Regina v M.S. [2004] NSWSC 730

New South Wales Supreme Court

CITATION : Regina v M.S. [2004] NSWSC 730 HEARING DATE(S) : 09/02/04 - 27/02/04 JUDGMENT DATE : 13 August 2004

JUDGMENT OF : Dunford J DECISION : Sentenced to imprisonment for 17 years with a non-parole period of 11 years. Direct that the sentence be served in a detention centre until aged 21 years

CATCHWORDS : Criminal Law - Sentencing - murder - boyfriend/girlfriend - both young - both aboriginal LEGISLATION CITED : Children (Criminal Proceedings) Act 1987 Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 R v Fernando (1992) 76 A Crim R 58 CASES CITED : R v Henry [1999] NSWCCA 111, 46 NSWLR 346 R v MA [2004] NSWCCA 92 R v Previtera (1997) 94 A Crim R 76 PARTIES : Regina v M.S. FILE NUMBER(S) : SC 70052/03 COUNSEL : P J Barnett - Crown J S Stratton SC - Accused SOLICITORS : S Kavanagh - Crown Nikola Velcic & Associates - Accused

- 7 - IN THE SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES COMMON LAW DIVISION

DUNFORD J

FRIDAY, 13 AUGUST 2004

70052/03 REGINA v M.S.

SENTENCE

(Note: The Children (Criminal Proceedings) Act 1987 s 11 prohibits the publication of the name of the prisoner and any other person mentioned in the proceedings who was under 18 at the time of the events referred to, including the deceased). 1 HIS HONOUR: On 27 February last at Dubbo, the prisoner was found guilty by a jury of murdering his 15 year old girlfriend at Bourke on 26 December 2002. The prisoner was then aged 17 years and he and the deceased had been in a boyfriend/girlfriend relationship for approximately four years. 2 The relationship was marked by violence on the part of the prisoner towards the deceased, and there were a number of incidents in the days leading up to her death when she suffered injuries of varying severity at his hands. He has not been charged or convicted of these other assaults, and is not to be punished for them, so I refer to them only to explain the background against which the deceased met her death. The prisoner also appears to have been very possessive of the deceased and jealous of her associating with other persons, particularly members of the opposite sex. 3 About a week before Christmas, on 19 December, the prisoner hit the deceased across the top of her head with an iron bar necessitating her going to the hospital where her wounds were sutured. About this time the deceased claimed to some of her friends that she had caught the prisoner being intimate with another girl, C.E. 4 Late on the evening of 24 December or very early on the morning of 25 December, the deceased and the prisoner had a confrontation in relation to this matter and the prisoner accused the deceased of "talking to" another man (his words – T 902). The upshot of all this was that he hit her with his fists or a backhand resulting in an injury to her lip and re-opening of the sutured wound at the back of her head from the previous week. 5 She returned to her parents' home at 9 Oxley Street crying where she begged her mother "not to let him hit her again". Shortly afterwards, the prisoner appeared and abused the deceased calling her "a slut and a dog" and threatening to kill her. Following this, about 2:30am, the deceased and others including her mother went to Bourke Police Station to report the assault. The deceased was taken to Bourke Hospital for treatment of her injuries and after treatment, she was taken to a women's refuge to sleep. 6 On the evening of 25 December, the deceased was at a party at 21 Anson Street, Bourke when the prisoner approached her, dragged her by her hair off the veranda where she was dancing, and punched and kicked her, tearing the singlet top she was wearing. At this stage, the deceased was upset and crying. Atholone Edwards, an aunt of the deceased, told her to go out and go with her bloke (the prisoner) but the deceased replied, "No Atholone, he's going to kill me", and made reference to the prisoner being with another woman. Atholone Edwards brushed it off. Other persons intervened and the prisoner was told to leave which he did, but whilst there, he said he was going to kill the deceased. Earlier that evening he had said to Melinda Edwards "She's going to get it tonight" referring to the deceased. Whilst at 21 Anson Street, he was struck to the head by Brian Smith. 7 Later on Christmas night or in the early hours of Boxing Day, the deceased was at a bonfire in Adelaide Street in the company of Anthony Edwards (known as "Gundy"). The deceased and Edwards started to walk away from the bonfire together, and at this time the prisoner approached the deceased and assaulted her by attempting to drag her away by the hair and arm. Edwards intervened and punched the prisoner to the face. After leaving the area, the prisoner met up with Jamie Snelson, who noted that he had a cut under his left eye and was visibly upset. He said words to the effect of "Gundy can have her".