R v Williams [2012] NSWSC 520

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: R v Williams [2012] NSWSC 520 Hearing dates: 4 May 2012 Decision date: 18 May 2012 Jurisdiction: Common Law - Criminal Before: Hidden J Decision: Sentence of imprisonment for 6 years, NPP 3 years and 9 months, from 23.10.09. Catchwords: CRIMINAL LAW - sentence - manslaughter - spontaneous offence - blow to head of the deceased with baseball bat Category: Sentence Parties: Regina (Crown) Shain Richard Williams (offender) Representation: Counsel: Ms J Baly (Crown) Mr C Smith (offender) Solicitors: S Kavanagh (Solicitor for Director of Public Prosecutions) (Crown) S E O'Connor (Legal Aid Commission) (offender) File Number(s): 2009/235648

remarks on sentence 1HIS HONOUR: The offender, Shain Richard Williams, was charged with the murder of Rodney Jenkins at Coffs Harbour on 22 October 2009. His plea of guilty to manslaughter has been accepted by the Crown in satisfaction of that indictment. By that plea he admits having killed Mr Jenkins by an unlawful and dangerous act, but without the intention to kill or to inflict really serious bodily harm.

Facts

2Mr Jenkins, the deceased, was 59 years old. He lived alone at a caravan park in Coffs Harbour. During the afternoon of 22 October 2009, he was drinking with Barry Gration and Stephen Parsons at a tavern in Coffs Harbour, and later at the caravan park where he lived. At about 4.30pm Mr Gration and Mr Parsons left the caravan park and went to a unit in Nambucca Avenue, Coffs Harbour. 3The offender lived and worked in Coffs Harbour. After work that day, he also went to the unit. Mr Gration and Mr Parsons were there. Also in the unit were his father, Trevor Williams, and a woman named Katrina Thorburn-Simpson. All of them except Ms Thorburn-Simpson were drinking beer. 4While they were at the unit, Mr Gration expressed concern about the way that Trevor Williams was treating Ms Thorburn-Simpson. He eventually called the police. However, before the police arrived, Mr Gration drove Ms Thorburn-Simpson and Mr Parsons to the caravan park where the deceased lived. They went to the van which he occupied. 5Police attended the unit at Nambucca Avenue but, after getting no response there, they drove to the caravan park. At this stage it was about 8.25pm. They spoke to Ms Thorburn-Simpson, who told them that she did not want any action taken against Trevor Williams. They did not see either Trevor Williams or the offender at the caravan park, and they left. 6After this, Mr Gration drove from the caravan park to buy a carton of beer. The offender and his father arrived and spoke to a number of people at the deceased's van. The offender had a baseball bat. Mr Gration returned to the caravan park and parked his car adjacent to the deceased's van. As he did so, the offender walked towards the driver's side of the car, holding the baseball bat. Mr Gration tried to open the driver's door to get out of the car, but the offender forced the door closed. The driver's window was open, and the offender pushed the tip of the bat through the window, striking Mr Gration twice to the left side of his jaw. As he did so, he said, "Fuck with my old man, you fuck with me." 7Mr Parsons and another man, Scott McMahon, moved towards the car and, shortly thereafter, so did the deceased. As the deceased approached, the offender stepped back, moved the baseball bat over his right shoulder and swung it in the motion of a baseball hit in the direction of the deceased. It struck the deceased to the right side of his head and he immediately fell to the ground, where he remained motionless. 8The police were called. The offender and his father left the caravan park before they arrived. Ambulance officers also arrived, at 9.37pm. The deceased was unconscious and obviously suffering from a head wound. He was transferred to Coffs Harbour Base Hospital, and then to The Royal North Shore Hospital. A severe traumatic brain injury was diagnosed, such that it was accepted that he would not survive. He died at 1.56am on 24 October 2009. 9A post-mortem was conducted two days later by a forensic pathologist, Professor Duflou. There was a skull fracture and a brain injury, and the cause of death was found to be blunt force head trauma. Professor Duflou was of the view that a moderate degree of force using a baseball bat would be required to cause the fracture. It was his opinion that the fall to the ground may have contributed to the brain injury, but the majority of that injury was likely to have been caused by the direct blow to the head by the bat. 10After the offender had left the scene he went to his girlfriend's home. The following morning he went to work, where he was spoken to by police. He denied having been at the caravan park at the relevant time. He claimed to have seen his father at a Woolworths store, but had been at home by 6.00pm and had remained there until the next day. He was charged and has remained in custody since his arrest, that is, from 23 October 2009.