Victoria’s family violence killers sentenced to less jail time than those who commit random murders
Men who kill women they know in Victoria receive half the amount of time behind bars compared to those who prey on random, often high profile, victims — leaving many to believe their time does not fit either horrific crime.
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Men who kill women they know in Victoria receive average minimum jail terms less than half of those who fatally attack random victims.
A Herald Sun analysis of 26 cases, in which men have killed their partners or ex-partners, shows an average non-parole sentence of 14 years.
Many of the horrific cases, heard by the courts since 2014, were preceded by years of abuse from the killer and left more than 40 children without a mother.
But random killers from high-profile cases in recent years, including Adrian Bayley, Sean Price and Scott Murdoch, have been given an average minimum sentence of 35 years. This is a 150 per cent increase compared to non-random killings.
Victims’ families have told the Herald Sun that many domestic killings occur in private settings and the killer is the only witness, which often makes it difficult to secure a murder conviction and can result in a manslaughter charge with lesser sentence.
The State Government has moved in recent years to toughen penalties for men who kill women they know, via an increased maximum jail term for manslaughter from 20 to 25 years.
It also introduced a purpose-built crime of homicide-by-firearm after a series of men received low minimums for gun killings of women.
One experienced detective said there seemed no reason for the vast disparity between the killers surveyed and random murderers.
He said it could be argued that those who killed in the home were as bad as those men because of the breach of a partner’s trust, the fact the crime was often preceded by other acts of violence and that children were so often left without a mother.
The senior investigator said imposing big sentences as a deterrent was likely to have more impact on family violence offenders than on the random predators like Codey Hermann and Jaymes Todd.
“In reality, it’s very hard to deter those random offenders. There’s far greater opportunities in the family setting,” he said.
In many of the cases, judges are restricted by previous sentences and concessions for early guilty pleas.
Domestic Violence Victoria CEO Tania Farha said family violence was historically viewed as a private issue and the criminal justice system was not originally designed to respond adequately.
Ms Farha said progress had been made over the years, mostly through feminist advocacy and from the Royal Commission into Family Violence, but many myths and victim-blaming attitudes remained, which led to family violence crime being viewed as less serious than offences against strangers.
“Family violence is a complex issue, for which there is yet to be a perfect criminal justice response. Differences in sentencing expose the limitations of the criminal justice system in being able to deliver just outcomes in family violence matters,” she said.
And anti-violence advocates such as Siobhann Brown – who ran as a Victorian senate candidate last year following her daughter’s death – believe domestic killings are no less serious than random killings and should be dealt with similarly by the justice system.
“If you think about a woman murdered on the street – that is disgusting, of course. But domestic violence killings are seen as a different ball game or less severe a crime,” Ms Brown said.
“These two playing fields need to be made the same. If you kill someone, you have killed someone.
“The system needs to change. The time should fit the crime.”
Attorney-General Jill Hennessy said the State Government was doing everything it could to protect women and hold those who attacked them to account.
Ms Hennessy said the maximum sentence for manslaughter had been increased and a new offence of homicide by firearm created.
She said the lift in maximum penalties recognised the seriousness of the crime and the trauma it inflicted on the family and loved ones of victims.
“We have committed to delivering a stand-alone offence for non-fatal strangulation, strengthening protections for victim-survivors and to make it easier to hold family violence offenders to account,” Ms Hennessy said.
Ms Hennessy has requested a review into whether judicial guidance recognising that family violence is seen as an aggravating circumstance when sentencing is sufficient.
WHEN A KILLER IS THE ONLY WITNESS
DOMESTIC killings so often occur in the home where there are no witnesses and only the perpetrator’s version of events.
Twenty-three of the 26 domestic killings surveyed by the Herald Sun occurred in the home and families of some victims refuse to believe the stories told by killers.
Ashlee Brown’s lifeless body was found tied up with a clothesline and covered in stab wounds and bruising in the bathroom of her Craigieburn home in 2016.
