R v Cadman [2019] NSWSC 634

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: R v Cadman [2019] NSWSC 634 Hearing dates: 29 May 2019 Decision date: 31 May 2019 Jurisdiction: Common Law - Criminal Before: Button J Decision: (1) Convicted of murder.

(2) Sentenced to a non-parole period of imprisonment for 14 years, to commence on 3 December 2016, and to expire on 2 December 2030, with a parole period of 6 years, to expire on 2 December 2036.

(3) The first date upon which the offender is eligible for possible release to parole is 2 December 2030. Catchwords: CRIMINAL LAW – sentence – offender found guilty of murder after trial by jury – offender relied upon partial defence of substantial impairment – discussion of objective and subjective features – intention to kill – offender experiencing alcohol withdrawal syndrome – complete absence of prior violence, including against the deceased – offence grossly out of character – balancing of objective gravity with substantial reduction in moral culpability – sentence imposed Category: Sentence Parties: Regina (Crown) Robert Brian Cadman (Offender) Representation: Counsel: R Cooley (Crown) P Massey (Offender)

Solicitors: Office of the Directors of Public Prosecution (Crown) Ramsland Laidler Solicitors (Offender) File Number(s): 2016/362982 Publication restriction: Nil

Judgment

Introduction 1. On 26 March 2019 in the Supreme Court sitting at Newcastle, Robert Brian Cadman (the offender) was arraigned on an indictment before a jury panel and me. It contained a single count, alleging that, on 3 December 2016 at Toronto, he had murdered Yvonne Beryl Parkes (to whom I shall usually refer in these remarks as "the deceased"). 2. The offender pleaded that he was not guilty of murder, but guilty of the lesser form of homicide, manslaughter. The Crown did not accept that plea, with the result that a jury was empanelled, and a trial confined to that issue proceeded over the next two weeks or so. 3. More particularly, it was made clear by learned defence counsel from the earliest stage of the trial that the offender did not dispute that all of the elements of murder could be proven beyond reasonable doubt, but he relied upon the affirmative partial defence of substantial impairment in support of a manslaughter verdict. 4. On 9 April 2019, the jury returned a verdict of guilty of murder. Evidence and submissions on sentence were received by me on 29 May 2019, and it falls to me to sentence the offender today.