R v Playford

SUPREME COURT OF QUEENSLAND

CITATION:

R v Playford [2017] QSC 337

PARTIES:

R
v
PLAYFORD, Stephen Phillip

FILE NO/S:

SC No 1727 of 2017

DIVISION:

Trial Division

PROCEEDING:

Sentence ex tempore

DELIVERED ON:

20 December 2017

DELIVERED AT:

Brisbane

HEARING DATE:

20 December 2017

JUDGE:

Boddice J

ORDERS:

1.   On count 1, convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.

2.   On count 2, convicted and sentenced to 12 years imprisonment.

3.   Convictions recorded on each count.

4.   Each offence is recorded as a domestic violence offence.

5.   Sentences of imprisonment be served concurrently.

6.   Declare the 835 days served in custody between 7 September 2015 and 19 December 2017 as time served in respect of those sentences of imprisonment.

CATCHWORDS:

CRIMINAL LAW – SENTENCE – RELEVANT FACTORS – NATURE AND CIRCUMSTANCES OF OFFENCE – GENERALLY – where the offender pleaded guilty to the offence of murder of his six year old daughter and to the attempted murder of his eight year old daughter – where the pleas of guilty have saved the community time and money and represent cooperation with the administration of justice – where three expert forensic psychiatrists concluded the offender was suffering from a mild to moderate depressive illness at the time of the offences – where there was no defence for the offender’s reprehensible conduct – where there is only punishment that can be imposed in respect of the offence of murder

SOLICITORS:

MB Lehane of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (Queensland) for the Crown
J Briggs of Legal Aid Queensland for the defendant

HIS HONOUR: Stephen Phillip Playford, you are to be sentenced today for two offences involving the most unimaginable criminal conduct. The first offence is the murder of your six year old daughter. The second offence is the attempted murder of your eight year old daughter. Both offences were committed on or about 7 September 2015.
To your credit, you pleaded guilty to those offences when arraigned before me on 15 November 2017. Those pleas of guilty saved your wife and daughter the trauma of having to give evidence at a trial. You also saved them from the trauma of hearing other graphic details, which, no doubt, would have been required to be led in the course of that trial. Your pleas of guilty have saved the community time and money. They represent cooperation with the administration of justice. That cooperation is a relevant factor I take into account in your favour on sentence.
These horrendous offences, committed by you methodically and with a degree of precision, occurred against a backdrop of financial and personal despair. Until early 2014, you held senior positions of responsibility in the mining industry. You were compensated well for that employment. You lived a lifestyle consistent with that income.
In February 2014, you resigned your last position. From that date until the offences, the family lived off every dwindling savings. You continued to live beyond your means, a fact not disclosed to your wife. You unsuccessfully…

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the matter of R v Playford, the appellant was convicted of the murder of his six year old daughter and the attempted murder of his eight year old daughter. The case was heard in the Supreme Court of South Australia. The primary issue for the court was to determine the appropriate sentence for the appellant, taking into account the nature and circumstances of the offence, the fact that the offender had pleaded guilty, and the expert psychiatric evidence that suggested the appellant was suffering from a depressive illness at the time of the offence. The court also had to consider the impact of the offender's conduct on the community, as well as the principle that there is no defence for reprehensible conduct.

The court noted that the appellant's guilty pleas had saved the community time and money, and represented cooperation with the administration of justice. The court found that the nature and circumstances of the offence were particularly heinous, as the appellant had murdered his six year old daughter and attempted to murder his eight year old daughter in a domestic setting. The court also considered the expert psychiatric evidence, which suggested that the appellant was suffering from a mild to moderate depressive illness at the time of the offence. However, the court found that there was no defence for the appellant's reprehensible conduct.

The court ultimately determined that the appropriate sentence for the offence of murder was life imprisonment, and the appropriate sentence for the offence of attempted murder was 12 years imprisonment. The court ordered that the sentences be served concurrently, and that the 835 days served in custody between 7 September 2015 and 19 December 2017 be declared as time served in respect of those sentences of imprisonment. The court also ordered that each offence be recorded as a domestic violence offence.

Orders of the court

1. On count 1, convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.

2. On count 2, convicted and sentenced to 12 years imprisonment.

3. Convictions recorded on each count.

4. Each offence is recorded as a domestic violence offence.

5. Sentences of imprisonment be served concurrently.

6. Declare the 835 days served in custody between 7 September 2015 and 19 December 2017 as time served in respect of those sentences of imprisonment.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established

CITATION:	R v Playford [2017] QSC 337
PARTIES:	R v PLAYFORD, Stephen Phillip
FILE NO/S:	SC No 1727 of 2017
DIVISION:	Trial Division
PROCEEDING:	Sentence ex tempore
DELIVERED ON:	20 December 2017
DELIVERED AT:	Brisbane
HEARING DATE:	20 December 2017
JUDGE:	Boddice J
ORDERS:	1. On count 1, convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment. 2. On count 2, convicted and sentenced to 12 years imprisonment. 3. Convictions recorded on each count. 4. Each offence is recorded as a domestic violence offence. 5. Sentences of imprisonment be served concurrently. 6. Declare the 835 days served in custody between 7 September 2015 and 19 December 2017 as time served in respect of those sentences of imprisonment.
CATCHWORDS:	CRIMINAL LAW – SENTENCE – RELEVANT FACTORS – NATURE AND CIRCUMSTANCES OF OFFENCE – GENERALLY – where the offender pleaded guilty to the offence of murder of his six year old daughter and to the attempted murder of his eight year old daughter – where the pleas of guilty have saved the community time and money and represent cooperation with the administration of justice – where three expert forensic psychiatrists concluded the offender was suffering from a mild to moderate depressive illness at the time of the offences – where there was no defence for the offender’s reprehensible conduct – where there is only punishment that can be imposed in respect of the offence of murder
SOLICITORS:	MB Lehane of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (Queensland) for the Crown J Briggs of Legal Aid Queensland for the defendant