R v Cohrs
[2024] VSC 617
•9 October 2024
| IN THE SUPREME COURT OF VICTORIA | Not Restricted |
AT MELBOURNE
CRIMINAL DIVISION
S ECR 2019 0170
| THE KING | Crown |
| v | |
| PAUL ANTHONY COHRS | Accused |
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JUDGE: | Taylor JA |
WHERE HELD: | Melbourne |
DATE OF HEARING: | 10 September 2024 |
DATE OF SENTENCE: | 9 October 2024 |
CASE MAY BE CITED AS: | R v Cohrs |
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION: | [2024] VSC 617 |
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CRIMINAL LAW — Sentence — Murder — Convicted after trial – Pre-meditated shooting – Victim the mother of accused – Victim shot in her own home – Four year old child present in house at the time of shooting – Killing motivated by anger and embitterment – Standard sentence offence – Accused suffers delusional disorder – Verdins – Accused suffers a number of physical ailments – Denunciation – Deterrence – Sentence of 30 years’ imprisonment with non-parole period of 23 years.
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APPEARANCES: | Counsel | Solicitors |
| For the Crown | Ms M Mahady | Office of Public Prosecutions |
| For the Accused | Mr L Richter with Mr J McGarvie | Stary Norton Halphen |
HER HONOUR:
Introduction
Paul Anthony Cohrs, you were convicted by a jury of the murder of Bette Cohrs-Schulz.
The maximum penalty for murder is life imprisonment.[1]
[1]Murder is a Category 1 offence under the Sentencing Act 1991 (‘Act’). It is also a standard sentence offence. The standard sentence for murder is 25 years. This is considered further below.
Summary of offending
Bette Cohrs-Schulz was your mother. On 30 October 2018 you attended at her home in Red Cliffs, near Mildura, armed with a 12-gauge double barrel shotgun. Mrs Cohrs-Schulz had recently returned home from shopping with her four year old great grandson B, who is also your grandson. When the child was in the bathroom, you entered the kitchen, aimed and discharged the weapon at your mother. The shot impacted the upper left side of her chest. The shot was fatal.
Surrounding circumstances
It was not the first time that day that you had fatally shot a member of your family. About an hour and a half earlier you had used the same firearm to kill your brother, Raymond Cohrs, at Lake Victoria Station in New South Wales.
The murder of your mother – and the issues presented in this sentencing exercise – cannot be understood without reference to the circumstances in which you killed your brother.[2] In so saying, I emphasise that no part of the sentence I will impose upon you for the death of Bette Cohrs-Schulz is referrable to your actions in killing Raymond.
[2]The trial was conducted on this basis. Agreed facts relevant to the circumstances of both deaths were led before the jury pursuant to the Evidence Act 2008, s 191.
Family businesses
In the 1970s your parents established a business called Sunraysia Roofing in Mildura and Red Cliffs. You, along with your siblings, later worked for the business. Your father committed suicide in 1984. Thereafter Raymond Cohrs managed the business in conjunction with your mother. The business was successful. Over time other companies and businesses were formed. Again they were successful, producing many millions of dollars in annual revenue. The businesses operated in Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia and owned land in Victoria and New South Wales. Roofing Mildura was one such business. It owned Lake Victoria Station.
In 1990 your mother married Kurt Schulz.[3] In 1991 she retired from the day to day running of the businesses. Their management fell entirely to Raymond.
[3]Mr Schulz died in 2014.
In 1992 you began to develop riverfront properties owned by Roofing Mildura. In 1998 a tourism business was commenced on those properties. You worked in that business until September 2015.
Deterioration of relationship between brothers
By about 2012 the relationship between you and your brother Raymond had become strained. Each of you had differing opinions on the operation of the businesses. As your disagreements developed, Bette Cohrs-Schulz sided with Raymond.
In January 2015 Raymond Cohrs came to believe that you wished to cease the tourism business and retire to Lake Victoria Station. A discussion between the two of you as to the fact and terms of your retirement produced further disagreement, including as to when or if you would retire and whether you would continue to be paid a wage or trust distribution. It was, however, understood that you intended to purchase Lake Victoria Station from Roofing Mildura.
By early 2016 the matter was not finalised. In particular, there was a dispute between you and Raymond as to whether you were still employed and which of your expenses would be paid by the family business. Raymond considered that, despite your retirement, you were involving yourself in the business. He informed you that there was no job available for you and changed the lock on the spare office door. On several occasions Raymond Cohrs confronted you about personal spending on the business accounts. He ceased the distributions paid to you as well as company payments of your expenses. You, on the other hand, maintained that you had never resigned and had incurred legitimate expenses with respect to the proper management of properties owned by Roofing Mildura, including Lake Victoria Station.
This dispute resulted in Raymond Cohrs insisting that you pay rent on Lake Victoria Station and personally bear its costs and outgoings.
Deceased’s involvement in dispute
In May 2016 Bette Cohrs-Schulz sent you several emails about the ongoing dispute between you and Raymond, making clear her support of him. She articulated her belief that you had retired in September 2015. She expressed disapproval of your behaviour in placing the family businesses under financial pressure through personal spending on business accounts and stated her belief that this was an attempt by you to destroy them.
