Drug use is a scourge on our community. In some people the impact of it can be dramatic, unpredictable and frightening. That was so for your aunt, though this is offending which has not only affected Ms Crivari, but has impacted on your extended family, a family who would appear to have been a close and loving one. It is a tragic reflection of the impact of drugs in our community.
Circumstances of the offending
4On the morning of Friday, 9 February 2024, you called your aunt, Christiane 'Monique' Crivari, and asked to be taken to the shops. Ms Crivari is your mother’s sister. She agreed to drive you.
5Ms Crivari was 73 years old at the time and lived with her husband, Salvatore 'Sam' Crivari, in Cranbourne North.
6Ms Crivari collected you from where you were living in Dandenong and you asked to go to Waverley Gardens shopping centre. You took reusable shopping bags with you into the car. You also asked to be taken to your then boyfriend's house in Doreen. However, Ms Crivari declined to make that long drive.
7Instead, you both briefly visited your mother, Josiane, who lived in Dandenong North. At your mother’s house, you opened the kitchen drawer where the knives were kept, however your mother told you to leave it.
8You and Ms Crivari then left your mother’s house for Waverley Gardens. When you arrived, you left your shopping bag in the car and told Ms Crivari not to touch it.
9Over the course of the day Ms Crivari made several attempts to either drop you off at your home, or to get you to leave her home. You refused her requests. For example, after shopping, Ms Crivari tried to return you to Dandenong. You and she both went inside and she told you she needed to go home. You asked her to remain with you and then insisted on going back to her house.
10It was unusual for you to go to your aunt’s house. You had only been there a few times before.
11On return to her house in Cranbourne North, Ms Crivari’s husband, Sam, was at the house. He was upset that you had been brought to the house. He left a while later for a poker game.
12At one stage Ms Crivari needed to collect medication for her brother-in-law and took you with her as she did not want to leave you alone in her house. In the car you were acting strangely, and she decided to return home.
13On return, you brought your shopping bags into the house and put them in the lounge room.
14
You would not leave Ms Crivari's house. She spoke with a different niece,
Ms Veronica Perin, seeking help to get you out of the house. Ms Perin called a number of times, trying to get you to leave the house, but you refused. You took Ms Crivari’s phone and would not return it.
15Ms Crivari again attempted to drop you off in Dandenong, however at one stage you grabbed the steering wheel and forced it around, saying in ‘a serious and angry voice’ that you would go back to her house. She told you she could not continue to drive you around, as she was unwell.
16Back at Cranbourne North, Ms Crivari sat down on the couch to watch TV. You were walking around, and Ms Crivari noticed that you were getting, 'really mean, like, upset.'
17Ms Perin and Mr Crivari kept trying to call Ms Crivari. She pleaded with you, at which point you told her to shut up and that you were going to hurt her.
18Ms Crivari struggled to recount the sequence of events during the assault to police. She kept her eyes closed at times, and thinks she was fainting or passing out at times.
19You threatened to kill Ms Crivari on a number of occasions throughout the assault, including saying, 'I’m going to kill you', 'If you don’t shut up, I’m going to kill you.', and 'I’m going to really kill you now.' (Charge 2: Make threats to kill)
20You told her you were going to kill her because of ‘what she told your neighbour’ and ‘what Ms Crivari did to you’. Ms Crivari did not know what you were talking about.
21At some point Ms Crivari tried to run away. You grabbed her by the hair and dragged her back. This happened more than once.
22Ms Crivari recalls you trying to kick or hit her. She pushed you with her foot, causing you to fall over, and she attempted to flee.
23You told Ms Crivari to sit on the couch and threatened her with a heavy marble placemat or trivet if she tried to get up.
24You made Ms Crivari get on her knees in front of the TV and to repeat something like, 'Allah Hallah Halbal', threatening her with the heavy marble placemat. When she repeated what you wanted, she was told to sit.
25You then hit her on the head with the heavy marble placemat. Ms Crivari thought she fainted or nearly passed out. She was bleeding from her head. She is not sure if you hit her with it twice.
26You went to your shopping bag and took out a knife, about the length of Ms Crivari’s forearm. It was like a bread knife.
27
You then pulled out the cord from the heater, saying you were going to tie
her up. You got a blanket. You sat on her and put the blanket around her head, trying to suffocate her. You were also pushing hard on her neck.
28At some point you tried to strangle Ms Crivari with the heater cord, but she kept moving. You told her to put her hands together and you tied up her hands. You told her that you were going to break her hand and you twisted one of her fingers.
29You also said, 'I’m going to cut your throat', and tried to cut Ms Crivari’s neck with the bread knife. The knife was not sharp enough for you to penetrate skin. You went into the adjoining kitchen and grabbed a smaller knife, similar to a dinner knife.
