R v Simon Peter BRADDON [2012] NSWSC 662

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: R v Simon Peter BRADDON [2012] NSWSC 662 Hearing dates: 25 May 2012 Decision date: 15 June 2012 Jurisdiction: Common Law - Criminal Before: Hidden J Decision: Sentence of 5 ½ years, NPP 3 years, from 23.12.10 Catchwords: CRIMINAL LAW - manslaughter - plea of guilty - spontaneous attack - mental illness Category: Sentence Parties: Regina (Crown) Simon Peter Braddon (offender) Representation: Counsel: M Tedeschi QC (Crown) G Turnbull SC (offender) Solicitors: S Kavanagh - Solicitor for Public Prosecutions (Crown) S A Cunningham - Cunninghams - The Law Practice (offender) File Number(s): 2010/425761

REMARKS ON SENTENCE 1The offender, Simon Peter Braddon, was indicted in this court for the murder of Gregory Partridge at Mandurama on 27 September 2010. His plea of guilty to an alternative count of manslaughter was accepted by the Crown in discharge of that indictment. The basis of manslaughter is that he killed Mr Partridge by an unlawful and dangerous act, without intending to kill him or to cause him serious injury.

Facts

2Mr Partridge lived in Gold Street, Mandurama. The offender lived in the same street, not far away. In the afternoon of Sunday, 26 September 2010, Mr Partridge visited the offender at his home. They drank together and Mr Partridge left, saying that he was going to catch a bus to Bathurst to buy some heroin. The offender tried to dissuade him from doing so. 3Mr Partridge spent the following day, Monday, 27 September 2010, in Bathurst. There, among other things, he obtained some methadone from a chemist for use over the following days. He got back to Mandurama in the early evening and, shortly afterwards, the offender visited him at his home. 4There the offender struck Mr Partridge a number of times to his back and other parts of his body, using a piece of pine. Mr Partridge died as a result of that assault. Before he died he rang a friend to say that he had been assaulted "by someone with bipolar disorder who lives down the road." He described being struck by a piece of wood, and said that he was covered in blood but would be "ok." He finished the conversation by saying, "The amount of crap I have copped off that bloke over the years." That was the last time anyone spoke with him. 5At about midday on Tuesday, 28 December 2010, neighbours went to Mr Partridge's home. There they found him dead on his bed. Police and ambulance attended the scene, and large welts were observed on his back. 6Two days later a post-mortem was conducted by Dr Allan Cala, forensic pathologist. Dr Cala found that the direct cause of death was blood loss due to a lacerated spleen. He noted a number of injuries to Mr Partridge apart from the lacerated spleen, there being a fracture to one of his ribs and a number of other lacerations and areas of bruising. Mr Partridge was of slight build, being 163 centimetres tall and weighing only 49 kilograms. Dr Cala concluded that the rupture of the spleen was due to blunt force trauma to the back, noting two linear welts in that area. 7On the same day as the post-mortem examination, 30 September 2010, police spoke to the offender at his residence in the course of a canvas of the area. He was highly agitated, was crying, and was saying, "Just take me away." The offender later said that this was a reference to some cannabis he may have had at the house. Police noted him to be upset and aggressive, and considered his demeanour to be highly suspicious. 8Further investigation led to police conducting an electronically recorded interview with the offender on 4 October 2010. He told police about Mr Partridge's visit on the day before the killing, and of his attempt to talk him out of going to Bathurst to buy heroin. However, he denied having visited Mr Partridge on the day he died. 9Police later spoke to the offender's mother, Trish Braddon, and his sister, Candice Braddon. Trish Braddon told them that, in the days leading up to the offence, the offender's mental state had deteriorated so much that she was concerned he might become violent. On 30 September 2010, the offender telephoned her and told her that detectives had been to his house asking questions about the death of Mr Partridge. She feared that he might have been involved in killing him. 10On Wednesday, 6 October 2010, the offender voluntarily admitted himself to the Bloomfield Mental Health Facility. Why he did so is unclear. However, Trish Braddon later told police that, earlier that day, he had threatened to commit suicide. 