In July 2016 you sent an email to your mother in the following terms:
mrs Schultz: I have exhausted all other avenues keep your eye on the court news to see how your only son Raymond has been deceiving and stealing from us over the years I will expect an apology
Litigation
The dispute between you and Raymond Cohrs spilled into the legal system.
On 13 September 2016 he commenced civil proceedings against you in this Court. In response you commenced counterclaims.[4]
[4]Affidavits sworn by each of Raymond Cohrs and Paul Cohrs in this litigation were tendered in the trial.
Observations of odd behaviour
From about 2012, when your relationship with Raymond Cohrs first became strained, people with whom you interacted began to notice oddities in your behaviour.
In that year you became deputy mayor of Wentworth Shire in New South Wales. In undertaking council business you refused to speak on the telephone. You believed that the council building was bugged and people were listening to council business. You developed and held grudges. Such was your behaviour that the mayor removed you as deputy mayor in about 2014 or 2015.
By 2016, at about the time the civil proceedings were launched, the dispute had split your family. Your daughter Kristy – the mother of B – sided with Raymond Cohrs and Bette Cohrs-Schulz. Your daughter Kellie and son Karl supported you. You told Kellie and Karl as well as others outside the family that Raymond Cohrs was stealing money from the family businesses and attempting to cheat you out of your share of the money. You believed that he had forged your signature on banking documents. You said that you had complained to both the bank and the Australian Taxation Office, but neither would do anything about it. You expressed a feeling of betrayal by your brother as well as your mother, who you believed had taken Raymond’s side with respect to the business dealings. You reported that she told you after your wages had been stopped ‘we didn’t think you’d last two weeks’, a statement you interpreted to mean that your mother and brother were removing you from the business in order to force you to sell your shares at a reduced rate.
At about this time you also articulated your belief that Raymond had been responsible for your father’s death and that your mother was complicit by hiding that fact. Further, you accused Raymond of actions designed to upset both you and your then wife, including that he had broken the neck of your pet cockatoo and left it lying in a cage and also sabotaged your car.
Beyond these statements you engaged in behaviour seemingly designed to upset or annoy Raymond Cohrs. You took files from the business office, left his laptop out in the rain and removed the hinges from his office door.
By November 2016 Bette Cohrs-Schulz had become frightened of you. She told a friend that you had threatened her and that she was fearful that you would shoot her. She reiterated that fear to her son-in-law in early 2018 adding ‘if I was known to be terminal with something I would shoot him for what he is doing to Raymond and the family’.
It became plain following your arrest and remand, and an investigation into your fitness to stand trial, that you suffer delusional disorder and personality difficulties and did so at the time you killed your mother. The oddities in your behaviour observed from about 2012 are relevant to that diagnosis. I will return to your mental health issues below.
Land valuations
In 2018, when the civil proceedings were still on foot, Raymond Cohrs organised for the riverfront properties - including Lake Victoria Station – to be appraised in readiness for sale to meet a $2.7 million dollar bank debt. Michael Fernandez, a real estate agent, was engaged to undertake the appraisals. An appointment was made for him to attend Lake Victoria Station at 10.00 am on 30 October 2018.
On 29 October there was an exchange of email correspondence between your solicitors and those for Raymond Cohrs concerning the appraisal. It was communicated on your behalf that you did not consent to your brother entering the property and that the request to do so had caused significant anguish to your then wife. The solicitors for Raymond Cohrs asserted his right to attend and stated that he would accompany Mr Fernandez at the appointed time.
Killing of Raymond Cohrs
At about 9.00 am on 30 October 2018 one of your solicitors telephoned your brother’s solicitor to reiterate that you did not consent to Raymond attending Lake Victoria Station. Raymond Cohrs’ solicitor again stated that he had a right to do so. The conversation ended without agreement.
At about 9.55 am Raymond Cohrs and Mr Fernandez arrived at the gate of Lake Victoria Station in Raymond’s car. You arrived in your own vehicle at about the same time. Mr Fernandez remained in Raymond’s car while you and he spoke outside. You opened the gate. Mr Fernandez exited the car. You shook his hand saying, ‘what are you doing with this liar and a thief?’. You then said that you were going to the shearing shed first. The two vehicles travelled there together.
Upon arrival Raymond Cohrs tried to open the door to the shed but it was locked. He and you spoke as Mr Fernandez walked around taking photographs.
You then obtained the shotgun from your vehicle. You twice discharged the firearm at Raymond Cohrs, who fell to the ground. Later ballistics examination revealed that you were about two to four metres from your brother at the time the shotgun was discharged.
You told Mr Fernandez to put his telephone in your car. You reassured him that you would not hurt him. You then said, ‘he deserved it. He’s ruined our lives. He’s killing my wife’. You then walked towards Raymond, who was stationary on his back on the ground. You said, ‘have you had enough pain yet? What’s it like to feel pain?’ before discharging the firearm into Raymond’s torso. About ten seconds later you again discharged the firearm, this time into Raymond’s head.
