New Victorian homicide laws to jail gunshot killers for longer
THE family of Kara Doyle has applauded moves to introduce a new law so killer shooters in Victoria cannot escape just punishment by arguing they did not know the gun was loaded.
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THE family of Kara Doyle has applauded moves to introduce a new law to prosecute those who fatally shoot their victims.
Ms Doyle was shot dead at Avondale Heights by Mehmet Torun in April 2013 but the killer received only a minimum five-year sentence after saying he did not know the weapon was loaded.
Attorney-general Martin Pakula has approached the Director of Public Prosecutions to look at whether a specific homicide by firearm offence can be developed.
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Ms Doyle’s father Nick welcomed Mr Pakula’s move.
Mr Doyle said it was difficult for police and prosecutors to dispute a shooter’s claim of being unaware a weapon was loaded, helping pave the way for a shorter sentence.
“If this goes ahead, a lot of people will be happy,” he said.
NEW LAWS TO JAIL GUNSHOT KILLERS FOR LONGER
On Wednesday the Herald Sun exclusively revealed a new homicide offence is to be created so killer shooters cannot escape just punishment by arguing they did not know the gun was loaded.
A succession of men have received lenient sentences after shooting women dead at point-blank range.
Some of the killers have been sentenced to serve as little as five years, dismaying the victims’ families.
Rekiah O’Donnell’s boyfriend, Nelson Lai, claimed he did not know his gun was loaded when he shot her dead in Sunshine in 2013.
A jury found him not guilty of murder, and he was sentenced to a minimum of six years and 11 months for manslaughter, instead.
Mehmet Torun was jailed for a minimum of five years for shooting girlfriend Kara Doyle in 2014.
He also said he hadn’t known the gun was loaded.
And Brandon Osborn, who in 2016 fatally shot Karen Belej, was sentenced to a minimum of six years’ jail after his murder charge was downgraded to one of manslaughter.
The Rebels bikie argued he did not know that a .357 Magnum handgun was loaded when he put it to Ms Belej’s head and pulled the trigger.
Victims’ families have praised Attorney-General Martin Pakula’s request that the Director of Public Prosecutions develop a specific offence for manslaughters by firearm, which would have a longer maximum penalty than the 20-year penalty for manslaughter.
Police and prosecutors have been frustrated by cases in which they have been unable to prove that the killers knew the gun was loaded.
Mr Pakula said the government wanted to introduce the homicide-by-firearm law in the next parliament.
“The new offence will apply where a person kills another person by discharging a firearm, where they would otherwise be guilty of manslaughter, and will attract a longer maximum sentence than manslaughter,” Mr Pakula said.
The proposal had been discussed with the DPP, he said, and the Department of Justice and Regulation had been asked to assist in drafting the legislation “as a matter of priority”.
Ms Belej’s family backed the reform.
Her brother, Chris, said it was too late to get a longer sentence for Osborn, after a decision last month that the case would not be taken to the High Court.
The family approached Mr Pakula, who wrote to say that he could not intervene but that he was seeking the specific homicide-by-firearm offence for use in future cases.
“This is about creating a legacy for the victims past, so that this gap in the law is corrected,” Mr Belej said.
Mr Belej said there had been bipartisan support, via Coalition MP Peter Crisp, as the family sought justice over the past two years.
In another such shooting homicide, in 2010, a man who shot his friend at St Albans was jailed for six years after saying he had been unaware the weapon was loaded.
Torun could be freed as early as next year for Ms Doyle’s killing.