Bodies-in-barrels killer jailed for at least 24 years
THE woman who masterminded the kidnapping of a couple whose bodies were found burning in barrels on the South Coast has been jailed for at least 24 years.
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THE woman who masterminded the kidnapping of a couple whose bodies were found burning in barrels on the South Coast has been jailed for at least 24 years.
In the Supreme Court yesterday, Justice Terence Buddin set a maximum term of 32 years for Kim Leanne Snibson.
Snibson, 38, had pleaded guilty to kidnapping and murdering the couple, who ran a horse stud at Nowra.
The bodies of Kathryn McKay, 44, and her husband, Gregory Hosa, 56, were found burning in two metal 44-gallon drums in the Tomerong State Forest, south of Nowra, in January 2006.
Justice Buddin rejected Snibson's version of what happened, describing various parts of her evidence as "fanciful" and defying credulity.
Despite her denials, the judge found she had prevailed upon Stacey Lea-Caton and Andrew Wayne Flentjar to detain the couple but he was unable to decide whether it was Lea-Caton or Snibson who actually strangled or smothered the victims.
The men both blamed each other for the killings.
Lea-Caton, who also pleaded guilty to the kidnappings and murders, has already been jailed for a minimum of 16½ years and a maximum of 22 years.
Flentjar is serving at least seven years for his role in the kidnapping of the couple.
Of the three, Justice Buddin said Snibson showed the least "capacity for candour" and had sought to cast herself as an "unwilling spectator" to acts of violence.