Jason Lloyd sentenced for murdering Como woman Lynda Greenwood

A man bludgeoned his ex-girlfriend to death with a baseball bat, leaving her to die on the front steps of her Como unit. CCTV shows his final callous act in the moments after her death.

The ex-boyfriend who killed his girlfriend after subjecting her to months of threats, abuse and terror will spend 25 years behind bars.

Sylvania’s Jason Lloyd was sentenced to a total of 25 years and six months, backdated to his arrest in 2020, when he appeared in Sydney’s Supreme Court on Friday.

He pleaded guilty to the murder of Como woman Lynda Greenwood, 39, who was killed on the front doorstep of her home in the early hours of October 20, 2020.

A non parole period of 19 years and one month was set.

The heartbroken brother of Ms Greenwood spoke outside court after the sentence was handed down.

Robert Higgins said the sentence imposed could never make up for the murder of his sister but was pleased her killer would be locked away for at least 19 years.

“My message to the community is to look after your family, look out for your friends,” he said. “Don’t leave it up to the victim to reach out. It is up to all of us to protect our loved ones.

“It was just a tragedy that we weren’t there when she needed us most.”

Lloyd looked straight at Justice Geoffrey Bellew when he handed down the sentence before he nodded towards Ms Greenwood’s family who were seated at the back of the courtroom and was taken back to prison.

The court heard Lloyd had been drinking at multiple hotels in the area before he took a train, along with a baseball bat and knife, to Ms Greenwood’s Cremona Road home around 12am where he waited for her to arrive home.

Lloyd approached Ms Greenwood and struck her with the bat on her head and arm.

He bludgeoned her to death, causing extensive fractures to her head before he inflicted at least 10 stab wounds to her face and neck.

Neighbours were woken by Ms Greenwood’s screams and called Triple 0 before they found her unresponsive in the front of her doorway.

Lloyd left Ms Greenwood’s house and washed the bat at a tap of a neighbour’s yard before calling a taxi and returned home.

He was arrested later that morning where he lied to police, denying he had been to Ms Greenwood’s house, but was charged with murder.

Justice Bellew said the details of an autopsy report made for “chilling reading”, with the cause of death being blunt and sharp force injuries.

“Ms Greenwood’s screaming, which was sufficiently loud to wake the neighbours, and the defence-type injuries which were identified during the post-mortem examination, provide a disturbing picture of the absolute terror with which Ms Greenwood must have been gripped in the final moments of her life,” he said.

Jason Lloyd won’t be allowed out of prison for at least 19 years.

“Having killed her, and in a final callous act, the offender left Ms Greenwood to die on the front doorstep of her home before utilising a tap in the front of nearby premises to wash the baseball bat, in an apparent attempt to remove anything incriminating.

“The offender’s attack was inhumane, and was characterised by a level of brutality and ferocity which satisfies me beyond reasonable doubt that in acting as he did, he intended to kill Ms Greenwood.

Justice Bellew said it was “obvious” from Lloyd’s sent text messages to Ms Greenwood that she was “in fear” of him which was clear from her decision to install CCTV cameras at her home and to have bright pink coloured house keys so she did not have to remain on her front door step for longer than necessary.

Justice Bellew said Ms Greenwood had ended the relationship but Lloyd refused to accept it was over.

The court heard in detail the barrage of messages Lloyd sent to Ms Greenwood in the days leading up to her murder.

Justice Bellew said they reflected a “relationship defined by threatening, jealous, abusive and manipulative behaviour”.

Lloyd met Ms Greenwood in late 2017 at a pub and they began a volatile relationship, the court heard.

Lloyd was often controlling in their relationship and would accuse her of infidelity.

The relationship ended in 2019, but they continued to have some contact until her death.

In January 2019, Lloyd was sentenced to a community correction order for two years for a charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, in the context of domestic violence towards Ms Greenwood.

The court heard on March 2019 an apprehended domestic violence was made against Lloyd and it was in place for a period of two years from September 2019.

On 27 September 2019 he was sentenced to a term of imprisonment for contravening the ADVO.

Justice Geoffrey Bellew said the proliferation of domestic violence had led to an increased necessity for magistrates in the Local Court to make ADVOs for the purposes of protecting people such as Ms Greenwood, who find themselves in controlling and abusive relationships and who, as a consequence, fear for their safety.

“However, the efficacy of an ADVO depends upon the person against whom it is made strictly complying with its terms,” he said.

“The present case demonstrates the catastrophic consequences that may follow when such an order is breached.

“The ADVO which was in force against the offender at the time of Ms Greenwood’s murder was made by a magistrate in the Local Court, for the specific purpose of ensuring Ms Greenwood’s safety.

“It was not to be regarded as some empty rhetorical flourish, pronounced by a functionary in the performance of some rote administrative procedure.

“The pervasion of domestic violence in our community in recent years is such that the point has been reached where one thing needs to be made clear: any person who is subject to an ADVO is not at liberty to treat it as a piece of paper, containing an insignificant and inconvenient form of words, which can be ignored when it suits them, or worse still, when they wish to set about committing some nefarious and violent act against the person for whose protection the order has been made.

“A person who acts in breach of an order of the kind made against the offender should expect that any such breach will be treated seriously by the courts.

“In the context of the present case, the offender’s breach of the ADVO which was put in place for Ms Greenwood’s protection is to be given full weight as a circumstance of aggravation.”

Lynda Greenwood, 39, was tragically found dead outside her Como home in October 2020.

Mr Higgins described his sister as an “angel” who saw the best in people.

“She used to stop as a teenager one the way home from the movies and buy McDonalds for homeless people and talk to them,” he said.

“She was everyone’s best friend and that was part of the reason she got trapped.

“Despite the evilness of this person, she saw the best in him. She was just an amazing sister and she is gone forever.”

Mr Higgins said he would like to see the pressure taken off victims to report incidents because they felt trapped, often with their friends and family being threatened.

He wanted police and other authorities to be given more powers to help victims, adding he would like to see offenders tracked to prevent breaches of AVOs.

Justice Bellew said Lloyd did at some stage form the intention to kill Ms Greenwood but he was unable to determine when precisely that occurred.

“I can only conclude that it was sometime between the point at which he boarded the train and the point at which he attacked her. It follows that I am not satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the offender’s intention to kill Ms Greenwood was part of any long standing plan,” he said.

Justice Bellew said the fact the Ms Greenwood was killed on the front steps of her house made the murder more serious because Ms Greenwood, “had a legitimate expectation that having arrived home, she would be able to walk to the front door and enter her premises safely”.

The court heard Lloyd had a difficult childhood because he father was in prison and his mother died when he was six leaving him to be cared for by various family members which made him feel “abandoned”.

He was diagnosed with an alcohol use disorder and adjustment disorder and was not suffering from any mental illness.

Justice Bellew noted Lloyd’s plea of guilty was the sole evidence of any remorse.

“There is no evidence that the offender has ever actually expressed any remorse to anyone for his offending,” he said.

Lloyd will be eligible to apply for parole on November 20, 2039, with the total sentence expiring on April 19, 2046.