REGINA v Gerry Osman MEHMET [2002] NSWSC 1154

New South Wales Supreme Court

CITATION : REGINA v Gerry Osman MEHMET [2002] NSWSC 1154 FILE NUMBER(S) : SC 70025/02 HEARING DATE(S) : 21/10/02, 22/10/02, 23/10/02, 24/10/02, 25/10/02, 28/10/02, 29/10/02, 30/10/02, 31/10/02 JUDGMENT DATE : 12 December 2002

PARTIES : Regina Gerry Osman MEHMET JUDGMENT OF : Bell J at 1

COUNSEL : Tim Hoyle SC (Crown) Richard Button (Accused) SOLICITORS : SE O'Connor DJ Humphreys CATCHWORDS : Sentence LEGISLATION CITED : Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 Power v The Queen (1974) 131 CLR 623 R v Cheung (unreported) NSWCCA, 11 December 1995 R v Dundas (unreported) NSWSC, 15 April 1992 CASES CITED : R v Elphick (unreported) NSWCCA, 2 July 2002 R v Kapar (unreported) NSWSC, 27 October 1995 R v Nixon (unreported) NSWCCA 31 October 1995 R v Previtera (1997) 94 A Crim R 76 DECISION : Sentenced to a term of eighteen years imprisonment to date from 17 April 2001; That sentence will expire on 16 April 2019; Non-parole period of thirteen and a half years specified; The first date eligible for release to parole is 16 October 2014

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES CRIMINAL DIVISION

BELL J

12 December 2002

70025/02 REGINA v Gerry Osman MEHMET

JUDGMENT 1 BELL J: On 21 October 2002 the offender was arraigned on an indictment charging him with the murder of his wife, Vanora Jean Mehmet, at Horningsea Park on 17 April 2001. He pleaded that he was not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter. The Crown did not accept that plea in discharge of the indictment and he stood trial. On 31 October 2002 the jury returned a verdict convicting him of murder. 2 The sole issue upon which the trial was fought was provocation. 3 The offender met his wife in 1993. She was then aged sixteen and he was twenty-nine. The deceased and her family lived in Canberra. The offender asked the deceased's mother if he could visit the family and see Vanora. Mrs Kasurinen agreed to this arrangement. Thereafter the offender started taking Vanora out. They quickly formed an attachment and, against the wishes of her mother and stepfather, Vanora left school and moved to Sydney to live with the offender. 4 The couple married in 1995. Mrs Kasurinen came to accept her daughter's decision and to welcome the offender into the family. The offender and his wife enjoyed a happy married life. They had difficulties conceiving a child and in 1999 they enrolled in the IVF Program. This was a stressful period for both of them. After a time the deceased became pregnant and in January 2000 their daughter, Tianna, was born. 5 The offender was employed with P & O as the transport manager. He worked long hours in an effort to provide material comforts for his family. He entered into finance agreements in order to purchase expensive cars for himself and his wife. After Tianna's birth he suggested to the deceased that she find a dream home for them to live in. Around August 2000 they acquired a handsome, new home at 21 Andrews Circuit, Horningsea Park. 6 When Tianna was about six months old the deceased's family started to detect signs of strain in the marriage. 7 By January 2001 the deceased was regularly travelling to Canberra to see her family. She helped doing bookwork for the family business. By February she was visiting Canberra with greater frequency and staying for longer on these trips. When in Canberra she would go out with her sister, Vanessa Whalan, and some of the younger employees of the family business. One of these was a young man named Fred Horvat. By March 2001 the deceased had formed a romantic attachment to Fred Horvat. 8 The offender was aware that his marriage was foundering and it distressed him a good deal. On 9 April 2001 he drove to Canberra to confront the deceased. The two talked and she told him that she had sexual relations with another man. The offender took this news with composure. He gave evidence, which I accept, of the contents of the discussion including that he said: "We all make mistakes in life. You know we have a baby girl, we have to look after her. We can work all this out, you know, we don't have to destroy our marriage because you've done something wrong." 9 The couple stayed together that night at the family home. The offender telephoned his employer and obtained time off work to sort out his marriage difficulties. He, the deceased and Tianna spent the next day together. On the evening of Tuesday 10 April the deceased went to see a counsellor. She told the counsellor of the confrontation the night before and that her husband had accepted her disclosure and that he still wanted her back. 10 Despite the couple's attempts to resolve their difficulties it is apparent that problems continued. The offender returned to Sydney on Wednesday 11 April leaving the deceased in Canberra. The following Friday, Good Friday, the offender spoke with Debra Franke, a family friend, about the problems in his marriage and his concerns that the deceased was having an affair. He conveyed to Mrs Franke his desire to see his marriage work. 11 On Saturday 14 April the offender drove to Canberra to spend the remainder of the Easter holiday weekend with his wife and family. He and the deceased went out for dinner. Later they met up with Vanessa Whalan and a friend of hers. The deceased was distant towards the offender that night. 12 Over the Easter weekend the offender confided in Mrs Kasurinen and Vanessa Whalan his fears that the deceased was having an affair. He spoke of his desire to see the marriage work. He was in considerable distress over the situation. 13 In a discussion with Mrs Kasurinen the offender asked if she thought that the deceased was having an affair. Mrs Kasurinen said that she did not think so. In this discussion the offender said, "I will kill the bloke" to which Mrs Kasurinen replied, "that will not resolve anything". The offender then said, "I will kill Vanora" and again Mrs Kasurinen told him that this would not resolve anything. Mrs Kasurinen did not consider the threat to be a serious one. The conversation ended with the offender crying in her arms. Her attitude was that she wanted her daughter and the offender to work things out because she loved both of them. 14 On the morning of Easter Sunday the family exchanged presents. It was apparent that the deceased was not happy with the gift that the offender gave her. Generally, the strain in the marriage was evident to other members of the family. During the course of the morning the deceased went with her father to deliver Easter eggs to the employees of the family firm, including Fred Horvat. This upset the offender. Vanessa Whalan tried to reassure him telling him not to worry and that nothing could happen because the deceased was with her father. During the course of this discussion the offender pointed to his eyes with two fingers and said, "Watch my eyes. If they get big I am going to kill her". Ms Whalan did not take the threat to be a serious one at the time.