You said to Mr Fernandez, ‘don’t look, don’t look it will give you nightmares for 20 years’ then handcuffed him inside the shearing shed. You said you were going to Mildura and had written a letter for your wife.
You left the scene at about 10.15 am and drove to your mother’s Red Cliffs home, arriving at about 11.30 am. There you killed Bette Cohrs-Schulz with the shotgun in the manner already described.
Return to New South Wales
At about 11.36 am you left your mother’s house and drove back to Lake Victoria Station, stopping at a service station on the way. As you were travelling you made several phone calls.
At 12.21 pm you telephoned your son Karl and asked him to go Lake Victoria Station to look after his mother. You said, ‘It’s done, it’s over. … I’ve shot them both’.
Shortly thereafter you made two unsuccessful attempts to speak with police. At 12.25 pm you telephoned the Red Cliffs Police Station. You heard an automatic answering service directing you to call either the Mildura Police Station or 000. At 12.26 pm you telephoned the Mildura Police Station. You heard an automated recording providing numerical options for different units within that station. Then, at 12.27 pm, you telephoned 000. In that call you said that your ‘grandmother’ had been shot and provided your mother’s Red Cliffs address. You said that you just turned up and she was dead. When asked to provide her name and stay on the line you said you were not prepared to do so. Before hanging up you said that her ‘grandson’, aged five or six years, was in the house so someone needed to attend urgently.
At 12.28 pm you called your daughter Kellie. You told her that you had shot both your brother and mother. You said, ‘[B] was there but I got nanna to take him to another room and so he didn’t see anything’. You said that you had called police to tell them to collect B as well as the Wentworth Police Station to tell them what you had done. You said that you would be waiting for them to come and arrest you. You told your daughter that you had informed her brother and instructed her not to tell her mother until she saw her. Your daughter said ‘don’t do anything to yourself’. After the phone call had ended she immediately called back to again plead with you not to hurt yourself. You replied ‘don’t worry about me. I’m at peace with what I’ve done’.
Next, at 12.32 pm you telephoned your brother, Stephen Cohrs, and left a message on his voicemail.
Finally, at 12.36 pm you telephoned your solicitors and left a voicemail message in the following terms.
Michael, Paul Cohrs, how you going? It appears the court case is over. I just shot Raymond dead and I’ve also shot my mother dead. I don’t believe that I’ll live the rest of the day out. So all I can say is just look after Leanne and you can blame Leigh for this. He should have advised otherwise.
Police discovered the body of Bette Cohrs-Schulz at about 1.07 pm.
Arrival at Lake Victoria Station
At about 1.00 pm you arrived at the shearing shed at Lake Victoria Station. You called out to Mr Fernandez that it was you. Upon entering you said that you were not going to hurt him and had all of his gear in the front of your car. You told him that Raymond had killed your father and that he deserved this. You also told him that you had been to Mildura and shot your mother and were going to commit suicide.
As you led Mr Fernandez out of the shed you told him to look down and not look at Raymond’s body. You led him to Raymond’s vehicle and told him to go to the Wentworth Police Station to tell police that they would find you at Lock 7.
Travel to Lock 7
You drove for about 10 minutes to Lock 7 where you and Raymond Cohrs had sheds on a parcel of land on the New South Wales side of the river. Parking your car next to the sheds, you removed a gun, a box of ammunition and a suicide note addressed to your wife, entered a shed and placed those items on a table. The handwritten note, in 3 pages, said:
To Leanne. Unfortunately I am not as strong as you. I finally cracked. Do not blame yourself I looked at our future and realised Raymond will not stop even if we win.
I cannot bear to see my life’s work sold, only you understand the blood sweat + tears I had no family life, in fact neglected them for all of this.
I made
mumMrs Schultz take [B] out of the room, she denied any rong doing.I feel so calm + peaceful now despite the thoughts of our [illegible] future life together watching our children, grandchildren grow old. You need to keep strong for your children. They need you now that I am gone, if you want to find your grandson you have my blessing.
I love you so much.
Please do not blame yourself, it is for the best.
Your loving husband Paul. Xxx
There is a letter in the glove box of your car.
Do not look for revenge just get on with life.
Our financial affairs are a mess but you will have money at the end.
The last phone conversations with Kellie + Karl were so hard but I am glad I heard there voice I left a message with Stephen and Lyn thanking them
This lays squarely at the feet of Justice Kennedy + Rod Randall. I will miss our walks in the garden. Do not trust anyone but Stephen Kellie + Karl.
I do not fear death, I have had a good life.
Karl do not make my mistake, stay away from committees you only get shafted in the end.
I have not been feeling well lately it appears like stroke signs, tingling high temperature. I beli
Karl you need to video everything asap, so that it is not pinched by the liquidators. Most hand tools are mine the big fuel tank in trailer etc. I feel extremely sorry for Mick Fernandez, I have ruined his life.
