R v Scott David Lynn [2008] NSWSC 1122

New South Wales Supreme Court

CITATION : R v Scott David Lynn [2008] NSWSC 1122

HEARING DATE(S) : 21/07/08, 5/09/08, 26/09/08

JUDGMENT DATE : 7 November 2008

JURISDICTION : Common Law Division

JUDGMENT OF : Hidden J at 1

DECISION : Sentenced to imprisonment for 7 years, comprising a non-parole period of 4½ years from 18/08/06 to 17/02/11, and a balance of term of 2½ years from 18/02/11 to 17/ 08/13.

CATCHWORDS : CRIMINAL LAW - sentence - plea of guilty to manslaughter in satisfaction of murder indictment - excessive self-defence

LEGISLATION CITED : Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW)

CATEGORY : Sentence

R v McNaughton (2006) 66 NSWLR 566 R v Hamilton [2007] NSWSC 452 CASES CITED : R v Trevenna (2004) 149 A Crim R 505 R v Cakovski [2005] NSWSC 1001 R v Forbes (2005) 160 A Crim R 1

PARTIES : Regina (DPP) Scott David Lynn (offender)

FILE NUMBER(S) : SC 2007/3471

COUNSEL : T Bailey (Crown) G Wendler (offender)

SOLICITORS : Solicitor for Public Prosecutions AKN & Associates

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES COMMON LAW DIVISION

HIDDEN J

Friday 7 November 2008

2008/3471 Regina v Scott David Lynn

REMARKS ON SENTENCE 1 HIS HONOUR: The offender, Scott David Lynn, pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Joshua Randle at Parramatta on 14 July 2006. That plea was accepted by the Crown in discharge of an indictment for murder. In April of this year he was tried before Fullerton J for the murder of Mr Randle, but the jury was unable to agree upon a verdict. Facts 2 An agreed statement of facts recites that on 14 July 2006 the deceased and his fiancée, Toni Kellaway, joined friends at the Woolpack Hotel at Parramatta. They drank together until one of them was refused service, whereupon they moved on to the Hotel Parramatta, where they continued drinking. At 5. 45 pm the deceased and Ms Kellaway left the hotel and walked along Darcy Street towards Hungry Jacks Restaurant on the corner of Church Street Mall. 3 The deceased approached an acquaintance of his, Grant Kelly, who was standing in the mall outside the restaurant. They shook hands in friendly greeting. The deceased looked over Kelly's shoulder and saw the offender standing immediately behind him. The deceased said to Kelly, "What are you hanging around dickheads for?" Kelly asked, "Are you two arguing?" The deceased rejoined, "Don't worry, I smashed him once before." Ms Kellaway, standing next to the deceased, attributes to him the statement, "I will kill you, motherfucker!" She heard the offender say, "Not if I get you first." 4 The offender reached over Kelly's shoulder and stabbed the deceased once, very quickly, at the base of the neck above the collarbone. He then ran west through an alleyway adjacent to Berg's Hobby Store into a rear car park. The deceased staggered after him for a short distance before returning to the front of the hobby store, where he started coughing up blood in the presence of Ms Kellaway and two passers-by. He was laid on the ground, and ambulance officers attended. He was removed to Westmead Hospital, where he died from his injury before midnight. 5 Post mortem examination revealed that he had died from blood loss due to the stab to the upper chest, which perforated a large vein above the heart before wounding the lung. Analysis of ante mortem blood revealed a blood alcohol level of 0.193 g/100ml. He was 167 cm tall and weighed 67 kg. 6 About three or four weeks prior to this incident, both men had fought each other with fists in a public area in Parramatta. Friends of the deceased broke up the fight. Once again, the deceased was intoxicated.