30You used one of the knives to stab Ms Crivari in the shoulder area and made cuts on her body with one of the knives. Throughout the assault, Ms Crivari was screaming for help and crying. She remembers saying, ‘It’s enough, I’m dying Leanne'. (Charge 1: Intentionally causing serious injury)
31Eventually Ms Crivari heard people at her door, banging. You went to look out the window then returned and started collecting things and cleaning up some of the blood.
32You put things in your bag and went out the back door, taking her phone and car keys with you.
33Ms Crivari’s sister, Ms Chatal Dimopoulos, had received a call from Mr Crivari asking her to check on Ms Crivari. She and her daughters, Helen and Ourania, drove to Ms Crivari’s house. They could hear Ms Crivari screaming from inside, 'Help me! Help me! She’s got a knife! She’s stabbing me! She’s going to kill me!'. They were knocking on the door and calling out, but it was locked.
34They then saw you come out of the side gate. You ran past them, looked back and smiled.
35
Ms Crivari was able to get up and open the front door. Outside was
Ms Dimopoulos and her daughters. They called emergency services. Police and ambulance attended and Ms Crivari was taken to hospital.
36Around 10 pm, you called your then partner asking if he could pick you up, however you would not tell him where you were.
37At a later point, either that night or the next morning, you returned to Ms Crivari’s house, and using her car keys, stole her car, a blue Holden Astra sedan, with registration plates 1UU4DD. (Charge 3: Theft)
38The next morning, Ms Crivari’s son, John Crivari, went looking for the car and saw you driving in Dandenong North. You stopped the car and he approached and tried to open the door. You drove away. John Crivari continued following you until you stopped. He opened the door and took the car keys. (Summary charge: unlicensed driving)
39You asked him if you were crazy, and whether his mother was okay. You told him, 'Tell your mum to drop the charges, just say she attacked me, and I went for her. Just tell her to drop all the charges.' He told you that you needed to give yourself up and arranged for Ms Perin to call the police.
40Police attended and arrested you around 8.45 am.
Investigation
41Your interview with police was interrupted by the need for a Forensic Medical examination. You were deemed unfit as you were experiencing auditory hallucinations and agitation as a result of coming down off methylamphetamine.
42Before you were found to be unfit, you made admissions to a number of acts, including hitting Ms Crivari two or three times with the marble placemat, trying to smother Ms Crivari with a blanket, tying Ms Crivari up, and stabbing Ms Crivari. You thought you had done so two or three times in the neck and stomach.
43
You told police that after you left you just walked, and ended up sleeping in long, dense grass where the power lines were, that you tried to kill yourself, that you returned to Ms Crivari’s house to apologise and that you realised you had
Ms Crivari’s car key so you took her car. You also told police you think you were, 'a bit delusional, or hallucinating.'
44Your explanation for your behaviour included that: It was something on the phone or the TV telling her you had to keep Ms Crivari hostage. You thought they had conspired against your family, and the country was being taken over. You believed your phone was hacked. You thought your brain had been hacked into for 10 months. You thought it was your ex-partner telling you, you needed to, that you owed it to him. You thought you had to do a video for your ex, like a Muslim beheading kind of video. You thought you had to kill Ms Crivari, someone had killed someone, or you had to kill Ms Crivari and chop her up and eat her. You thought whilst you had Ms Crivari, other people were killing her other family.
45You were remanded in custody on that day.
46You indicated on a map to police where you believed you had slept and dumped the weapon. On 12 February 2024, a search was carried out in the grass area behind 840 South Gippsland Highway. A black beanie, $50 cash, a mobile phone, and a knife were found and seized.
47In a phone call with your sister from custody on 1 March 2024, you said you 'did it on an impulsiveness', 'It was impulsive' and 'wasn’t because I was on drugs'. You also said you had been thinking about it for a year, over a year.
Injuries
48Ms Crivari was admitted to the Alfred Hospital.
49Her injuries included:
(a) Bruising and frontal scalp swelling, caused by blunt force such as a blow or a fall to her face.
(b) An open injury, laceration, to the right forehead caused by blunt or sharp force;
(c) A penetrating injury to the neck/shoulder area, caused by sharp force, like an edged object such as a knife;
(d) Injury to her left inner arm, lower neck/collarbone area, and left cheek, likely caused by sharp force;
(e) Skin tear to her left forearm, caused by blunt force and movement;
(f) Brusing to her neck, caused by compression;
(g) A fracture to the left middle finger, caused by blunt force such as twisting or pressure;
(h) Grazes to her back and thigh, caused by blunt force;
(i) A concussion, or mild traumatic brain injury as a result of a blow to the head;
50
She was discharged on 12 February 2024 however she re-presented on
15 February 2024 with vertigo, which was believed to be a post-concussion symptom. She continued to report dizziness and difficulty looking up and down. She continued to obtain medical help in the following months for lower back pain which had worsened since the incident, right shoulder pain, and right hand and wrist pain. She has undergone treatment for depression and PTSD, which has caused fear, panic attacks, anxiety, nightmares, vivid memories, sleeping issues, and trust issues.