Meanwhile your daughter Kellie, together with her husband, had collected your wife. They attended the sheds at Lock 7 and found the loaded rifle, ammunition and note on the table. Upon reading the note your wife retrieved the letter it referred to from the glove box of your car. Later forensic examination of your personal computer found the electronic version of that letter saved with the file name ‘last range day.docx’. It had been created at 11.31 pm on 29 October 2018 and last accessed or modified at 12.46.55 am on 30 October 2018. The note began:
My last comments about my life and the happiness my family gave me
If you are reading this I am unfortunately passed away, I have no regrets in life except for the trust I placed in my mother and brother raymond, my sister Julie has always been a bitch and the main instigator of the dispute that tore our family apart, I still believe kristy was switched at hospital, how can a daughter turn against her mother for greed and trinkets from her grandmother
I cannot sit and watch raymond at his mothers direction destroy my wifes and our family life on a daily basis
Unfortunately when dad passed away I could never forgive myself for not spending more time with him and this drove me to work so hard to make his business successful – I do not want you to feel that guilt, I had a good life
I promised my wife I would not do what my father did, but it is for the best, I apologise for the shame it will bring to the family. but I do not believe that he committed suicide, the evidence clearly suggests it was raymond that murdered him, and I believe my mother covered for him.
I cannot standby for another 12 months while an incompetent justice kennedy plays god with our lives, she needs to be sacked before she ruins other peoples lives, please bring to the medias attention my death and raymonds are on her hands lone, her failure to even read our affidavits is a disgrace, no one should blame any one but the legal system, and my evil family
I would like to start with I am not a person to show emotions but I truly love you all.
To my wife Leanne, I could not have had a better wife, it was truly love at first sight, I still think you are the prettiest girl I know, you need to stay strong for your grand children as they need you, times will be tough in the short term but it will all work out fine. I love you
I am sorry for the mess I left you in, Please do not stay alone in life
After addressing comments to various family members, the note ended:
Never ever forgive kristy for the pain she has caused.
Again I love you all 30.10.2018
At about 3.30 pm two New South Wales police officers located you walking through the scrub near Lock 7 carrying a shotgun. You lifted the shotgun and pointed the muzzle at your chest. One officer yelled ‘no’ and advanced slowly towards you. You discharged the shotgun and collapsed to the ground. You said ‘I can’t believe I’m not dead’. The police officers asked your name. You gave it and then said ‘I’ve just killed my brother and my mother … they were two of the most evilest people in the world’. As the officers administered first aid you told them that it was worth it and that ‘you would not believe what my mother and brother have done here … and my family’. You asked the officers not to allow your wife, son and daughter to see you. You said again that you couldn’t believe that the shot didn’t kill you as your worst nightmare was gaol. You said that you had been waiting for the police to attend before shooting yourself as you did not want your family to find you.
You were transported to Mildura Base Hospital and underwent treatment in relation to your injuries.
Search of Lake Victoria Station
A later search of your residence at Lake Victoria Station discovered in a gun safe your will and a copy of the same three page typed note that you had left for your then wife in the glove box of her car. Your will was an unwitnessed handwritten document dated 20 March 2018. In it you left your estate to your wife, or in the event that you died together, in equal shares to your son Karl and daughter Kellie. The last paragraph read:
Under no circumstances is any of my estate to be given to Kristy Cohrs. Her betrayal of her family is unforgiveable.
A search of your vehicle from the scene at Lock 7 located two sets of handcuffs and a Yellow Pages phone book opened at the page displaying the telephone numbers for both the Red Cliffs and the Mildura Police Stations.
Gravity of the offending
Your offending was very grave.[5]
[5]The defence did not press the initial submission made that the offence fell ‘towards the lower range of seriousness for the offence of murder’.
The murder of your mother was planned. It was, as already explained, linked to your plan to kill your brother. That you would commit acts that would lead to you taking your own life to avoid gaol – your self-described ‘worst nightmare’ – was in contemplation at least from the evening of 29 October 2018 when you wrote the three page note, copies of which were found in the gun safe and the glove box of the car. You also attended the 10 am appointment with Raymond Cohrs and Mr Fernandez having first placed the firearms, ammunition and two sets of handcuffs in your car.
Your actions in killing your brother did not give you pause for thought. You understood that those actions had the potential, again to use your own words, to ruin the life of Mr Fernandez, an innocent bystander. Nonetheless you took his mobile phone, physically restrained him and then drove 110 kms to your mother’s house. You entered and aimed your shotgun at the chest of Bette Cohrs-Schulz, an elderly lady who was entitled to feel safe in her own home. She had been in specific fear of you shooting her for some time. In her last moments she would have recognised that her fear would be realised. Although your grandson, B, was not in the kitchen at the time of the shooting, his presence in the house aggravates your conduct. Bette Cohrs-Schulz must have been afraid for him as well as for herself. He would have heard the gunshot. And, you left the four year old child to find the lifeless, bloodstained body of his great grandmother on the floor of her kitchen.
Given these circumstances, it is of little profit to determine the exact moment that your intention to murder your mother crystallised. It was well before your attendance at Lake Victoria Station on 30 October 2018 and the events there evidence your determination to carry out the plan. That you restrained Mr Fernandez and only released him and returned his phone to him after you had murdered your mother indicates a determination to ensure that your plan to kill your mother would not be interrupted by Mr Fernandez either alerting authorities to intercept you or directly warning her.
