R v SW [2021] NSWSC 478

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: R v SW [2021] NSWSC 478 Hearing dates: 03 May 2021 Decision date: 07 May 2021 Jurisdiction: Common Law Before: Hidden AJ Decision: The offender is placed on a community correction order for a period of 2 years from 7 May 2021, subject to standard conditions. Legislation Cited: Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act, 1999 Cases Cited: R v Cowen [2008] NSWSC 104 R v Hogden [2012] NSWSC 24 R v Lawrence [2017] NSWSC 1734 R v Quach [2002] NSWSC 1205 Category: Principal judgment Parties: Regina (Plaintiff) SW (Defendant) Representation: Counsel: Mr Paul Kerr (Crown) Mr Eric Wilson SC (Defendant)

Solicitors: Office of Director of Public Prosecutions (Crown) Legal Aid NSW (Defendant) File Number(s): 2019/266665

REASONS FOR SENTENCE 1. The offender pleaded guilty in the Local Court to a charge of accessory after the fact to murder, an offence carrying a maximum sentence of imprisonment for 25 years, and was committed to this Court for sentence. The date of the offence is not known but it was committed in the earlier part of 2010, when she was 23 years old. It is alleged that her husband at the time, PW, and another man, ZT, murdered the deceased. The offender assisted in the disposal of the body. To understand the circumstances of the offence it is necessary to sketch the background to it. 2. The offender was born in Victoria, where she lived with her parents and her three older siblings. She had known PW, who is 17 years older than her, since she was seven years old. He was a family friend who visited them from time to time. When she was 14 years old he came to live with the family and, despite the age difference, they commenced a romantic relationship. When she was still 14, PW encouraged her to move out of home and the relationship became an intimate one. She did not speak to her parents about this and they did not know where she was. 3. After living with a woman in Wodonga for 12 months, she and PW lived together, initially in a caravan and then in his mother's home. In 2005, when she was 18 years old, they married and moved into a home in Gerogery, NSW (in the Albury area). In that same year PW met ZT, who lived in the same street, and they became friends. In late 2009 or early 2010, the deceased moved into their home. He had earlier been introduced to them by his sister, who was a friend of the offender. At around the time of the offence, ZT was also living at the home although it is not known when he moved in. 4. The offender and PW have two children: a daughter, who is now 13 years old, and a son, now seven years old. The daughter was born in 2008, and shortly afterwards PW became violent and abusive towards the offender. There developed a pattern of domestic violence, including physical violence and threats to kill her.