51Dr Maaike Moller of the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine opined that the injuries were not immediately life-threatening as there was no substantive injury to vital organs, physiological derangement, or active resuscitation required. However, the injuries were significant in that they affected high risk areas of the body of a person at greater risk by virtue of age and other vulnerabilities. Specifically, there was a penetrating injury of the neck region that caused air to leak into the neck and chest area sufficient to cause displacement of neck structures, and there was a combination of neck and head injuries with associated neurological symptoms (dizziness). She says the psychological symptoms persisted and required ongoing treatment more than a year after the incident.
Victim Impact
52The impact on your aunt is well described by her in her victim impact statement. She talks of the violation of her safety, security and trust. She says she has been left with emotional, psychological, and physical scars which she continues to live with every single day.
53She talks of the impact on her sense of safety in her home. It took her three months to gain the courage to walk through the front door. She says:
My home was my sanctuary, my happy place and now to this day I still no longer feel safe in my own home. My husband and I have seriously considered selling our home of 19 years that we both love because of the constant reminders I see in every room of the home. I look around my home and the memory of that night is everywhere, and I instantly recall everything I went through.
It is clear that small items bring back very traumatic memories and make her anxious. She constantly checks locks, and is easily scared and woken by noise.
54She says:
The mental toll has been relentless and continues to haunt me every single day. I am constantly in tears relieving that night that I nearly died and am now taking anxiety and depression tablets daily to help me sleep and I have never had to take them in my life but the fear I continue to have is overwhelming.
55She has withdrawn from her social life and describes herself as more of a recluse. Her desire to help others – as she had helped you – has dissipated.
56She is conscious of her scars. She says, 'I am still healing, and I do not know how long that will take or if I will ever truly feel whole again'.
57She also talks of the impact on her family. Her husband struggles with guilt for not being there. Her children, daughter in law and grandchildren have struggled knowing what happened to her and seeing her break down.
58Sadly, this incident has also affected her relationship with her sister, your 82-year-old mother. She says:
Prior to the attack I had a very close relationship with my sister and we spoke daily and I would see her every second day when I would take her to do her shopping. We were extremely close and unfortunately due to the attack we now have a distant relationship. We rarely speak…It makes me cry when I think how close we were and now we will never have the same relationship ever again and I am not sure whether we will ever be able to rebuild that.'
59Your mother, Josianne too writes,
… Leanne's actions have also hurt our family. My relationship with my sister Christine has been deeply fractured. We once shared a close bond filled with love and years of memories, but now there is distance and silence between us and our family has become divided. As a mother and a sister, I carry the grief of that every day. I love them both, and being caught in the middle of this has left a wound that may never heal.
60I thank Ms Crivari for taking the time to prepare her victim impact statement and I take its contents into account.
Sentencing Principles
61This is a serious matter. It was no doubt a terrifying ordeal for your aunt, and no doubt distressing for her husband and for the other family members who thankfully came to her aid.
62Violence such as this, against an older, vulnerable woman cannot be tolerated. Older people can often be the targets of violence by drug affected family members. They are often at home, often alone, and their frailer physical health will often make them vulnerable. In that sense, they can be easy targets. The community is becoming more aware of incidents of violence directed at such vulnerable older people by family members.
63The sentence I impose must deter any other person from committing such violence against such a person. In that way it must achieve community protection by acting as a warning to others. It must justly punish you and must deter you from offending in this way ever again.
Objective Gravity
64As part of my sentencing task I am required to make an assessment of the objective gravity of your offending. That is for the purpose of placing your offending in a continuum of other offending. I expect that for victims and their families that may seem like a distasteful task. However, it is a necessary burden for the purpose of trying to achieve consistency in sentencing.
65Many offences cover a broad range of factual circumstances and yet are attached to the same maximum penalty. That is the case with the charge of causing serious injury intentionally. The maximum penalty for which is 20 years imprisonment.
66The factual scenario of that offence can vary – for example, serious injury can be inflicted in company, with weapons, as the result of a single act assault. It can be the result of careful planning or can be spontaneous. It can be the result of revenge or retribution.
67The level of serious injury can also vary. Although the definition of serious injury is a permanent or life-threatening injury, in some cases there is reasonably quick resolution of serious injuries, while in others a victim may be left with permanent brain damage, paralysis, vision or hearing loss or other significant incapacity.
68In assessing the objective gravity of your offending, I take into account the following features which elevate its seriousness.
69First, this is an enormous breach of the trust of your aunt. She was a close member of your family who had done nothing other than love you and be kind to you throughout your life. The shock for her of having her niece behave in this way was clearly extreme.