While your delusional disorder and personality difficulties remain relevant (and are discussed below), your primary motivation in killing your mother was anger and embitterment at her support of your brother, whom you perceived was attacking your financial wellbeing. Your delusional disorder contributed to your sense of justification for killing Bette Cohrs-Schulz. It did not stop you from understanding that it was wrong. Your moral culpability is high.
It follows that the sentence I impose upon you must, with due consideration of your mental health issues, give effect to the principles of denunciation, general deterrence and just punishment.[6] It must make plain the value the law places on human life by denouncing, in the strongest terms, the abhorrent nature of your crime and also deter others from like conduct.
[6]The prosecution referred to Felicite v The Queen (2011) 37 VR 329, 333 [20] (Redlich JA) which highlights these principles in the context of the murder of a domestic partner. There are obvious differences between the murder of a domestic partner and the murder of a family member with whom the offender has not lived for many years. Nevertheless these same sentencing principles loom large in the instant matter. See also DPP v Bednar [2023] VSC 67, [142]-[143] (Tinney J).
Victim impact
I have received and considered nine victim impact statements.
Taken together, it is clear that Bette Cohrs-Schulz was a much loved sister, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, who was generous with her affection, time and money. She had a broad definition of family and was the glue that kept it together. It seems that Christmas was a particularly special time for the extended family, with Bette going to much effort for those she loved most. More than one family member expresses a sense of real loss that Christmas – once such a joyous time – is now forever marred by the manner of her death. The family has fractured, both emotionally and physically. Several family members have moved from Mildura. And, more than one family member expresses a sense of insecurity, fear and isolation.
Desmond Nicholson, the brother of Mrs Cohrs-Schulz, describes the situation as a horror show and hard to comprehend. He said that the hurt caused by you taking her life is ongoing for all the family. Mr Nicholson misses his sister terribly and will always grieve for her.
Julie Ann Cohrs was the youngest of four children and the only daughter of Bette Cohrs-Schulz. She had a very close relationship with her mother. Ms Cohrs speaks of her mother’s death ripping the family apart. She describes the vast emptiness that Bette’s killing has created. She says that it is hard to hold the pain. Ms Cohrs now struggles socially, feeling insecure and hyper vigilant, and is prone to panic attacks. Tony Lay, Bette’s son-in-law, describes a much enjoyed relationship with his mother-in-law; one filled with banter, particularly about football. He too feels nervous and anxious and struggles with sleep. Together Ms Cohrs and Mr Lay would like to move from Mildura to escape the bad memories, but their children and grandchildren keep them tied.
Julie Maree Cohrs, Raymond’s wife, has left Mildura. It was a town she loved, but in the aftermath of 30 October 2018 she felt she had to leave. It grieves her not being able to visit the cemetery where Bette, as well as Raymond and her daughter, are buried. Mrs Cohrs goes to pieces in stressful situations and feels constantly anxious.
Your estranged daughter Kristy was very close to her nanna, seeing her every day and being grateful for the assistance Bette gave her in raising her young son B. Her victim impact statement has photographs of Bette and B together. Kristy expresses a sense of guilt that B was being looked after by her nanna on 30 October 2018 and a sense of worry about the impact the events of that day have had on him. B, now ten years of age, talks of the fear he experienced that day upon finding his great grandmother’s body and how he gets sick of now having to see lots of doctors and counsellors.
Kathryn Cohrs, another granddaughter of Bette, wanted the Court to know how loving and giving her nanna was and how much help she had given Kathryn during difficult times. Ms Cohrs expresses great sadness that her own daughter will never know her great grandmother.
Pauline Marie Schulz was the step-daughter of Bette Cohrs-Schulz. She describes Bette as a second mum. Ms Schulz describes Bette’s commitment and devotion to all of her family, however acquired. She said that Bette’s death has shattered her and filled her with a deep level of anxiety. The loss of her second mum is immeasurable. Ms Schulz provided a number of photographs in her Victim Impact Statement, including one of Bette in a Santa suit, eyes twinkling.
Laura Purves was the step-granddaughter of Bette Cohrs-Schulz, being the daughter of the first husband of Julie Ann Cohrs. Ms Purves said that absence of a blood relationship is immaterial to her sense of family. She describes the difficulty in compiling her victim impact statement and the ongoing anguish from both grief and the absence of Bette from the lives of her and her children.
It is clear that the victim impact of your crime is considerable. The statements are deeply affecting.
Personal circumstances
It is necessary to say something of your personal circumstances.
You were born and raised in the Riverina area, one of four siblings in a close and loving family. Leaving school early, you learnt to lay bricks in Adelaide before returning. You married Leanne, a girl whom you knew as a teenager and commenced your own bricklaying business. After some time, you joined the family business alongside your brothers and parents. A year later your father suicided.
You and your wife have three children, Kellie, Kristy and Karl. Your marriage ended consequent upon your offending. As already stated, you have been estranged from Kristy for some years. You retain the love and support of Kellie and Karl.
You are a man with no prior convictions and, before the development of your delusional disorder, a well-loved member of your community and family. I have received and considered a number of character references written on your behalf. Each expresses ongoing support of you.