11On 8 December 2010, a listening device was installed at the offender's house. On 18 December 2010, police contacted Trish Braddon and asked that she speak with them at Blayney Police Station. The offender became aware of this arrangement and was recorded as saying to his sister, "It's up to her. Fuck it, if she wants to roll." A short time later Trish Braddon was heard to say, "I have to live with myself ... . I think they've got it worked out ... ." She was crying as she said this. That evening, there was a conversation between the offender and Trish Braddon relating to the killing of Mr Partridge. The offender was heard to say, "I am probably guilty. I liked him, Mum. I just can't put the pieces together." 12On the following day, 19 December 2010, the following conversation between Trish Braddon and the offender was recorded: Trish Braddon said, "Listen to him. Because I've been telling you. You don't know your own strength, Simon." The offender said, "I didn't hit him that hard, Mum. Fuckin' hell, please don't tell 'em about it." Trish Braddon said, "I didn't, but I think it helps for me for that fella to say, I don't think for a minute that I'm going to break ... . He said, Trish, I don't have any doubt about it and ... can you [do] me the courtesy of telling me first ... and I think it's best that we're the ones to know." 13On Tuesday, 21 December 2010, the offender was heard to say to his mother, "I've lost a good friend here. Even if I was in a bad place, I didn't intend for him to die." 14The offender was arrested on Thursday, 23 December 2010. He was interviewed in the presence of his mother and declined to comment on the offence. He was then charged. 15The offence must be understood in the light of the offender's mental illness at the time. A history of mental illness, together with treatment from time to time, is to be found in a report of Dr Stephen Allnutt, forensic psychiatrist, which is in evidence. Dr Allnutt diagnosed him as suffering from bipolar affective disorder, which was also the diagnosis when the offender was admitted to Bloomfield Mental Health Facility on 6 October 2010. 16The offender gave Dr Allnutt an account of the offence, which was not challenged by the Crown prosecutor in the sentence proceedings. He said that, when he went to Mr Partridge's home on the evening of the offence, he found him mixing heroin. He picked up a spoon which Mr Partridge had been using, intending to put it down the sink. Mr Partridge picked up a syringe and threatened him, saying that he should put the spoon down, which he did. He was scared, thinking that Mr Partridge might stab him with the syringe. He noticed a piece of wood which Mr Partridge used to keep the bathroom door open. Mr Partridge came towards him, he picked the piece of wood up and struck him several times with it. He then left the house, not thinking that he had caused Mr Partridge any serious harm. He recalled feeling upset because of what he had done, and wished that he had not picked up the spoon. 17It seems that the offender bore Mr Partridge no ill will, and had considered him a friend. He told Dr Allnutt of an incident in January 2010 when he had become angry with Mr Partridge over something said which he considered offensive, and had seized him by the throat and remonstrated with him. This event appears to have been trivial, and is of no present significance. It was common ground that the incident leading to the killing was triggered by the offender's concern about Mr Partridge's use of heroin and his attempt to stop him doing so on that occasion. 18However, Dr Allnutt expressed the opinion, which I accept, that he was in the manic phase of his bipolar illness at the time and that this contributed to his behaviour. This was consistent with his description of his condition in the period leading up to the offence. Dr Allnutt explained that "hypomania is a mental state that contributes to disinhibited behaviour, poor social judgment, and increased irritability." 19Between March and August 2010, the offender had been on a course of the medication Interferon for hepatitis C. It seems that this drug can have mood altering effects, and Dr Allnutt considered that it may also have been a contributing factor to the offender's behaviour. The doctor expressed his conclusion in this way: "At the material time ... he was experiencing a manic mental state with associated grandiose and probable persecutory delusions derived from an underlying bipolar affective disorder triggered by medication (Interferon treatment)." Nevertheless, there is force in the Crown prosecutor's argument that it is not clear whether Interferon was a contributing factor. The fact remains, however, that the offender's mental illness certainly was.