70Further, it was a breach of the trust and love of your extended family. Your mother, in particular, but also your Uncle Sam, your cousins and their children, your aunt’s grandchildren, along with your own siblings, and your Aunt’s other sister and her family.
71Second, the offending occurred in your Aunt's home, a place where she was entitled to feel safe and be safe. As she described, her sanctuary and happy place, and no doubt the place of many happy family memories for 19 years. The ongoing impact for her in seeing items which were involved, and of being in the space where that incident occurred is well described by her. It must make it very difficult for her to escape the memories of that event.
72Third, this incident was protracted. It involved multiple assaults on her with various implements. That included the stabbing and cutting with the knives. It also includes other violent acts including hitting her with the marble trivet, suffocating her with the blanket, using the heater cord to try and strangle her and then tie around her wrists, along with pulling her hair. Those acts also occurred in the context of your increasingly demanding, erratic and ultimately volatile behaviour over the course of the day.
73Fourth, I take into account that the serious injury in part was inflicted by the use of weapons. That included a penetrating knife wound to the shoulder. That occurred after you had attempted to use another knife on your aunt’s neck. Further, slashing wounds were inflicted over various parts of her body. The use of a weapon increases the seriousness, as does the fact there are multiple wounds caused.
74In addition the injury was made up of the impact to her head by use of the trivet, resulting in apparent loss of consciousness and ongoing vertigo and memory loss in the immediate period following. She still has concerns about her memory.
75It involved the use of the cord in your effort to strangle her, along with the use of the blanket. It includes the injuries caused by the stabbing to the shoulder and the infliction of knife wounds to other parts of her body. The serious injury is constituted by the combination of those injuries.
76Fortunately your aunt’s physical injuries from the stabbing and knife wounds have resolved, however she has numerous physical scars, which of course remind her frequently of that night. I have no doubt they cause her embarrassment when she is aware of them in public, and I accept they are itchy.[1] I understand there is also ongoing follow up for her physical health and memory and that she may have eye surgery from being punched. Her psychological injuries will of course take much longer to resolve.
[1] Victim impact statement of Christiane Crivari dated 1 September 2025
77Fifth, there is a level of premeditation here. You took a knife to your aunt’s house. You prevented her from accessing her phone and ultimately from communicating with others. You prevented her from running away. At what point exactly you decided to commit physical violence and to do so with the knife I cannot say. I accept the characterisation made by the prosecution that there is ‘a level’ of premeditation.
78Although the Prosecution include in the summary of prosecution opening a reference to a conversation between you and your sister recorded from jail a few weeks after your remand, there is absolutely no evidence that you harboured ill will to your aunt or had any plan at all prior to this day. In addition, you clearly you were on drugs. I must therefore view those comments you made in that conversation with a significant degree of circumspection. I accept that I could not reach a point of being satisfied to the requisite legal standard that this was a premeditated attack beyond the events of that day.
79Overall, in my view, the objective gravity of the offence of causing serious injury intentionally, falls above the mid-range of that type of offence.
80The charge of make threat to kill is also one which covers a variety of factual scenarios. Here it is aggravated by what was occurring at the time. That is, these are not words spoken in a vacuum. They are serious threats, repeated, and repeated during an incident where actual and serious physical violence is being meted out. That fact no doubt reinforced to Ms Crivari the seriousness of your threats and your real and immediate capacity to carry them out.
81I view it as a serious example of that offence. The maximum penalty is 10 years' imprisonment.
82There is no argument that overall your moral culpability in the circumstances is very high.
83Theft of your aunt’s car is more minor in the scheme of this offending, however it is adding insult to serious injury. You told Dr Darjee that you returned to her home to apologise. There was no other reason for you to return. On doing so you took the car. That is a low act in the circumstances where you had left your aunt injured and bloodied to the care of your other family members. Fortunately the car was returned without damage.
84There are, as I have said, numerous instances where younger people abuse or assault an older relative for the purpose of extracting money or cars or property from them, or for purposes of revenge for some perceived wrong. That aspect is notably absent in your offending.
85When you were asked by Dr Darjee about your aunt, you told him you got on well, '… she was always there for me, always there to help me and my mum.' Thinking about what you accepted you had done to her, you said to him, 'I would never do that to aunty.' And later, 'If I was not on ice, it wouldn’t have happened.' He says, 'She expressed genuine horror, disbelief, confusion and sadness about seriously hurting her aunt in this way.'
86It is not in issue that you were affected by methamphetamine at the time of this offending. Your relationship with methamphetamine, over the last five years has been a difficult one. You had been taking it consistently in the months leading up to this event, last on the day before this event.