Barry Stewart, the (now retired) Chief Executive Officer of Sunraysia and District Aboriginal Corporation (SDAC) states that you were an invaluable volunteer to that organisation as well as to the Dareton Health Aboriginal Corporation (CHAC). In 1994 SDAC purchased a property on the Murray River in New South Wales next to one owned by your family. The SDAC land was used for a life skills rehabilitation program for indigenous men as an alternative to incarceration. Mr Stewart states that you were involved from the inception of the program and provided ongoing advice, practical help and much needed equipment. You also set up a training program at the CHAC which facilitated indigenous men who struggled with literacy to obtain gun licences in order to legally hunt kangaroos.
Colin McKenzie, a former employee in your brick business, speaks of his admiration of and unswerving loyalty to you for the assistance you gave him in finding alternative employment when your business could not continue his employment. Mr McKenzie states that you were a ‘marvellous community person’ and very knowledgeable about the history of Wentworth Shire. Renay Jeffery is also a former employee who became a friend. She describes you as a ‘dad figure’ and an honest, kind and decent person.
Sandra Tierney writes of the support you gave to her late husband as he underwent dialysis for kidney failure, as well as the support you gave to her after her husband’s death. She states that you were kind, sincere, respectful and helpful to a fault.
Your two children, Karl and Kellie, as well as your former son-in-law, Michael Ricardi, all wrote references. Each note your capacity for hard-work, your contribution to your community and, particularly, your devotion to your family.
Your sister-in-law, Lynn Cohrs, wife of your brother Stephen, describes you as a loving and wonderful uncle to her children and a true family man. Mrs Cohrs states that you were known and liked in the District and had a reputation for going out of your way for people.
Ashley Kerridge, your cousin by marriage, speaks of your generosity, kindness and work ethic. Heather Kerridge, your sister-in-law by marriage, notes her great respect for you, as well as your generosity and geniality.
You were 58 at the time of your offending and are now nearly 65. Your physical health is less than robust.
On 30 October 2018 you were treated for chest trauma resulting from the shotgun wounds sustained during your failed suicide attempt. You have since been diagnosed with diabetes, which is now treated. In May 2020 you suffered a cardiac arrest. You underwent heart surgery and had stents inserted. You now take medication for heart disease. You are also medicated for hypertension and high cholesterol.
Dr Prashant Pandurangi, forensic psychiatrist, who has prepared numerous reports and gave evidence on your behalf, both at your trial and on the plea hearing, describes your mental health history as follows.
… The description of Mr Cohrs’ personality noted by various people close to him and by his own account indicates that he displayed characteristics of someone who was highly meticulous, overinclusive, rigid, and would work excessively at the detriment of his health or family life. He is noted to be paranoid, having a general distrust of others, concerned with widespread corruption and tendency to hold grudges. Furthermore, he can be detached, self-centred and isolated with little or no social connections. However, there is no description or indication of a profound lack of sense of self, identity or direction. He maintained a long term intimate relationship which he describes as mutually satisfying and also till the recent years had maintained reasonable relationship with his family. So, it would appear that the paranoid and obsessive traits Mr Cohrs’ presented with, could be best described as personality difficulty and it would not have reached the threshold to warrant a diagnosis of a personality disorder. The nature of his personality difficulties also made him vulnerable to develop mental illnesses.
Mr Cohrs seems to have developed a range of persecutory beliefs over the years which intensified as the family dispute over the business progressed. There is no indication that he had displayed such overt persecutory beliefs earlier in life. He formed a belief that his brother and his mother were conspiring against him with an intent to push him out of the family business, which took form [sic] of cutting off his money, phones and access to business vehicles. This seems to have extended beyond the family and whilst he was elected to the local Government. He was described as being obsessive and pedantic, but also as paranoid and believed that rooms were bugged. He believed the local council was corrupt and reported them to investigative agencies. Such beliefs also incorporated Judges and lawyers involved in the civil litigation and later during his criminal trial.
Although some of the persecutory beliefs Mr Cohrs held may have been related to actual incidents or events, he has since incorporated other individuals and agencies into these paranoid beliefs and held them with unfaltering certainty, even when evidence to the contrary was present. It is possible that such beliefs may be considered either as overvalued ideas or delusions.
Given the extensive nature of his beliefs, which incorporates various people or agencies, the incorrigible nature of these beliefs, the idiosyncratic process by which he had reached these conclusions and the emotional investment in these beliefs, I consider these as delusions. In absence of other psychotic symptoms such as passivity experiences, disorganisation of thoughts or perceptual disturbances, I believe he suffers from a Delusional Disorder as set out in International Classification of Diseases 11th Revision (ICD-11). It is likely that he has gradually developed a psychotic illness on a background of personality difficulties and the social stressors that existed for few years (sic), which is a usual pathway for development of a delusional disorder. In absence of other psychotic symptoms, I do not believe he suffers from schizophrenia.
Although you present with some depressive symptoms, you do not currently meet the diagnostic threshold of a depressive disorder. You voluntarily take Aripiprazole, an antipsychotic medication, daily.
Your health and medication regime are well managed within the custodial environment.
Verdins[7] Principles
[7]R v Verdins (2007) 16 VR 269 (Maxwell P, Buchanan and Vincent JJA).
