REGINA v SAARI [2001] NSWSC 892

New South Wales Supreme Court

CITATION : REGINA v SAARI [2001] NSWSC 892 CURRENT JURISDICTION: Common Law FILE NUMBER(S) : SC 70075/00 HEARING DATE(S) : 30 May 2001 JUDGMENT DATE : 12 October 2001

Regina

PARTIES : v

Stephen Edward SAARI JUDGMENT OF : Adams J at 1

COUNSEL : Mr Peter S Dare (Crown Prosecutor) Mr John Booth (Offender) SOLICITORS : S E O'Connor (Crown) Ross Hill (Offender) CATCHWORDS : CRIMINAL LAW - Murder - guilty plea - difference between intention to kill and intention to cause grievous bodily harm CASES CITED : R v Previtera (1997) A Crim R 76 at 85 Veen v The Queen (No 2) (1988) 164 CLR at 465 DECISION : Sentenced to a term of sixteen years imprisonment commencing 6 April 2000. Eligible for parole on 5 April 2012.

THE SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES COMMON LAW DIVISION ADAMS J FRIDAY 12 OCTOBER 2001 70075/00 REGINA v Stephen Edward SAARI JUDGMENT

1 HIS HONOUR: On 10 April 2001 Stephen Edward Saari pleaded guilty to the murder of one Daniel Ryan on 6 June 2000 at Rathmines in the State of New South Wales. 2 The facts are uncomplicated and largely uncontroversial. The offender, who is now forty-two years of age, commenced a relationship with one Ms Loretta Conlon during the winter of 1998. After some months, the offender moved into Ms Conlon's home where also lived her son, James. The offender had come to know, through a family connection, a Mr Gregory Hudson, whose house was close to that of Ms Conlon. Mr Hudson's premises included a self-contained shed in the back yard where it was usual for him to meet with his friends on social occasions. One of those friends was the deceased, Daniel Ryan, whom the offender got to know. Some time before June 2000 a handbag and some jewellery was stolen from Ms Conlon's house. For reasons which are not altogether clear but at all events which seem entirely inadequate, the offender told a number of people that he believed that it was Daniel Ryan who had taken this property. Indeed, on several occasions the offender confronted Mr Ryan about the theft and Mr Ryan denied that he was responsible. 3 On the evening of 3 June 2000 the offender and Mr Ryan, together with a number of others, were socialising in Mr Hudson's shed. The offender was well affected by alcohol and confronted Mr Ryan about the theft once again. Again, the accusation was denied. Later that evening, the offender and Mr Ryan went to Ms Conlon's house. A short time later what sounded like a gunshot was heard to come from the direction of the house by people in the shed. A few minutes later Mr Ryan returned to the shed and said that the offender had pointed a shotgun at him and then fired it into a brick wall inside the garage. Police subsequently found a mattress, obviously damaged by a shotgun blast, which had passed through it and into the garage wall at Ms Conlon's premises. On the following day, there was again a gathering of people at Mr Hudson's shed. That gathering included the offender and Mr Ryan. The offender was again affected by alcohol. Later that night the offender, in a drunken rage, assaulted Ms Conlon's son, James, and had an argument with Ms Conlon. The police were called but the offender left the house before the police arrived and spent the night in Mr Hudson's shed. On the following day, 5 June 2000, the offender spent the day at the shed drinking alcohol, leaving on one occasion to seek reconciliation with Ms Conlon. However, Ms Conlon told him that their relationship was over and he had to leave her house. He made arrangements to secure some of his possessions, including a 357-magnum calibre Smith & Wesson six shot revolver, which he had given to James Conlon sometime earlier and who had secreted it away from the house. 4 On 6 June 2000, on the evening of which the murder was committed, the offender was in the shed. He was drinking alcohol but the extent to which he was affected is unclear. In the early afternoon, he returned to Ms Conlan's house to pick up his possessions, which included the revolver, which had been returned to the house. When the offender arrived back at the shed he was carrying two bags, which contained, amongst other things, the revolver and ammunition. These bags were put onto a bed at the rear of the shed area. The offender continued to drink. During the evening of that day a number of people arrived at the shed. A makeshift wood-burning heater was in use and some sausages were cooked. Six males were present including the deceased and the offender. As the evening progressed, the offender's behaviour was observed to change. His manner became short with people for no apparent reason although no particular point was made of this, since he commonly became surly when affected by alcohol. The offender wandered around inside the shed and sat on the bed, placing his head in his hands. Sometime after 9 o'clock, the offender got up from the bed and approached the others, saying to no-one in particular, "I suppose youse are going to turn on me, are you?" Mr Hudson replied, "I don't know what you're talking about". The offender walked back to the bed area and sat down. Shortly after, he got up off the bed and walked back towards the group. He was holding a revolver in his right hand, down by his side. He walked up to Mr Ryan, pointed the gun directly at his head and said, "I'm going to shoot this fucking cunt". Mr Ryan turned in the swivel chair to face the offender. What happened next is not clear, but it appeared to one of the witnesses that, without giving Mr Ryan a chance to answer, the offender lowered the gun somewhat, and, after a little hesitation, discharged it. It appears that Mr Ryan was turning away from him. The bullet entered his side at the bottom of the rib cage. The offender then raised the revolver towards Mr Ryan's head. Mr Ryan got up, pushed the revolver way and ran from the shed, clutching his stomach. The offender then aimed the gun at the others present and asked, "Do you want to die?" He then walked out of the shed and returned a moment later and, holding the butt of the revolver in front of him, handed it to Mr Hudson saying, "Here, do something with this". The offender then walked to a nearby house and told the occupant that there had been a "serious accident" and asked him to ring the police. He waited at the front of the house for police to arrive. Although an ambulance had been called, Mr Ryan was taken by some of those at the scene at a private hospital at Toronto, then to the Toronto Polyclinic and finally to the local ambulance station where he received assistance before being transported to John Hunter Hospital. He died en route to the hospital. While waiting for the police to arrive, the offender said to Mr Lambton, "I've just shot someone. I couldn't cope any longer. I came to your house because I hoped you would be caring enough to help me. He later said, "I couldn't cope any longer. He's been causing so much trouble in the area. I had to do something". There is no evidence that Mr Ryan had in fact been causing any trouble in the area at all and the offender's remark may have been a reference to his belief that Mr Ryan had committed the theft to which I have referred and as to which, I reiterate there was not one skerrick of evidence at all. 5 The offender was arrested. As I read the evidence, he appeared to be only mildly affected by alcohol. The offender was taken to Toronto police station where a recorded interview was conducted at 2.16am on 7 June 2000. Police located the weapon, which contained five live rounds and one used cartridge case. 6 I comment in passing that if ever there was a case which showed that strict gun control is essential for the public safety, this is one. 7 The offender admitted to police that he had shot Mr Ryan, although he said that he did not mean to kill him, but was unable to give any explanation as to why he did so. What he said is perhaps best summarised by the following passage - "I lost the plot at my girlfriend's house and she got all the police and I don't know, I just wound up down the back at a friend's house goin' through my thoughts. I dunno. I just had a gun and I used it. I knew I did the wrong thing as soon as I, I don't know, I didn't mean to kill him".