R v Worthy (Sentence)
[2018] VSC 12
•3 November 2017 (ruling) and 30 January 2018 (sentence)
| IN THE SUPREME COURT OF VICTORIA | Unrestricted |
AT MELBOURNE
CRIMINAL DIVISION
S CR 2016 0160
| THE QUEEN | |
| v | |
| SAMUEL WORTHY | Accused |
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JUDGE: | JANE DIXON J |
WHERE HELD: | Melbourne |
DATES OF HEARING: | 7, 8, 9, 11 August 2017, 23 January 2018 |
DATE OF SENTENCE: | 3 November 2017 (ruling) and 30 January 2018 (sentence) |
CASE MAY BE CITED AS: | R v Worthy (Sentence) |
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION: | [2018] VSC 12 |
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CRIMINAL LAW – Murder – Guilty plea – Sentence following contested plea – Three friends involved in attack with machete against fourth friend – Key role in the joint offence – Absence of remorse – Youth – Consideration of parity with older offender – Sentenced to 20 years in prison, with a non-parole period of 16 years.
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APPEARANCES: | Counsel | Solicitors |
| For the Crown | Mr J Lewis | Office of Public Prosecutions |
| For the Accused | Mr S Bayles | Stary Norton Halphen |
HER HONOUR:
Samuel Worthy, you have pleaded guilty to the murder of Joshua Kane at Macarthur on 23 January 2016. The offence was a joint crime committed with Stuart Campbell and Lanie Snell. Campbell and Snell have already pleaded guilty and been sentenced for the murder.
Your co-offender Campbell entered his plea before Lasry J on 20 April 2017 at the Supreme Court sitting in Melbourne. The trial of Snell and yourself was to commence on 8 May 2017, but ultimately each of you pleaded guilty on what was to be the first day of trial.
Campbell’s plea hearing was conducted on 1 May 2017. On that date, Campbell gave an undertaking to give evidence in accordance with a police statement he had made on 7 April 2017, in which he had outlined how the deceased, Joshua Kane, met his death, and the roles of each of you in carrying out the murder. Campbell was sentenced on 3 May 2017.[1] He received a lesser sentence because of his offer to assist the Crown in accordance with the statement he had made.
[1]R v Campbell [2017] VSC 227R.
Snell’s plea hearing took place before Lasry J on 5 June 2017 and she was sentenced on 30 June 2017.[2]
[2]R v Snell [2017] VSC 394.
Despite being willing to plead guilty to murder on the basis of the principles of criminal complicity, you disputed the Crown opening as to the factual circumstances of the murder. A contested plea hearing was commenced before me at Warrnambool, on 7 August 2017.
I have already delivered a ruling on the factual matters in dispute between yourself and the Crown.[3] This ruling was handed down in advance of the further plea hearing so as to enable further submissions and a psychological report to be provided on your behalf in response to my factual findings. In that ruling I found that you were involved in planning, promoting and preparing for the crime and physically attacking the deceased with the machete. Some of what I say today will involve repetition of matters included in my ruling on the contested plea.
[3]DPP v Samuel Worthy (Ruling on Factual Matters) [2017] VSC 808.
The Crown relies on their original Summary of Prosecution Opening[4] and written submissions[5] put forward in support of the factual findings contended for by the Crown.
[4]Prosecution Exhibit 1, tendered on 8 August 2017: Summary of Prosecution Opening dated 8 August 2017.
[5]Prosecution Submissions dated 4 September 2017. Other materials relied on by the Crown are referred to in my ruling on the contested plea. See especially DPP v Samuel Worthy (Ruling on Factual Matters) [2017] VSC 808, [8].
Following the publication of my ruling on factual findings, the defence put forward written plea submissions,[6] testimonials from your mother and father,[7] and a report from Patrick Newton, Clinical and Forensic Psychologist.[8]
[6]Defence Exhibit 1, tendered 23 January 2018: Defence Submissions.
[7]Defence Exhibit 3, tendered 23 January 2018: testimonial of Marcia Worth, 18 January 2018; Defence Exhibit 4, tendered 23 January 2018: testimonial of Peter Worthy.
[8]Defence Exhibit 2, tendered 23 January 2018: report of Patrick Newton, dated 18 January 2018.
Snell and Worthy’s antipathy for Kane
It is not disputed that you were friendly with Snell and Campbell and maintained regular contact in the lead up to the events in January 2016. Snell was aged 34, Campbell was 19 and you were also 19 years of age. Joshua Kane was aged 20 at the time of this death.