It is necessary to analyse the impact of your delusional disorder upon your offending and your present circumstances.
It is to be recalled that in June 2021, at a time when you were unrepresented and refused representation funded by Victoria Legal Aid, the question of your fitness to stand trial was reserved by the Court. On the unanimous psychiatric evidence you were, on 17 June 2022 found unfit to stand trial but likely to become fit within 12 months if treated for your delusional disorder.[8] You were remanded to Thomas Embling Hospital where you voluntarily commenced antipsychotic medication. At the end of 12 months you were found to be fit and remanded in custody.[9] Until recently you were housed in the St Paul’s Unit of Port Phillip Prison.
[8]R v Cohrs [2022] VSC 334 (Taylor J).
[9]R v Cohrs[No 3] [2023] VSC 334 (Taylor JA). See also R v Cohrs [No. 2] [2022] VSC 784 (Taylor JA).
Although no question of your fitness again arose, the venue of your trial was moved from Mildura to Melbourne in order to best manage your mental (and physical) health during the course of your trial.[10] You were by the time of the change of venue application in late 2023 represented by counsel. That you accepted Victorian based legal representation was one of the many signs that your delusional disorder had attenuated with treatment.
[10]In the matter of an Application for a change of venue byPaul Cohrs [2023] VSC 752 (Taylor JA).
Your trial was run on a single issue. You raised the defence of mental impairment. You admitted intentionally killing your mother and doing so with murderous intent. The facts were led before the jury largely by way of an agreed statement read by the informant. The contested evidence was as between two forensic psychiatrists – Dr Pandurangi, called on your behalf, and Dr Danny Sullivan, called by the Crown. Each agreed you suffered a delusional disorder at the time of your offending.[11]
[11]Dr Pandurangi, unlike Dr Sullivan, also considered it likely that you had a depressive illness. As conceded by the defence, this issue is of little moment in the sentencing exercise.
Dr Pandurangi gave that opinion in the terms set out above.
Dr Sullivan said that you were affected by a delusional disorder of the persecutory type. He said:
I consider the diagnosis of delusional disorder is met on the assumption that Mr Cohrs had assumed a range of extra events as related and directed at him, and he held these beliefs with delusional conviction – that is, he could not admit of the possibility of alternate explanations. I note that although Bette may have sided with Raymond in this dispute, she was not engaged in any activity which affected Mr Cohrs’ business dealings with Raymond. However, he had come to believe that Raymond was acting with his mother’s support or agreement.
Paul had also come to believe not only that Raymond murdered their father, but that Bette ‘covered for him’. It appears that Paul considered that killing his mother was justified because she was in league with Raymond and seeking to cut him out of the family business and cause financial loss. He also considered that this was negatively affecting his wife’s health.
Both psychiatrists agreed that you knew the nature and quality of your act.[12] Dr Pandurangi said that you were aware that you were shooting your mother and of the consequences of that conduct. Dr Sullivan noted that in the aftermath of the shooting you made admissions to having done so in the telephone calls you made to members of your family and others.
[12]Crimes (Mental Impairment and Unfitness to be Tried) Act 1997 (‘CMIA’), s 20(1)(a).
The single issue in dispute in your trial was whether your delusional disorder had such effect that you did not know that your conduct was wrong. That is, that you could not reason with a moderate degree of sense and composure about whether the conduct, as perceived by reasonable people, was wrong.[13]
[13]CMIA, s 20(1)(b).
The returned verdict of guilty rather than not guilty by reason of mental impairment means that, on the balance of probabilities, the jury were not satisfied that you could not so reason.
Nonetheless, the psychiatric evidence unanimously establishes the significant causal contribution of your mental impairment – that is your delusional disorder – to the commission of the offence. Although you knew that your conduct was wrong, the motivation for and the plan you made to murder your mother was made through the prism of your delusional disorder. Put differently, but for your delusional disorder, the grievance you formed against Bette Cohrs-Schulz might not have existed, or might not have been held so absolutely and unshakeably. As expressed by Dr Pandurangi in his recent report, your delusional disorder was a necessary factor in your offending, but is insufficient to fully explain it. That was also the opinion of Dr Sullivan in his evidence at the trial, who considered that you felt justified in murdering your mother by your deluded perceptions as to her support of Raymond in what you regarded as his persecution of you.
It follows that Verdins limbs 1, 3 and 4 are enlivened. Your moral culpability is reduced as a result of your delusional disorder. You are a less suitable vehicle for general and specific deterrence than would otherwise be the case. I have assessed the degree of the ameliorating effect of your delusional disorder upon these considerations in the sentencing calculus having regard to all of the circumstances of the case, including your prior good character, the expert opinions as to your mental state and capacity to reason, your primary motivation in killing your mother and the level of planning involved. It is to be recalled that while Bette Cohrs-Schulz sided with Raymond in the business dispute, she was not a party to the civil litigation and had not been involved in the day to day running of the businesses for some years.
Limb 5 of Verdins also has work to do. On the evidence of Dr Pandurangi at your plea, I accept that your delusional disorder and associated personality difficulties mean that the sentence of imprisonment will weigh more heavily on you than it would on a person in normal health.
