Luke Close sentenced to 21 years jail for frenzied stabbing murder
A south coast man has been sentenced to 21 years jail after stabbing his friend in a drug- and alcohol-fuelled attack.
The South Coast News
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A man who stabbed his friend 52 times in a “frenzy” after a failed search of his home for drugs has been jailed for 21 years.
Luke Jordan Close, 34, was found guilty in a judge-alone Supreme Court trial in October of murdering Garry Welsh, 63, inside a Nowra unit in 2018 while on bail for domestic violence offences.
The court heard Close was drunk and high on stimulants and an opioid at the time of the murder, and the next day had no memory of his “unplanned and irrational but intentional” attack on his “sick and defenceless” friend who trusted him.
Justice Richard Button on Friday jailed Close for a minimum of 14 years.
He said Close was “overwhelmed” with frustration when he couldn’t find drugs during a search of Mr Welsh’s home, flinging a draw onto the ground before violently stabbing him to death.
Justice Button said Mr Welsh’s final moments were likely “terrifying and excruciatingly painful”.
He said Mr Welsh’s life was “violently and completely undeservedly brought to an end”.
“The offender has been committing crimes of violence for many years,” Justice Button said during sentencing.
The court heard Close had returned to a world of “drugs and alcohol” in the Shoalhaven on the day before the murder alongside his partner and children, breaching an apprehended violence order.
Justice Button said Close quickly returned to a “damaged and damaging lifestyle” and was “agitated and very angered” after running into someone who had insulted him on Facebook and filled with thoughts his partner had been cheating on him.
Close, whose family were in court to support him, also told a friend in the hours before the murder that he felt he could kill someone.
The court heard Mr Welsh was not “a wealthy drug dealer” but was known to supply drugs, and Close had “taken advantage of his generosity”.
Justice Button said at some point during the attack, he knew Mr Welsh would die from his injuries.
The court heard Mr Welsh’s mother was hospitalised after hearing of her son’s death, and the family is trying to move on.
One of Mr Welsh’s sisters said in her victim impact statement her brother’s death is like a “bad dream that never ends”.
The court heard Close walked the streets of Nowra after the murder, damaging at least one car mirror before returning to Mr Welsh’s unit and getting into a fight with a bystander who had called police.
Close told the bystander he wanted to be run over by the police car.
After his arrest, Close was sedated after police thought he may be suffering from an opioid overdose, and woke the next day with no memory of the murder.
The court heard Close had pleaded guilty to manslaughter despite his “amnesia”, and had accepted responsibility for his actions.
Justice Button said Close had endured a “deprived and disrupted” childhood, where he had been exposed to domestic violence while moving from school to school.
He said he had lived a “tough and difficult life with quite some time of it in prisons”.
Close’s parents separated when he was 12 and his mother introduced him to cannabis at 14.
He had his first child at 15, and his violent offending began just a few years later.
Justice Button said Close’s subsequent abuse of drugs and alcohol had caused paranoia, and he had contacted hepatitis C through intravenous drug use.
He said the murder “may not have happened” if Close did not breach his bail conditions in returning to Nowra.
The court heard Close had abstained from drugs after four months in rehabilitation, but had relapsed due to “bad influences in the Shoalhaven” in the lead up to the murder.
Justice Button said he has “guarded optimism” Close can rebuild his life after he is released, adding he may not be released after serving 21 years if he fails to prove he is no longer a danger to society.
Close’s sentence was backdated to August, 2019, meaning his earliest date of release is February 23, 2033.
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