87There is equally no dispute you were in a drug induced psychosis at the time. What that means, according to the expert evidence here, is that your judgement was grossly impaired. You were unable to make calm or rational decisions, unable to control your reactions to and impulse to act on your disordered beliefs at the time. However, the fact that your psychosis was the result of illicit drug use, as opposed to an underlying mental illness, means you cannot rely on it as any excuse for your offending, nor to reduce your sentence. It is not mitigating in that sense and does not reduce your responsibility or culpability for this offending.
88Before I come to the issues around your drug use and mental health I will turn to your personal history.
Personal Circumstances
89Your personal circumstances are outlined in the July 2024 report of Ms Carla Lechner, Clinical Psychologist, and the February 2025 report of Dr Rajan Darjee, Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist.
90You are the youngest of three daughters. You were close to your father who died from a heart attack about 10 years ago after collapsing in front of your family.
91Your mother is now 82 years old. You have a positive relationship with her and with one of your sisters. Your other sister will not speak to you because of this offending, although both sisters co-author a letter of support which I will come to.
92You grew up in Dandenong with your family. You report being a well behaved, academically average student at primary school.
93Both of your parents worked and as a result you spent time being cared for by an aunt and uncle. During that period, and over a two-year period when you were between 8-9 years old, your uncle abused you. You report that he also abused his stepdaughter, who disclosed this to the family, but was not believed. As a result, you thought you would not be believed and so did not disclose the abuse until many years later. You told Ms Lechner the abuse meant you did not feel ‘worthy’.
94You progressed to secondary school, however you report falling in with a bad crowd and as a result running away from home. In the end you did not progress beyond Year 8. You lived on the streets with a partner, Elliot.
95Despite your lack of formal education you have had a consistent work record from age 17 years in semi-skilled positions. You have a trained as a hairdresser and have also obtained a childcare certificate III. You have worked as a receptionist. Your last job was with an orthopaedic instrument maker which you held for over a year. You report enjoying that work.
96As a 14-year-old when you left home, you were in a relationship with Elliot for about four years. You were on Youth allowance and you and he lived on the streets. Ultimately aged about 18 you returned home where you remained for many years.
97You report starting using cannabis as a 14-year-old. You used that drug daily until you were 23, before managing to stop. You have not used it since.
98You were then in a 10-year relationship with a man called Alex. You and he have a son together who is now 18 years old. He is currently living with your mother. He has been present throughout these proceedings, and again today, and clearly loves and supports you.
99Your relationship with Alex ultimately broke down. You report that this was the first time you experienced paranoia. You report this has been on and off since then.
100Approximately seven years ago, in 2018, you met Cyrus, who became your partner. That relationship and the abuse you suffered at his hands has had a significant impact on you and on the course of your life. The relationship lasted for around five years, during which time you and he lived in his van.
101Over that time you were the victim of emotional, physical and other abuse. The abuse also involved severe and ongoing coercive control, including stalking and threatening behaviour. He isolated you from your family and at times threatened to kill you and your family. You told Ms Lechner,
he was a client … he’s from Iran. … from early on the relationship he was abusive – he was mentally and physically abusive, I was very isolated … he’d hit me, punch me … the police put an Intervention Order on him, but he’d break it … he went to jail for two weeks, but we got back together'… If I left, he’d come looking for me, he’d find me at work, he’d threaten to hurt me … he’d say he was going to behead my family … he’d say there was a war coming and take me to Anaconda for survival stuff.
102Ms Lechner spoke with one of your sisters, who corroborated that account. Your sister told her:
… that prior to her relationship with Cyrus, her sister Leanne was “fine … kind-hearted, do anything for you”. She believes that Leanne “always had low self-esteem and lacked confidence” hence was wooed by Cyrus when he initially gave her a lot of attention. She stated, “he made her feel good but then gave her drugs to control her”. Ms. De Baize stated that he was a “horrible man” who threatened not only her sister, but other members of the family who later took out Intervention Orders against him.
103Your family observed the constant harassment and felt increasingly concerned about you, and about his treatment of you. You tried to leave Cyrus several times but he would stalk and harass you.
104You told Ms Lechner yourself that you are finding it, ‘extremely hard to reconcile her life before Cyrus, to her current situation’.
105It was during this relationship that you began to use methamphetamine. You came to rely on it as a means of escape from your relationship.
106In 2019 your General Practitioner prescribed you with antidepressant medication on account of your low mood.
107In August 2019 you presented to hospital appearing agitated and suicidal after overdosing on antidepressant medication and taking methamphetamine. The report notes the IVO and that you were in an abusive relationship with Cyrus who was stalking you.
108You were commenced on antipsychotic and anxiolytic medication in Hospital in the Home but did not engage with treatment.
