R v Close (No 2) [2020] NSWSC 1565

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: R v Close (No 2) [2020] NSWSC 1565 Hearing dates: 23 October 2020 Decision date: 06 November 2020 Jurisdiction: Common Law Before: Button J Decision: (1) Convicted of the offences of reckless damage and common assault. (2) Convicted of the offence of murder. (3) For the reckless damage, I impose a fixed term of three months, to commence on 24 February 2019 and expire on 23 May 2019. (4) For the common assault, I impose a fixed term of six months, to commence on 24 February 2019 and expire on 23 August 2019. (5) For the offence of murder, I impose a non-parole period of 14 years, to commence on 24 February 2019. That will be followed by a parole period of 7 years, to conclude on 23 February 2040. (6) To express the murder sentence another way, I have imposed a head sentence of imprisonment for 21 years, with a non-parole period of 14 years, partly concurrent with the pre-existing aggregate sentence. (7) The first date upon which it appears that the offender may be eligible for release to parole is 23 February 2033. Catchwords: CRIMINAL LAW – sentence – conviction of murder after judge-alone trial – guilty plea to manslaughter on arraignment – deceased stabbed several times in frenzy – self-induced intoxication – intention to kill – spontaneous – offender entirely amnesic of the offence – criminal history featuring serious violence – deprived upbringing – addiction and substance abuse – special circumstances established Category: Sentence Parties: Regina (Crown) Luke Jordan Close (Offender) Representation: Counsel: K Ratcliffe (Crown) T Anderson (Offender)