R v Chatzidimitriou & Freeman
[1999] VSC 280
•17 June 1999
SUPREME COURT OF VICTORIA
CRIMINAL JURISDICTION Do not Send for Reporting Not Restricted
No. 1415 of 1998
| THE QUEEN |
| V |
| EMMANUEL CHATZIDIMITRIOU SUSAN FREEMAN |
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JUDGE: | Hampel J | |
WHERE HELD: | Melbourne | |
DATE OF SENTENCE: | 17 June 1999 | |
CASE MAY BE CITED AS: | R v Chatzidimitriou and Freeman | |
MEDIA NEUTRAL CITATION: | [1999] VSC 280 | |
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Criminal Law - Sentencing - Murder - Separate Trials – Contract to kill spouse – Made to look like suicide by drowning - Motive - financial gain - No prior convictions
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APPEARANCES: | Counsel | Solicitors |
For the DPP | Mr P. Jones | Mr A. Grant, Solicitor for Public Prosecutions |
For (Freeman) | Mr I. Hill and | Mr S. Drazetic |
| For (Chatzidimitriou) | Mr D. O’Doherty | J.A. Middlemis |
HIS HONOUR:
Mr Chatzidimitriou, after I have sentenced you I will make an order for the taking of a blood sample from you. If you do not consent to the taking of such a sample, the police have the power to use reasonable force to compel the taking of such a sample.
Emmanuel Chatzidimitriou and Susan Freeman, in separate trials you were each found guilty of the murder of Ian Freeman. The deceased was married to you, Mrs Freeman, since 1991. It was a second marriage for both of you and you each had children by previous marriages. There was tension in the marriage virtually from the outset because of the difficulties some of the children had in adjusting to their new relationships.
After living in Mildura and Wodonga, you moved to Bendigo in 1995 where you purchased a Tattslotto agency at the Lansell Plaza Shopping Centre. This was a heavy commitment, financed partly from your property and partly from Mr Freeman's superannuation. Mr Freeman was a teacher who helped out in the business and you, Mrs Freeman, conducted the Tattslotto agency.
Towards the end of 1996 the business was floundering and so was your relationship. You, Mrs Freeman, clearly did not like your husband, you were suspicious of him and you blamed him for taking cash from the business and giving Tattslotto tickets away to his children. Mr Freeman had for some time thought of leaving the marriage and had mentioned that to his children. In November of 1996 he was apparently looking for a flat to move out. He was unhappy and there were periods when he was depressed.
During the day on 28 November 1996 the deceased was anxious about his future at work and had to undergo an assessment. This was successful, and there was every indication that he would be secure in his employment. That evening he spoke to his daughter on a number of occasions from the Tattslotto agency. He sounded normal and looking forward to his time with his children in the near future.
It was on that night of 28 November that Mr Freeman was either lured or taken away from the area when he closed the Tattslotto agency and ultimately finished up at the Cairn Curran Reservoir where he was drowned by you, Mr Chatzidimitriou, at the instigation of you, Mrs Freeman. This came about because about three months earlier you, Mrs Freeman, complained to a Mr Brown about your relationship with your husband and asked Brown if he would kill your husband or if he knew anyone else who would do it. According to Brown, he refused to do this but said that he might find someone else. Some time later, Brown met you, Mr Chatzidimitriou, and told you about a woman who wanted her husband killed and would offer money for it. Brown introduced you to Mrs Freeman, the understanding being that you would get $10,000 and $40,000 when Mr Freeman was killed.
From then on the two of you met and ultimately on 28 November you, Mr Chatzidimitriou, carried Mrs Freeman's wishes into effect. Mr Freeman's car was found next morning partly in the lake and Mr Freeman's body floating in the water nearby. The event was made to look like suicide and that fooled those who investigated the death in the early stages into thinking that Mr Freeman in fact did commit suicide. It was some time later, when the Homicide Squad investigated, that it became apparent that this was no suicide, but murder, and you, Mr Chatzidimitriou, later confessed so much to one of your fellow prisoners. Ultimately Brown told the police what had happened and following a number of covertly taped conversations and telephone intercepts, you were both charged with murder. Brown gave evidence at each of your trials about the plan and the contract between you.
At your trial, Mr Chatzidimitriou, you gave evidence and denied that you were involved in drowning Mr Freeman. You gave an account which involved your being driven towards Lake Cairn Curran by Brown on that night. You said that you got out of the car while Brown continued on. Your account was patently untrue, particularly as there was ample evidence, including the tracing of mobile telephone calls, which placed you right at the reservoir that night.
You, Mrs Freeman, did not give evidence at your trial. Your defence was based on the proposition that your husband's drowning was a suicide and that you were not in any way involved. In addition, however, to Brown's evidence, the contents of the conversations between you and Chatzidimitriou and between you and Brown, as well as a letter you wrote, showed that your association with them was not innocent.