The defence did not press the initial submission that limb 6 of Verdins is also relevant.[14] Dr Pandurangi gave no evidence of a serious risk that imprisonment would have a significant adverse effect on your mental health. Indeed the opposite appears true. Your mental difficulties, previously undiagnosed and untreated, have been diagnosed and appropriately treated in custody. Your mental health has improved. You are voluntarily compliant with antipsychotic medication.
[14]The defence position was confirmed in writing after the conclusion of the plea hearing.
Delay
Your offending occurred almost six years ago. While part of the delay in the hearing of your trial is explicable by the investigation into your fitness to stand trial and part by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the court system, your previous obstinate refusal to comply with court procedures also contributed significantly. I accept the submission made on your behalf that while much of the delay was of your doing, it was not your fault. Many of the decisions you made after your arrest were affected by your then undiagnosed and untreated delusional disorder. Once you had become fit, you accepted representation and your trial was conducted in an extremely efficient manner. I take this into account.
Remorse
In the immediate aftermath of your offending you said that you had no regrets, that your conduct was ‘worth it’ because your mother (and brother) were evil. You laid the blame for your conduct at the feet of numerous others. Dr Pandurangi states that recently you have expressed regret at your conduct and a desire that you could ‘turn back time’. He states that while you appear to have an understanding of the impact of your actions on your family, you remain conflicted due to your incorrigible delusional beliefs and continue to blame Raymond, in particular, for your own conduct. Given your ongoing belief that you were justified in your actions, I give your expression of regret negligible weight.
Prospects for rehabilitation
Your offending was inextricably linked with your delusional disorder. I am of the view that the likelihood of any future offending would arise in the context of a deterioration in that condition. During the time you have been in custody you have behaved well generally and have engaged with appropriate psychiatric treatment, albeit unenthusiastically. While delusional disorder is notoriously difficult to treat, you have improved. Your delusional beliefs have attenuated somewhat but not resolved. Of concern is your poor insight into your mental health difficulties.
Dr Pandurangi said that your offending occurred around a constellation of factors and circumstances unlikely to ever arise again. While I accept that opinion in so far as your grievance with your mother (and brother) is concerned, I note that your delusional disorder is of the persecutory subtype and has extended to beliefs that public officials, judges and lawyers were corrupt and actively working against you.
Ultimately, the state of your disorder and your compliance with treatment close to the end of your sentence will be the true marker of your risk of reoffending. If you remain compliant with treatment, and noting that you will be an elderly man when released, I consider your prospects of rehabilitation to be reasonable. Nonetheless, given your lack of insight into your mental illness, protection of the community remains a relevant sentencing consideration.
Standard sentence scheme
Standard sentencing applies to your offending. The standard sentence for murder is 25 years. That sentence is for an offence that is in the ‘middle of the range of seriousness’ taking into account only the objective factors affecting the relative seriousness of the offence.[15] That is, without matters personal to you and wholly by reference to your conduct. For the reasons I have articulated, your offending far exceeds the middle of the range of seriousness. It was a pre-meditated and planned act in the home of an elderly woman, motivated by anger and embitterment and carried out while a four year old child was present in the house.
[15]Act, s 5A(1)(b).
I have had regard to the standard sentence for murder as one of the matters to be taken into account in arriving at the appropriate sentence as part of the instinctive synthesis. I have also had regard to current sentencing practices, being previously imposed sentences for murder as a standard sentence offence.[16] In particular I have had regard to Bednar v The King,[17] considering both the similarities and differences in the objective and subjective factors between that case and this.
[16]Act, s 5B(2)(b). To this end I have not had regard to the sentences imposed in cases referred to in the defence written submissions, namely R v Dutton [2011] VSCA 287; R v Delich [2014] VSCA 66; R v McPhee [2014] VSCA 156 and R v Sebalj [2006] VSCA 106.
[17][2024] VSCA 180 (Emerton P, McLeish and T Forrest JJA).
I have also had regard to the maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
The sentence I will shortly announce is greater than the standard sentence.
Non-parole period
As I will sentence you to a head sentence of at least 20 years, I am required by s 11A(4) of the Act to fix a non-parole period of at least 70 percent of the head sentence, unless I determine that it is in the interests of justice not to do so.
It was submitted on your behalf that it was in the interests of justice to fix a non-parole period lower than 70 percent of the head sentence.
Taking into account all of the circumstances of this case, I reject that submission. Given the gravity of your offending, there is nothing in your background or physical and mental health to conclude that the interests of justice require a lower non-parole period. I will fix a non-parole period which, in my view, is the minimum period which justice requires to be served.[18]
[18]Wallace v The Queen [2012] VSCA 114; (2012) 35 VR 520, [2] 521 (Maxwell ACJ and Buchanan JA).
Sentence
Paul Cohrs please stand.
Balancing as best I am able the competing considerations laid down in the Act and having regard to the matters I have just discussed, for the offence of murder I sentence you to imprisonment for 30 years. You must serve a minimum of 23 years before you are eligible for parole.
I declare that you have already served 2171 days of that sentence by way of pre-sentence detention, not including today.
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