Snell had known Kane since childhood and had previously lived in a caravan alongside Kane’s in the Hamilton Caravan Park. There had been a falling out between Kane and Snell because she believed Kane had behaved badly and spoken roughly towards her children when they were neighbours in the caravan park in Hamilton. Snell was also angry that the deceased had belittled her young son at Myssie Andrews’ birthday party on 22 November 2015, at the residence Snell shared at that time with Myssie Andrews and Scott Wesley at Rankin Court, Hamilton.
You and Kane had previously been best friends. As at January 2016, you were in a de facto relationship with Emily Kenny. Kenny had given birth to your child two months before the murder. Joshua Kane had previously been in an intimate relationship with Kenny after leaving school and was said to be heartbroken when it broke up. Once Kenny commenced her relationship with you, you nevertheless maintained your friendship with Kane. Campbell and Snell commenced a sexual relationship in late 2015.
Snell had developed a hatred for Kane by the time of the murder and you had also developed animosity towards him. You had spoken ill of him on a number of occasions in the presence of others. Campbell was aware of, and participated in, discussions in which you and Snell expressed ill feeling towards Kane. Myssie Andrews and Scott Wesley also overheard you speaking with Snell about Kane in a threatening and hostile manner. These facts have been elaborated in my previous ruling in this matter.
Campbell first heard of you wanting to assault Kane on the night he moved in to your house. He had been evicted from home by his mother in mid-January 2016 in response to his drug use. You were walking with Campbell on the way to get some cigarette papers and mentioned wanting to assault Kane. You said you could assault him and win a fight.[9]
[9]Transcript, 8 August 2017, p 104, lns 28-29.
Campbell said this topic was next mentioned when the three of you were hanging out at Snell’s place a day or a few days later, and the same sorts of things were said.[10] It was then brought up again over the next few days with the comments becoming more frequent and escalating in their violence. Campbell said it started as wanting to bash him, then robbing him, then breaking his legs and that it kept increasing.[11] He said that you told him you had fallen out with Kane but despite giving a few reasons, you never gave a clear reason. You asked whether Campbell had brought his machete when he moved out of home and he confirmed that it was in a bag at your house.[12]
[10]Ibid, p 105, lns 19-20, 30-31.
[11]Ibid, p 107, lns 15-19.
[12]Ibid, p 109, lns 17-31.
Ultimately the three of you agreed on a plan to lure Kane into going with you on an expedition away from Hamilton for the purpose of carrying out an attack on Kane. Campbell said he told you and Snell that if the pair of you wanted to assault Kane you could, but he did not want to be part of any actual assault.[13]
[13]Ibid, p 109, lns 4-6.
The planned expedition
On 22 January 2016, you invited Kane to come on a drive the following day. A bit later that day, you shared some beers with Kane and his father at the Hamilton Caravan Park. You later told Campbell and Snell that you had invited Kane on a drive.[14]
[14]Ibid, p 110, lns 16-24.
It was agreed between the three of you that when going to pick up Kane on 23 January, Campbell would accompany you. Snell would stay behind to avoid Kane becoming suspicious,[15] given the serious falling out between Snell and Kane.
[15]Ibid, p 111, lns 1-10.
You collected Campbell from Snell’s place the next morning and took him back to your home where you collected the machete. Whilst there, you also grabbed some plastic bags, a bottle of bleach, blue latex gloves and a change of clothes before returning to Snell’s place.[16]
[16]Ibid, p 113.
At Snell’s place you decided not to use your car for the expedition, so the three of you moved the machete and other items to the boot of Snell’s car, even though Snell’s car was known to be unreliable. Snell put a change of clothes in the car. You told Campbell he would not need a change of clothes because he would not be participating in the assault.[17] Pocket knives belonging to Campbell were also taken on the expedition.
[17]Ibid, p 114, ln 28.
You and Campbell collected Kane from his caravan and then went to get Snell before setting off on the expedition. A stop was made at Coles and Kane went in to the store to get a drink.[18] You said to your co-offenders whilst Kane was in the store that you could not wait to attack Kane.[19]
[18]This happened at 7.56 pm.
[19]Transcript, 8 August 2017, p 117, lns 6-7.
The three of you then went to Mt Eccles, with you driving most of the way there.
