Kobi Daniel Oram, Cameron Lindsay Witoko jailed for manslaughter in Brisbane Supreme Court

Two men have been jailed for their role in a robbery which went “tragically wrong” and resulted in the shooting death of a Queensland mother.

Two men have been jailed for their role in a robbery which went “tragically wrong” and resulted in the shooting death of a beloved mother-of-two.

Megan Kirley, 40, died of a gunshot wound to the back of her neck following an attempted robbery at her residence in Karawatha, in Brisbane’s south, in the early hours of February 2, 2019.

Twenty-four-year old Kobi Daniel Oram and 31-year-old Cameron Lindsay Witoko were on Monday jailed for their role in the fatal shooting.

Oram and Witoko both pleaded guilty to one count of manslaughter and were sentenced together in the Brisbane Supreme Court.

Megan Kirley

Crown prosecutor Dejana Kovac said the two men were part of a group of five people who drove together to Ms Kirley’s home, a shipping container converted into a house on a property at Karawatha, where she lived with her partner Pieter Pickering.

She said the group intended to rob the couple of money and drugs.

Oram and Witoko, along with Emma Louise Hinds two other co-accused circled the shipping container and found a door which was slightly ajar, the court heard.

Ms Kovac said Witoko was armed with a meat cleaver and another person had a bat while one of the co-accused was armed with a loaded gun.

Inside, Mr Pickering heard a noise and saw motion outside the shipping and armed himself with nunchucks which were beside the bed, Ms Kovac said.

She said as someone opened the door Mr Pickering swung the nunchucks towards it.

The co-accused then allegedly fired the gun and Ms Kirley was shot in the back of neck.

The court heard that Oram and Witoko were not the “actual perpetrators” of the killing.

Megan Kirley, 40, was shot dead at semi-rural property in Karawatha, south of Brisbane, on February 9, 2019.

Oram’s defence barrister Kym Bryson said her client was born in Brisbane, and moved around before settling in Ipswich where he went to Ipswich State High School.

She said he was exposed to violence in his formative years and had “experimented” with marijuana and drank alcohol casually but did not have any substance abuse problems.

The 24-year-old was a carer for his grandfather and has two young children, one who was born after his arrest.

Witoko’s defence barrister said the 31-year-old father was joined the group with the motivation of robbing Mr Pickering of drugs and money, and that the group was under the impression they could get a “couple of grand” each.

He said things “went tragically wrong” when Ms Kirley was killed and that Witoko said he “felt bad” about what happened and co-operated with police because he believed the person who “pulled the trigger” should be held accountable.

Justice Glenn Martin said Ms Kirley’s death had had an “enormous” impact on her family.

He said he took into account the pair’s early pleas, their co-operation and the circumstances of their offending when sentencing them.

Oram and Witoko were each sentenced to nine years in prison and Justice Martin made no orders about parole eligibility.

Justice Martin declared their 1057 days in presentence custody as time served on the order.

Hinds last week pleaded guilty to manslaughter and will be sentenced in April while the two other co-accused are due to face trial for murder in June.