109On 17 August 2019 you were brought to hospital by police after attempting suicide by jumping in front of a train. Several carriages ran over you and you suffered a fractured elbow. You said death was the only way to get away from your tormentors and had taken an overdose of diazepam. You had delusions of reference to voices from the radio. You were placed on a treatment order and remained in hospital for eight days.
110You were then under the care of the Dandenong Continuing Care Team for about seven months. You attended regular appointments with your case manager and reviews with psychiatrists. Although you stopped medications at one stage you recommenced them. You did not attend a family violence program and reported being back in contact with your abusive partner.
111You were prescribed a hypnotic, antipsychotic and antidepressant on discharge from that program.
112A month later you presented to hospital having been suicidal. You had taken methamphetamine. The domestic violence continued and you had been running on the road, agitated, erratic and highly distressed.
113Your family described you gradually deteriorating until crisis point. The reports of your sister were that there were ‘long standing issues of self-destructive behaviour particularly after the last three years with [Cyrus]. Despite your family’s concerns, you were likely to return to that relationship.’ She reported that Cyrus had sent you over 300 messages when you were in hospital following the train incident and was ‘circulating’ the family homes.
114In May 2020 you crashed your car after ingesting methamphetamines. You were in ‘acute crisis’ in the context of relationship breakdown.
115There were no presentations between that time and early 2023 when you self-presented to hospital with thoughts of self-harm and highly anxious after methamphetamine.
116In April 2023 you were taken to the emergency department following smoking methamphetamine. You were erratic and your family reported two suicide attempts. You appeared to be responding to internal stimuli.
117In April 2023 you were drug affected and driving. You caused an accident, hitting a bicycle rider in Dandenong and driving away from the scene. The rider required hospitalisation. Later that day, and prior to any offender being identified, you entered Dandenong Police station. You are described as ‘highly erratic, agitated, rambling and incoherent’. You were detained under the Mental Health Act and transported to hospital. You later made admissions to that incident and will face charges in due course.
118After that incident you lost your job. Your methamphetamine increased.
119In July 2023 you presented to hospital, stating your partner gave you methamphetamine. You reported trying to quit.
120Finally in September 2023 and again in October 2023, you presented to emergency requesting to see a psychiatrist, feeling low, sad, and anxious.
121Over a year ago, you finally managed to get away from your relationship with Cyrus, secretly packing your belongings while he was out. Despite that separation he continued to turn up and intrude into your life, including appearing at your workplace.
122Your most recent relationship prior to your remand was a positive one with a man called Peter. You and he are no longer together, however remain friends.
Current Mental Health assessment
123Dr Rajan Darjee is a very experienced forensic psychiatrist who has assessed many individuals involved in the criminal justice system. He had access to your medical records, both in the community and since your remand, and he conducted a personal assessment of you in September 2024.
124The Justice Health records demonstrate that although you initially presented in custody as experiencing anxiety and depression, and underlying PTSD, your paranoia and delusions resolved reasonably quickly once you became drug free.
125After the initial months of adjustment to incarceration, and a fluctuation in August 2024, which saw you placed in the Wellbeing Unit, your mental state has been relatively stable. You have variously received medication including olanzapine (antipsychotic medication) along with sertraline (antidepressant), prazosin (to assist with post-traumatic nightmares) and melatonin to assist sleep.
126That reasonably rapid resolution of your psychotic symptoms reflects the many mental health admissions you have had in the community. That is, when off drugs, you do not experience those symptoms. For that reason, Dr Darjee concludes that your psychosis, revealing itself largely as paranoia, is drug induced rather than the result of some underlying or organic mental health issue.
127That is in fact a positive result, in that you do not have an underlying psychotic condition which requires treatment.
128However, Dr Darjee is also clear that you meet the diagnostic criteria for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. He states that your, 'PTSD is manifested by flashbacks and nightmares relating to her traumatic experiences, withdrawal (including dissociation, avoidance and numbness), hypervigilance (heightened anxiety, fearfulness and jumpiness).'
129In summary, he states that your post-traumatic stress disorder has three sources. The first is your experience of abuse in childhood at the hands of your uncle, someone you trusted. These courts and the community far better understand the long-term impact of childhood abuse is not only immediate in undermining a child’s sense of trust and safety, but that it can have long lasting effect on their personality and behaviour.
130The second source of your PTSD is via your experience of being in the abusive and violent relationship with your ex-partner, Cyrus. That experience, involving another breach of your trust and sense of safety, and the breach of your personal dignity, no doubt exacerbated your feelings from your early life experience.
131The third source of PTSD is in fact this offending. In the sober light of day, you continue to experience shock and horror at your behaviour. Indeed, Dr Darjee states that, 'It is not unusual for people to develop PTSD in relation to their own violent offending, particularly where they have offended against someone they care for in an uncharacteristic way.'