The attack on the deceased at Lake Surprise
The car was parked in the top carpark at Mt Eccles National Park and your group, including Kane, set off to walk around Lake Surprise after getting the machete from the boot of the car, along with a bong.
Each one of you, including Kane, took turns using the machete to slash at the undergrowth. After walking half way around the lake to an area of rocks, your group stopped and Campbell and Snell smoked cannabis from the bong. When it started to get dark, your group began to walk back to the car.
Kane walked back along the narrow path followed by you, then Campbell, and then Snell. At the point where the path splits, you suddenly attacked Kane from behind with the machete.
Campbell said of you that you:
brought the machete like across his chest into the side of Josh’s neck… and [he] repeated it twice more. Josh bent over and Sam brought it back down on the back of his neck… He was screaming and begging Sam to stop… One hand was like holding the side of his neck from being hit.[20]
[20]Ibid, p 119-120.
Campbell turned and walked away, whereas Snell walked past Campbell towards you and Kane. Campbell said at this point he could not see the incident because he had retreated around a bend but could hear Kane screaming out.
Campbell then described how you and Snell approached him and that you Worthy were shaking and hyperventilating, saying you could not do it and trying to give the blood-covered machete to Campbell who refused to take it.[21]
[21]Ibid, p 121.
You and Snell then departed again for a brief time and then returned to Campbell saying that Kane had gone. The three of you returned to the carpark where you were observed to be shaking, hyperventilating and panicking.[22] Kane called out to you for help and you called back, ‘give me a minute, hang on’.[23] You tried to get Campbell or Snell to go back with you but Campbell refused. Campbell said of you:
he was like trying to talk himself into going back there saying that he had to do it. … “I've got to do it, I've got to do it,” something to that effect. He just sort of kept repeating the same thing over and over again.[24]
[22]Ibid, p 122, lns 23-26.
[23]Ibid, p 123, ln 8.
[24]Ibid, p 123, lns 11-17.
You then left to go back with Snell, and Campbell heard Kane start screaming again like he had been before. The screaming stopped and when you and Snell returned to the carpark, Snell was rubbing your back. Campbell said that you appeared to be ‘freaking out.’[25]
[25]Ibid, p 123, lns 24-29.
You then asked Campbell to clean the bloodied machete, which he did, using a bottle of bleach from the car.
Once it was decided to leave Mt Eccles, it was found that Snell’s car would not start, so Myssie Andrews was contacted for help. You and Snell had both changed your clothes and you had removed your bloodstained shoes before walking up to the main road and entrance to the national park. You walked there with Campbell to assist Myssie Andrews with directions when she arrived.
When Myssie Andrews and her brother arrived, she took you and Campbell to Snell’s car. The car was jump-started and you went back to Hamilton with Campbell and Snell in Snell’s car. You were panicking on the way back about being found out for your role in Kane’s death. Snell tried to reassure you but you said, to the others ‘yes, but you two aren’t murderers.’[26]
[26]Ibid, p 127, ln 10.
The three of you agreed to say you last saw Kane at Coles, but that if you were caught Campbell would take the blame since Campbell did not have any children.[27]
[27]Ibid, p 127.
You stopped off at Kane’s caravan on the way home and broke in and stole a number of items[28] before returning to Snell’s place at Rankin Court. Myssie Andrews and her brother were already home from the trip to Mt Eccles.
[28]The items stolen from Kane’s caravan were a TV, a PlayStation 3, DVDs, games, and collectable figurines.
The three of you returned to the crime scene a few times over the next day or so, to search around. You did not succeed in finding Kane but Campbell found Kane’s singlet, and you collected Kane’s phone and keys from a ledge in the ranger’s hut. Campbell snapped the SIM card at your suggestion. Snell had hidden the machete used in the murder and the bags of clothing worn that day at her parents place. You staged a phone call to Kane’s mobile phone despite knowing he was dead. You later referred to that call after you were arrested and questioned by police, asking police ‘is Josh ok?’
You lied to Kane’s father and sister when Kane was missing, regarding your knowledge of Kane’s whereabouts. You sent a series of text messages in response to inquiries by Kane’s father, saying that you last saw Kane after dropping him home from Coles, but that Kane had said he was going to Horsham to pick up a car. You told Kane’s sister in response to her concerns that you would look for Kane in his caravan, and you later called back to say you had knocked but there was no answer. You also told others that Kane could be out shooting. It should be said that your co-offenders also took steps to conceal their role in the murder.
