Killer bikie Brandon Osborn fighting appeal over Karen Belej manslaughter

A MAN who killed his girlfriend in a Russian roulette-style shooting is fighting an appeal by prosecutors to up his nine year jail term.

A KILLER bikie who shot his girlfriend dead at point blank range is fighting moves to have his nine year jail term increased.

Karen Belej died instantly when Brandon Osborn held a gun loaded with a single bullet to her head and pulled the trigger in a Russian roulette-style killing.

He later claimed he never intended the firearm to discharge.

That claim led prosecutors to downgrade a murder charge to manslaughter because they had no evidence to disprove his theory.

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Karen Belej died instantly when Brandon Osborn shot her in the head. Picture: Supplied

Osborn was jailed for nine years and two months with a minimum non parole period of six years.

Prosecutors today argued in the Court of Appeal that the sentence was manifestly inadequate.

They submitted the killing was a serious example of the crime of manslaughter.

The court heard Osborn held the gun just 2.5mm from Ms Belej’s head then pulled the trigger later saying: “everything happened so fast … it was an accident.”

Court of Appeal judge Justice Mark Weinberg said Osborn had checked the chamber of the .357 magnum before holding it to his own head.

But he had checked it incorrectly and didn’t realise the gun would discharge when it did.

Still, the fact that he had checked the chamber was evidence of a lack of intent to kill Ms Belej, he said.

Brandon Osborn shot his girlfriend dead at point blank range.

“There was no positive intent to cause harm in this case,” Justice Weinberg said.

Justice David Beach agreed.

But prosecutor Christopher Boyce, SC, maintained Osborn knew “of the possibility the gun might discharge.”

Because of that he argued the sentence was “clearly and egregiously low.”

But Paul Holdenson QC, for Osborn, said prosecutors had failed to properly prosecute the case in the Supreme Court, and again at appeal.

He said the Crown should have challenged the findings by the trial judge about Osborn’s state of mind at the time of the May 2016 killing but didn’t.

“This is a case of no intention to cause physical harm. No desire, no wish, not his purpose,” Mr Holdenson said.

Trial judge Justice Andrew Keogh said the circumstances leading to Ms Belej’s death showed “an appalling level of recklessness” by Osborn.

His actions were “extremely reckless and dangerous, and profoundly stupid”, he said during his sentence.

“Placing the loaded handgun against Ms Belej’s forehead, cocking it and pulling the trigger were acts of violence.”

Ms Belej was unhappy to come home and find Osborn sitting on the bed playing with the gun.

“Get that thing out of the house or I’m probably gonna use it,” she reportedly said.

He soon after approached her in the kitchen where she was cooking dinner, loaded the gun with a bullet, and pointed it at his own head, saying “Will this make you happy?”.

He claimed he looked at the left side revolver chamber and saw there was no round and fired.

When Ms Belej then said to him, “You’re pointing that at the wrong person”, he repeated his actions, checking the left side chamber was empty, before pointing it at her head.

He pulled the trigger, sending a bullet into her forehead.

Ms Belej had met Osborn, a patched member of the Mildura chapter of the Rebels outlaw motorcycle gang, at a nightclub where he worked security in 2003.

The Court of Appeal has reserved its decision.