Mrs Freeman, you are now 44 years of age. You attended school in Colac, completing Year 11, had a normal childhood and participated in sport, Sunday-school activities and engaged in part-time work. As a young adult you worked as a bank teller at the Commonwealth Bank, where you met your first husband. Three children were born of that marriage, now aged 21, 19 and 15. You ran a newsagency together with your husband and were financially secure. However, your first marriage was characterized by jealousy, physical and verbal abuse and after your separation in 1990 you retained the custody of your children.
In July of 1990 you began cohabiting with Mr Freeman. At that time you had known him for about ten years, both your children having attended the same school. In September of 1991 you were married to Mr Freeman. Approximately one year later your children moved to Bairnsdale to live with their father, one of the reasons being that they were unhappy with your relationship with Mr Freeman. During your marriage to Mr Freeman, you obtained employment in the various schools in which he was placed and finally, in 1995, you settled in Bendigo.
The financial situation of both of you is relevant. You, Mrs Freeman, were clearly unhappy with the failure of the Tattersalls business and your perceived lack of support from your husband. You believed that you stood to gain after Mr Freeman's death from his assets, which included his coin and stamp collection, superannuation, of about $26,000, and your entitlement under his will. Two days after his funeral you attended the ANZ Bank in Collins Street with Mr Brown and withdrew your husband's stamp and coin collection which you estimated to be valued at $25,000. You were, however, unaware that Mr Freeman had changed his will to make his children the beneficiaries. During a telephone conversation with Mr Brown you recalled that even two days prior to his death Mr Freeman assured you that he would "see you right".
After all this occurred, you suffered from depression which required medication and hospitalization. A number of witnesses at your plea, including your daughter, gave evidence of your impressive background, work and family record. You have no previous convictions or any background involving violence.
You, Mr Chatzidimitriou, are 50 years of age and are one of seven children. Your family migrated to Australia from Greece during 1953 when you were about five or six years of age. Your childhood and younger years were spent in Sunshine and your family later moved to the country. You married when you were twenty-one and had three children, now aged 23, 24 and 21. You worked from a young age as a fitter and turner, spray-painter and a mechanic. During 1993 you began operating a service station in Newstead. You later sold that and bought an automotive repair business in Castlemaine before taking up the business in Wandong. Ultimately, you moved back to Castlemaine. It was at the Wandong shop that Mr Brown told you about the contract to kill Mr Freeman and introduced you to Sue Freeman by telephone.
You held a number of auctions and clearance sales and at about the time of Mr Freeman's death were involved in buying and trading goods. Shortly before and after Mr Freeman's death you purchased a number of motor vehicles, including a four-wheel drive, a kit Ferrari and a caravan. A police search of your home revealed $9,000 in cash in a bedside drawer and a stash of $100 bills in the air-conditioning system. You also have no previous convictions.
The victim impact statements in this case amply emphasize the tragedy to the Freeman family caused by the death of Mr Freeman and the perpetuation of the myth that he committed suicide.
This brief account of the circumstances leading to Mr Freeman's death and of your backgrounds leaves a feeling that the whole episode is bizarre. That was certainly my impression throughout the two trials. You were both ordinary people who had brought up families and worked throughout your lives. You had ups and downs and some financial pressures, but they were also not out of the ordinary.
The whole plan and Mr Brown's despicable part in it leads one to think that there is something else missing from these circumstances, something that has not emerged during your two trials. However, in the end, what is left is the murder of an innocent, unsuspecting victim, carried out because you, Mrs Freeman, wanted to get rid of him and thought you stood to gain financially by his death, and you, Mr Chatzidimitriou, were tempted by the money offered to you. This is not a case of a desperate, trapped woman or a case of highly emotionally charged circumstances in which some people react and kill. This is a case of a plan to kill, when each of you had ample time to realize and reconsider what you were about to do. In those circumstances there is little by way of mitigation of this crime which must be met with substantial punishment. It is a crime which caused tragedy and shocked the local community.
I take into account the fact that you each led a normal working life and brought up families who appear to be supportive of you and will probably remain so in the future. I also take into account the fact, as I have stated, that you have no previous convictions.
In sentencing you I have no reason to differentiate between you. None has been advanced during the pleas on your behalf. I think you must each bear equal blame and punishment for this terrible crime.
You are each sentenced to be imprisoned for a period of 22 years. In each case I fix a period of 17 years before which you will not be eligible for parole. I declare in your case, Mr Chatzidimitriou, 854 days, and in your case, Mrs Freeman, 67 days to be reckoned as having been served pursuant to these sentences. These declarations should be entered in the records of the court. I repeat that I make the order sought in relation to the body sample in your case, Mr Chatzidimitriou.
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