132He concludes in fact that you have underlying personality vulnerabilities, which in turn have been complicated by post-traumatic stress disorder. Those underlying personality features include suspiciousness, anxiousness, emotional lability, separation insecurity, submissiveness, proneness to depression, withdrawal, and distractibility. He says you have features of dependent, avoidant and borderline personality disorders, and underlying prominent negative affectivity or negative emotionality, with a tendency to withdrawal and to decompensate under stress. Importantly, you do not have antisocial or dissocial personality traits.
133In themselves Dr Darjee concludes that your underlying personality traits diagnostically meet criteria for a mild personality disorder.
134There is no excuse for using drugs. As I have said, the fact a person was intoxicated because of drugs or alcohol cannot mitigate sentence. Here it is clear that you were not in your right mind when you committed these offences. You were in a psychosis, as I have described, as a result of methylamphetamine use.
135Drug use however is usually explained by a history. Your history, and what led you to that state is outlined by the assessors and is the history to which I have referred. That history helps explain why you went down that path of using drugs. The extreme impact of methamphetamine on you helps explain why you acted in a remarkable, and largely unexplained way against your aunt, who you loved.
136It is very clear that you cannot in any way return to drug use. Some people are impacted more than others by substances. You are one of those people. The risk you pose if you again return to drug use is very high. Dr Darjee suggests there must be a zero tolerance.
137Of course, treatment of drug use is of lower value if the underlying issues are not addressed. To that end, and in your favour, you have sought help from West CASA to address your experiences of abuse, and intimate partner abuse.
138Clearly drug use is the other priority in terms of your rehabilitation. To that end you have also undertaken as many courses as possible during your remand and have done so and consistently. It is an impressive bundle of certificate and include many courses to address your drug issues and past history of your own trauma of abuse and intimate partner violence, as well as those aimed at employability.
139This is your first time in custody. You are spending your time well doing courses and working as a billet.
140You are 41 years old without any relevant prior criminal history or history of violence. In assessing your prospects of rehabilitation those matters are positives. Similarly the following features of your life bode well towards rehabilitation. You had an apartment. You have almost always had a job. You have ongoing support of your mother and your sisters. You have the motivation of your young adult son and his support.
141I am also encouraged in that conclusion by the letter from your two sisters. They say that:
We continue to care deeply about her well-being and are supporting her in other ways during this time.
Likewise, some of Leanne's other family and friends who continue to support her are also unable to be here today.
…
What has happened has changed our families forever. Since this incident, our family has been left divided, perhaps in ways that may never be repaired.
Nevertheless, we want to make it absolutely clear that Leanne is not alone, and she has a strong network of support behind her.
Leanne has expressed, time and again, her overwhelming remorse for her actions. She is devastated by what she did, and she carries immense sorrow and shame that she cannot undo the past or personally make amends to Christine and her family.
Leanne is supported by us, our mother, her son, her nephew, and some remaining family members. We stand behind her, not in defence of her actions, but in support of the person we know her to be. We do not, and will never, dismiss or minimise the terrible harm that Christine endured. We recognise that what occurred was not the actions of the Leanne we grew up with and love, but of a woman who was very sick at the time. She had suffered greatly herself through extreme domestic violence and substance abuse ingested as a means of control. Sadly, those circumstances culminated in the person she became that day, a person she does not recognise and a person she despises.
Leanne has expressed on countless times that if she could turn back time, she would have found a way to overcome her addiction before it spiralled into this tragedy. She knows her words can never heal Christine's pain. She accepts that she will be spending the rest of her life carrying the weight of her actions, living with the constant reminder of the suffering she caused. She understands her actions not only caused pain to Christine and her family. She is aware of the pain that she has also caused her own mother, her son, her sisters, her nephew, and her extended family.
Her actions have led to a division amongst family members who were once close but now no longer speak to each other. This has been another source of her guilt and regret.
She knows that she cannot erase what she has done, but she is determined to never repeat those mistakes.
[They say you do not excuse your actions, saying] She fully accepts responsibility and has expressed that she will carry the shame and regret for the rest of her life. What we ask you to see is that Leanne is not defined by the worst day of her life, and without question, also Christine's. She is not a malicious or uncaring person. She is someone who fell into darkness after unimaginable abuse and addiction, and who made a devastating mistake.
142Your mother is 82. She writes that she is simply too frail to visit you any longer in custody. That is a significant grief to her and no doubt to you. She hopes she will live to see you back in the community. She writes:
I know my daughter must face the consequences of her actions and the suffering she caused Christine. The daughter I raised was a sweet, caring, shy, and a thoughtful and compassionate human being with a big heart. She grew up respecting the values and morals her father and I worked hard to teach her.
I ask that her punishment will give her a chance to make right what she has done wrong, and to show the goodness she has inside her. She is not beyond redemption.
143I agree with that conclusion. You are not beyond redemption at all. Without drugs your prospects of rehabilitation are very positive.