On 28 January 2016 police inquired whether you knew of Kane’s whereabouts and you gave them a false account of when he had last seen the deceased.
On 29 January, Mr Parker, the manager of the caravan park in Hamilton, learned that a body had been found at Mount Eccles. That night, he saw you and your co-accused near your car at about 10.20 pm, talking together, and when he approached you said, ‘we are trying to work out where Josh is’.
Also on 29 January, Myssie Andrews attended police in the early hours to report her suspicions that you and your co-accused were involved in Kane’s disappearance, after learning from Kane’s sister that Kane was missing. She connected this fact with her recent trip to Mt Eccles and the earlier utterances by you and Snell.
Later that day police attended the crime scene at Mt Eccles with Myssie Andrews and found Kane’s decomposed body.
Kane’s body was noted by crime scene examiners to be situated quite some distance below the Lake Surprise walking track at the end of some matted down scrub.
Police arrested you and your two co-accused on 30 January 2016 and searched the premises associated with each of you. They located the incriminating items secreted at Snell’s parent’s house and at other locations and examined Snell’s car. They conducted formal interviews with each of you.
Post-mortem conducted by pathologist Dr Linda Isles
A post-mortem was conducted on 31 January 2016 and the cause of death was found to be multiple injuries.[29] There were numerous sharp force chopping type injuries and a penetrating injury to the upper right abdominal wall. The injuries were consistent with having been inflicted with a heavy instrument with a sharp edge such as a machete, axe or cleaver.
[29]Depositions p 267.
Police Interviews and subsequent accounts of events by Campbell and Worthy
When the three of you were interviewed by police, you each initially maintained that after taking Kane to the supermarket, you had returned him to the caravan park. That story later changed, with each of you admitting to being present when Kane was murdered. However, you each gave conflicting accounts of who was physically responsible for causing Kane’s death.
Campbell originally told police a false story about not seeing Kane after Coles, but in his second statement attempted to take all the blame for the murder upon himself. That version was clearly wrong, but was consistent with the agreement reached by the three of you in the car on the way back from Mt Eccles.
Campbell’s final version of events in his police interview was more consistent with his subsequent police statement and evidence in court. Snell ultimately told the police that she was present at the time Kane was attacked and that you were the attacker.[30]
[30]I did not rely on Snell’s incrimination of you in making factual findings in your contested plea.
You gave a false account to police about your involvement in the murder and your version of events changed a number of times since the original account about not seeing Kane after Coles. In each version, you have largely sought to remove responsibility from yourself for what took place.
Your evidence given in court showed an unwillingness to face up to your role in the murder and in the cover-up afterwards. I have rejected the account you gave in evidence that you were not a party to planning the attack on Kane, and that you did not wield the machete.
Consideration of roles
Your moral culpability for the murder is substantial. You deceived Kane into going with you, having planned to use the opportunity when he was with you and your cohorts to take him away from Hamilton so that you could carry out your attack. Once at Mt Eccles, you approached Joshua Kane from behind in a cowardly and despicable manner.
In sentencing Snell, his Honour Lasry J found that you and Snell were the architects of the planned killing of Kane. I agree with this finding. I also agree that the killing was conceived for the most insubstantial of motives.
His Honour found that Snell’s role included walking in the direction in which the attack on Kane was occurring and being present for at least the end of the first attack and the entirety of the second, at which point Kane was killed. Snell took part in the concealment of the offence in the days after the murder had occurred. In my view, Snell’s attitude and behaviour significantly influenced your actions at Mt Eccles, and the fact that she was older probably meant that she had some sway over you. On the other hand, it was you who initiated the attack on Kane at Mt Eccles and you were a driving force in gathering items and preparing for the outing and for the violence that was to take place. Campbell’s presence at Mt Eccles also lent support to you and he was also party to decisions about concealment at the scene and in the ensuing period.
Victim Impact Statements
Four victim impact statements were tendered to the Court during your plea from Joshua Kane’s father, Garry Foley;[31] his mother, Janine Kane;[32] his sister, Samara Kane-Foley;[33] and his father’s partner, Teresa Emery.[34]
[31]Prosecution Exhibit 10, tendered on 23 January 2018.
[32]Prosecution Exhibit 11, tendered on 23 January 2018.
[33]Prosecution Exhibit 12, tendered on 23 January 2018.
