Wyong: 17yo convicted of murdering Jesse Thompson appeals her ‘excessive’ sentence

One of three people convicted of the shooting murder of Jesse Thompson after a wild pursuit through Wyong has appealed her sentence, telling the court she was young and “vulnerable”.

One of three people convicted of the shooting murder of Jesse Thompson after a wild pursuit through Wyong has appealed her sentence.

A young woman who was only 17 when she became “swept up” in a wild pursuit through the streets of Wyong, which culminated in the shooting murder of a young dad in the back seat of a car, has appealed her “manifestly excessive” sentence.

The woman, who can only be legally referred to a XE, was the youngest of three people in Mitsubishi Triton which chased a Toyota Kluger around Wyong on July 3, 2017, before young father-of-two Jesse Thompson, was fatally shot in the neck at close range as he sat in the back seat of the Kluger.

The woman was found guilty of murder as part of a joint criminal enterprise and sentenced to 17 years jail with a non-parole period of 10 years and six months.

The two other people convicted of Mr Thompson’s murder included Keith Evans, then aged 24, who fired the fatal shot, and his father John Evans, then aged 49, who was driving the Triton.

Keith Evans was sentenced to 32 years jail with a non-parole period of 22 years and four months while his father was sentenced to 31 years with a non-parole period of 22 years and six months.

Father of two Jesse Thompson was gunned down in broad daylight in a Wyong street on Monday. Picture: Facebook

XE appealed her sentence in the Court of Criminal Appeal on Monday which heard the sentencing judge Justice Mark Ierace was “procedurally correct” in that the findings of fact were not disputed but there “must be some hidden error of principal” which resulted in the “excessively harsh sentence”.

Her barrister told the court XE was brought up in a dysfunctional setting which tainted her moral compass.

The crime scene in Ithome St, Wyong. Picture: David Cleverley

“We say her 17-year-old perspective of the world had been poisoned by a miss-education about … loyalty, revenge and retribution,” her barrister told the court.

“The strange circumstances of this young lady’s upbringing contributed very significantly to this regrettable and indeed horrible event.”

He said her moral responsibility was diminished because of her upbringing, that the court had the power to significantly reduce her sentence because, unlike adults, there was no minimum non-parole period for children convicted of murder and that she had demonstrated a “dramatic” rehabilitation

He said XE had gone from someone who constantly challenged authority to a “model” prisoner who had finished high school in custody and had gone on to be accepted into a psychology degree at university.

Keith Evans, of Wyee. Picture: Facebook

“My client was over persuaded to be involved by [her] miss-education of her … loyalty, revenge, [and] retribution,” he said.

“I’m not suggesting that she entirely lacked agency, because she didn’t, but her situation was where she was very vulnerable.”

The Crown prosecutor said there was no finding that she was directly under anyone’s coercion or control — “far from it” — and that during the course of the shootout she was “pleased with what was occurring and approved of it”.

He told the court as the Triton drove off the young lady was seen to raise her “clenched fist” in a sign of “affirmation or endorsement” of the shooting.

“It has not been demonstrated that the sentence was manifestly excessive,” he said.

The court heard Mr Thompson became collateral damage in a rapidly escalating feud sparked by a love triangle involving Keith Evans, his girlfriend at the time Christine and a friend of Mr Thompson’s Jayke Rodgers. Neither Mr Rodgers nor Christine were accused of any wrongdoing.

Jesse Thompson became “collateral damage” in a feud. Picture: Facebook

The court heard Mr Rodgers commenced an intimate relationship with Christine while she was still in a relationship with Keith Evans.

When Keith Evans found out he lured Mr Rodgers to an address at Jilliby by posing as Christine in a series of text messages using her phone.

At the address Keith Evans bashed Mr Rodgers using a weapon, the court heard was most likely a half brink in a pillow case.

The court heard that after Mr Rodgers got out of hospital he sent Keith Evans several text messages warning he was a “dead man walking” and “be prepared for revenge bra”.

Days later the animosity boiled over when Keith Evans and Mr Rodgers, flanked by supporters on both sides, went looking for each other and ended up in a wild chase through the streets of Wyong.

The Court of Criminal Appeal adjourned XE’s appeal to consider its position and will deliver its judgement at a future date.