Plea of Guilty
144
You pleaded guilty to this offending at an early stage and without
cross-examination of any witness. You receive the full benefit of that plea. A plea of guilty has a utilitarian benefit in that it saves the court and the community the cost and time of a jury trial. Importantly it saved victim here, your aunt, from reliving a very traumatic event and doing so publicly. It saves the additional trauma and distress for other family members.
145In matters where a plea reflects genuine remorse, a sentencing court must reflect that in sentencing. It is a positive towards demonstrating insight, a pointer towards rehabilitation and away from risk of reoffending. I accept in your case, Ms De Baize, that your plea does reflect genuine remorse, expressed now to a number of people.
Impact of Custody
146I also take into account the deterrent effect of imprisonment.
147As outlined in Dr Darjee’s report, you will continue to find imprisonment difficult and there is a real risk of the deterioration of your mental state. He opines that:
She has struggled to cope in prison due to her mental health vulnerabilities and limited ability to cope with stress. She is likely to continue to find prison difficult to cope with, as has happened so far on remand. There is also a risk of deterioration in her mental health in terms of anxiety, low mood, suicidal ideation, symptoms of PTSD and/or paranoid symptoms, as the stress of being in prison has already caused all these symptoms to get worse at times during her current remand. She has had access to responsive mental health treatment and support in prison, which she will continue to have, although I note she has not been able to access psychological treatment for her PTSD due to resourcing issues. Her fragility means that she is likely to sufferer further deterioration at times in custody.
148I take that into account. I accept it enlivens principles of Verdins[2].
[2] R v Verdins (2007) VSCA 102
Current sentencing practices
149I have had regard to current sentencing practices. I have had consideration to a number of cases including that referred to by Counsel, along with the JCV sentencing summaries and the Sentencing Advisory Statistics.
150Intentionally cause serious injury is a Category 2 offence mandating imprisonment, and 96 percent of matters result in imprisonment. The average term in period 2018 -2023 was 5.5 years of imprisonment.
151As always, in looking at other cases, there are similarities and differences between offending and offender.
152I am required to impose a just sentence in all the circumstances and that is what I have endeavoured to do.
Totality
153I must take into account the principle of totality. That principle means I must determine the appropriate sentence for each charge, and the appropriate amount of cumulation required before standing back and determining whether the overall sentence is appropriate and not disproportionate.
154The offence of intentionally causing serious injury is the most serious and will be the base sentence. Because I have concluded the threat to kill charge is a serious example of that offence, and is distinct, it will receive a separate penalty. However, given it is so intrinsically bound up in the factual scenario, cumulation will nonetheless be modest.
155The theft of the vehicle and driving offence are minor in the overall picture.
156I am required to disqualify your driver's licence.
157There is no issue here between the parties that this offending warrants a head sentence with a non-parole period. The main issue raised by Mr Nibbs on your behalf was setting of lower than usual non parole period to reflect your early plea of guilty, genuine remorse, lack of prior criminal history, parlous mental state at the time, and to allow for ongoing rehabilitation. I accept that submission and intend to impose a shorter non parole period than I otherwise would have.
Sentence
158Ms De Baize, the sentence I impose on you is as follows.
159On Charge 1, of causing serious injury intentionally, you are convicted and sentenced to five years and 10 months' imprisonment.
160On Charge 2, threat to kill, you are convicted and sentenced to three years' imprisonment.
161On theft of motor vehicle, you are convicted and sentenced to one year imprisonment.
162On the charge of driving unlicensed you are convicted and sentenced to seven days' imprisonment.
163I make the following order for cumulation. I direct that eight months' imprisonment on Charge 2 of threat to kill, are to be served cumulatively on the sentence on Charge 1, of causing serious injury intentionally. The total effective sentence therefore that I impose is a sentence of six years and six months' imprisonment. I direct that you are to serve a minimum term of four years' imprisonment before you become eligible for parole.
164I declare that you have already served 593 days' imprisonment and that that term should be reckoned as having been served under this sentence.
165In relation to your driver's licence, you are disqualified for a period of 12 months.
166But for your pleas of guilty, so if you had not pleaded guilty, the term I would have imposed would have been one of eight years and two months' imprisonment, with a non-parole period of five years and nine months' imprisonment.
167I impose the forfeiture order which was not opposed by you. Are there any issues to raise, counsel?
168MR NIBBS: Not from me, Your Honour.
169MS LEKAMGE: No, Your Honour.
170HER HONOUR: Thanks very much for your assistance. I will leave the Bench and I will ask my associates to leave Ms De Baize on the link for you to have a conversation with her if you wish, Mr Nibbs.
171MR NIBBS: Your Honour, I will not do that at this time, but I will arrange for one shortly.
172HER HONOUR: Thanks everyone for your assistance.
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