[34]Prosecution Exhibit 13, tendered on 23 January 2018.
Each of the authors of victim impact statements have suffered greatly and I have taken their victim impact statements into account in considering your sentence.
As his Honour Lasry J observed, the betrayal of trust by you and your associates towards Joshua Kane is especially painful for family members. You, in particular, Samuel Worthy, were believed by Joshua Kane to be a loyal friend and your families were close. It is hard for the family of Joshua Kane to accept the brutality of what was done to Joshua and your role in the attack.
Personal background
Samuel Worthy, you are now aged 21 years of age. You come from a loving and law abiding family background and your parents and family remain supportive of you. Your father has worked in trucking and your mother in disability care. Your parents lost a son and daughter as a result of a tragic transport accident before you were born. You have one living sibling, a sister who is aged 16.
Your school life was problematic since you struggled academically and experienced bullying. You left school in year 11 but later returned to complete a VCAL certificate at a TAFE college. You have had limited experience in the work force since completing the VCAL certificate, with short term work at McDonald’s and in a timber plantation. At the time of the offending you were cohabiting with Ms Kenny and your two month old baby. Ms Kenny has since terminated her relationship with you.
Psychological characteristics and consideration of remorse and prospects for rehabilitation
A forensic psychological report was prepared by Patrick Newton.[35] Mr Newton assessed you on 20 July and 11 December 2017. He had been unable to complete his report in July 2017 because of the uncertainty that arose from your denial of participation in the planning, promotion and preparation for the attack on Joshua Kane and your denial that you physically perpetrated the attack on Kane with the machete.
[35]Report of Patrick Newton, dated 18 January 2018.
The psychological assessment was resumed in December 2017 following the resolution of disputed sentencing facts. It is apparent from the content of Mr Newton’s report that you maintain the position put forward during the contested plea that you had a very limited role in the murder of Joshua Kane.
Mr Newton acknowledged that in light of your denial of a significant role in the murder, any psychological explanation for the murder of your former friend remains somewhat obscure. He found you to have an immature personality and noted your unwillingness to discuss the motivations for your offending.
Mr Newton said that you expressed remorse for your involvement in the limited aspects of the offending that you were willing to acknowledge. However, he also said ‘clearly Mr Worthy’s denial of aspects of this offending precludes the presence of remorse for such behaviour on his part.’[36]
[36]Ibid, [23].
I consider that your denial of your true role in the offending is a disturbing feature of your presentation before the court notwithstanding your plea of guilty to murder.
Mr Newton referred to your personal history, your social anxiety and your experience of being bullied at school but found no evidence of thought disorder or psychosis nor any indication that your offending was driven by a mental disorder or similar condition affecting your reasoning, judgment, decision-making or psychological faculties. Mr Newton found evidence of reactive depressive symptoms and anxiety in response to your current predicament as a prisoner.
He noted your absence of prior convictions or substance abuse and the presence of a supportive family. He said of you, ‘While he does not present with typical behavioural markers of antisocial personality, his offending raises serious concerns about his interpersonal adjustment, capacity for empathy, and behavioural regulation.’[37]
[37]Ibid, [35(3)].
Mr Newton’s report indicates that your maintenance of an exculpatory version of events and your present failure to discuss your motivations for the offence hinder a meaningful assessment of personality pathology and future risk. This handicap noted by Mr Newton also impacts on the court’s ability to make favourable findings as to remorse and prospects for rehabilitation. I am unable to regard your prospects for rehabilitation as other than guarded, although I accept that you may undergo a degree of beneficial personal development over the course of your sentence as you become more mature.
Mr Bayles submitted that despite the limitations on finding of remorse, and your minimisation of your role in the offence you are still a young man such that the court should closely consider the deleterious effects of a lengthy term of imprisonment on a person of your age.[38] He asked the court to consider that when you are ultimately preparing for release after a lengthy custodial sentence you will need to have achieved a degree of rehabilitation.
[38]Mr Bayles relied on the well-known principles in Mills [1998] 4 VR 235 and the further elucidation of those principles where young persons are involved in very serious criminality by Maxwell P, in R v Wyley [2009] VSCA 17.
Mr Bayles also made reference to the strictures of your time on remand including limited time in the exercise yard and the fact that you have been housed in the protection stream since October 2016.
