R v RAJU [2007] NSWSC 1418

New South Wales Supreme Court

CITATION : R v RAJU [2007] NSWSC 1418

HEARING DATE(S) : 24/10/07, 25/10/07, 26/10/07, 29/10/07, 30/10/07, 31/10/07, 1/11/07, 2/11/07, 5/11/07, 6/11/07, 7/11/07, 8/11/07, 12/11/07, 13/11/07, 14/11/07, 6/12/07

JUDGMENT DATE : 14 December 2007

JUDGMENT OF : Bell J at 1

DECISION : Sentenced to a non-parole period of 16 years to date from 17 November 2004. The first date on which offender is eligible for consideration of release on parole is 16 November 2020. The balance of the term of the sentence is five years. The sentence will expire on 16 November 2025

CATCHWORDS : SENTENCE - murder - domestic killing - intent to kill

LEGISLATION CITED : Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999

CASES CITED : R v Previtera (1997) 94 A Crim R 76

PARTIES : Regina Kaniappa RAJU (Offender)

FILE NUMBER(S) : SC 2005/0000236501

COUNSEL : M Grogan (Crown) J Watts (Offender)

SOLICITORS : S Kavanagh SE O'Connor

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES COMMON LAW DIVISION CRIMINAL LIST

BELL J

Friday 14 December 2007

2005/0000236501 R v Kaniappa RAJU

Paragraphs [43] - [50] are the subject of a non-publication order

JUDGMENT 1 BELL J: On 14 November 2007 the offender was found guilty of the murder of his de facto wife, Aruna Verma by the verdict of a jury. I entered a conviction upon that verdict. 2 The manner by which the deceased was killed is not known and her body has not been found. The Crown case at trial was substantially dependent on circumstantial evidence. It is my task to sentence the offender upon facts that I find established by the evidence given at the trial and that are consistent with the verdict of the jury. Any factor aggravating the offence must be established beyond reasonable doubt, while factors mitigating the offence need only be established upon the balance of probabilities. 3 The offender is a Fijian Indian, as was the deceased. Their relationship commenced when they were living in Fiji. Subsequently they came to Australia and settled in a house in Port Kembla. They had four daughters who at the time of these events were aged between three and eight years. The relationship between the offender and the deceased was a troubled one, but each was very much attached to the children. 4 The offender had business interests in the Solomon Islands and from time to time he travelled there in connection with business. While in the Solomon Islands the offender formed a relationship with a woman named Mary Vousa by whom he had a son, who was an infant at the time of these events. Mary Vousa moved to Australia in order to be with the offender. She took up residence with their son in Queensland. Between January and April 2002 the offender was living with Mary Vousa in Queensland and the deceased was living in Port Kembla with their four daughters. 5 The deceased formed an attachment to a man named Chinna, a cousin of the offender. The offender was jealous of the deceased's attachment to Chinna and this was a source of friction between them. 6 In late April 2002 the offender travelled to Fiji on business. He returned to Sydney on 4 May. He telephoned the Port Kembla home from the airport and learned that the deceased was not at home. Chinna was being detained in the Villawood Detention Centre and the offender believed that the deceased was likely to have visited him there. He drove to Villawood and found the deceased at the Detention Centre. They travelled home together and during the course of the trip he assaulted her. 7 In the early evening the deceased and the offender went to the Church, which was located across the road from their home. The deceased's mobile telephone rang while she was inside the Church and she got up and left. The offender followed her outside and there was a physical confrontation during which took her telephone. The deceased called out for help and members of the congregation came to her assistance and the offender walked off. The police were called and attended at the family home a little later that evening. 8 The offender was not at home when the police arrived. The deceased had noticeable bruising under her right eye. She told the police that as they were driving home on Heathcote road the offender started to rave and that he had wanted her to confess to him about having another boyfriend. He had given her backhander, which connected with the right side of her face and he and forced her head down into his lap. After they got home he said he wanted her to go with him to the beach so they could talk. She wanted to get away from him and so she had gone to the Church. She gave an account of the assault in the Church car park. 9 The offender returned late that night. The deceased walked to the police station, arriving around 11.00pm. She had left home in a hurry, wearing socks as her only footwear. She told the police that the offender had come back and that she had got scared and run outside. She was concerned about the children. The police accompanied her back to the home and found that the offender, the children and their nanny, Georgina, were gone.