Mr Bayles reminded the court of the importance of setting a non-parole period that takes into account the matters which favour your rehabilitation. He referred to a number of educational and rehabilitative courses you have undertaken in prison.[39] He highlighted your absence of previous offending, lack of substance abuse and the ongoing family support available to you. In this regard, I note the presence during court proceedings of your parents and the testimonials they provided showing their response to your offending. Of course once a non-parole period is fixed, it will ultimately fall to the parole board to decide at the expiry of that period whether you should be released on parole, but I have given weight to the matters referred to by Mr Bayles relevant to your ultimate rehabilitation.
[39]Defence Exhibit 5, tendered 23 January 2018.
Plea of guilty, considerations of parity
As with Snell, your plea offer was put forward at a late stage. The Crown case was strong. In my view you are not truly remorseful for your role in Joshua Kane’s death. However you are entitled to a utilitarian discount for your plea of guilty. This utilitarian benefit was strongly emphasised by your counsel[40] and I accept that a plea of guilty to the crime of murder is an important public acknowledgement of guilt.
[40]Relying on Phillips v R (2012) 37 VR 594 and referring also R v Tasker (2003) 7 VR 128 and R v Ly; R v Tat VSCA 45 per Coldrey J at [21].
The gravity of the charge to which you pleaded guilty is such that careful consideration must be given to the value of the plea. However, the lengthy contest about the sentencing facts does detract from the utilitarian value of the plea. Your absence of remorse for your role in the offence was evident when you testified on your own behalf about the murder.
It was conceded by your counsel that the argument for parity of sentence with Campbell is weak because he pleaded guilty at an earlier stage and undertook to give evidence at the trial of you and Worthy. He ultimately was required to give lengthy evidence on the contested plea.
Your counsel argued for close parity with the sentence imposed on Snell, pointing out that you are still a young person, and that you were potentially subject to Snell’s influence given that she was significantly older than you. However, the conduct of Snell’s plea and Lasry J’s assessment of her remorse and prospects for rehabilitation favoured her position in terms of mitigation of sentence when compared and contrasted with the material before me, including the approach you took on the contested plea.[41] This is so despite Snell’s modest criminal history.
[41]Sentencing Act1991, s 5(2C).
Mr Bayles referred to a concession by the Crown that it could not be positively established beyond reasonable doubt that Snell had no physical involvement in the final stage of the attack on Kane. Regardless of any possible physical involvement by Snell at that point, which I regard as unlikely, I accept that she supported your actions by her presence with you when the final blows were struck. Nevertheless, you were the person chiefly responsible for inflicting the injuries to Kane during the events at Mt Eccles despite the fact that the crime was one of joint commission.
The gravity of your offending was also aggravated by the way in which you used your previous close bond with Joshua Kane to lure him into going on the expedition.
My factual findings as to your key role in planning and preparing for the offence and in physically carrying it out when combined with the aforementioned matters lead me to conclude that when considering the sentence imposed on Snell, some disparity is justified such that your sentence should exceed the sentence imposed on Snell.
Conclusion
As indicated by Lasry J, this was a brutal, calculated, and senseless attack on Joshua Kane.
The purposes of sentencing may include general deterrence, specific deterrence, denunciation, community protection, just punishment and rehabilitation.[42] Each of these objectives has some relevance in your case, although community protection will be met in this case by the imposition of a sentence which gives effect to the other specific purposes referred to above.
[42]Sentencing Act1991, s 5(1).
I must also pay heed to the principle of parsimony in s 5(3) of the Sentencing Act1991 which indicates that a court must not pass a sentence that is more severe than that which is necessary to achieve the purpose or purposes for which the sentence is imposed.
The maximum sentence for murder is life imprisonment. I have had regard to current sentencing practices in fixing sentence in this case as well as the sentence imposed on your co-offenders Campbell and Snell.
I must now pass sentence on you for the murder of Joshua Kane.
Samuel Worthy, you are sentenced to be imprisoned for 20 years and I fix a minimum non-parole period of 16 years.
Pursuant to s 6AAA of the Sentencing Act 1991, I am required to declare the sentence that I would have imposed on you had you not pleaded guilty to this offence. I indicate that had you not pleaded guilty the sentence I would have imposed would have been a period of 23 years’ imprisonment. I would have fixed a period of 19 years before you would have become eligible to apply for release on parole.
Pursuant to s 18 of the Sentencing Act 1991, I declare that your pre-sentence detention is a period of 731 days not including today and I direct that that be entered into the records of the Court and be reckoned as time already served.
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