Her husband, Mohammed Naddaf, watched for five days as the mother of three deteriorated and died.
He told police he woke to find his wife badly injured in the garage and that she begged him not to call medical help.
No evidence was uncovered to convict Naddaf of her killing but police are not looking at other suspects.
Instead he was given an eight-year minimum jail term for negligent manslaughter for failing to get his wife help.
“Not for a second do I believe she asked him not to get her help,” her mum Siobhann Brown said.
“She was never able to get up off that bathroom floor and tell her side of the story.”
Ms Brown believes Naddaf spent the five days cleaning the property of evidence that could harm his defence.
“He had a lot of time to put his story together. To say she asked for him not to ring anyone is an absolutely ridiculous lie,” Ms Brown said.
“There are many things we will never know. Ashlee will never be able to speak and tell us her side of the story.”
Few would believe random killers like Sean Price and Adrian Bayley deserved a minute less than what they received.
But questions have been raised over the massive discrepancy in sentences given to random and domestic killers.
Bayley received a minimum 35 years for murdering Jill Meagher while Justin Turner received just under a quarter of that for the 2016 manslaughter of his partner Kylie Cay at Port Fairy.
A court heard Turner launched the most brutal onslaught when he could not find his cigarettes.
He held a knife to Ms Cay’s throat, hauled her around the house by the hair and pummelled the top of her feet with a hammer, before stomping on the 44-year-old.
A severely injured Ms Cay hid in a dog kennel with her pet for an hour as Turner searched for her.
She died four days later.
It was later found Ms Cay had healed fractures and had told a domestic violence worker that Turner had previously choked her into unconsciousness.
He had a history of violence and had done jail time.
KILLERS BEHIND THE HEADLINES
Sentenced since 2014
Alexander Freeburn: 12 years, minimum nine for manslaughter. Beat to death his girlfriend Elizabeth Wilms, who had an intellectual disability, at Kew in 2016. Freeburn, who had a history of violence, successfully appealed murder conviction this year.
Fernando Paulino: Sentenced to 30 years with a minimum 25 for the murder of his former wife Teresa Mancuso at Reservoir in 2013. Stalked then stabbed his ex-wife of 23 years 16 times in the chest and abdomen.
Anthony John Smith: 13 years with a minimum of 10 for manslaughter of mother-of-four Karen Rae in 2015. Strangled her during sex and had a “disrespectful, contemptuous and misogynistic” view of women, a Supreme Court judge said. The 51-year-old dumped her body beside the Frankston Freeway.
Brandon Osborn: Nine years and two months with a minimum of six for manslaughter. Shot his girlfriend Karen Belej near Mildura in 2016. Said he did not think the gun would fire.
Justin Gary Turner: 12 years with a minimum nine for the 2016 manslaughter of his partner Kylie Cay at Port Fairy. Punched and kicked her before beating the soles of her feet with a hammer. Ms Cay hid in a dog kennel after the attack. Succumbed to her injuries days later.
Anthony Freeman: Sentenced to 19 years with a minimum of 15 for murder of his girlfriend Yosi Solomon. Stabbed her to the neck at Prahran apartment. Court was told he acted violently after a comment Ms Solomon made as they had sex.
Nelson Lai: Given nine years and five months jail with a six-year and eleven month minimum for manslaughter of girlfriend Rekiah O’Donnell, who he shot at close range. Lai, who said he did not know the gun was loaded, had a history of violence against Ms O’Donnell and had threatened to kill her in the past.
Mehmet Torun: Sentenced to eight years with a minimum of five for shooting his girlfriend Kara Doyle dead at Avondale Heights in 2013. Said he did not know the gun was loaded. Originally charged with murder but pleaded guilty to manslaughter shortly before trial.
George Misalis: Sentenced in 2014 to 18 years with a minimum 14 for strangling his wife of 38 years Zaharia and stabbing her with scissors at their South Morang home. Court heard Misalis was stressed about being investigated over a cold case rape and being bombarded with phone calls which were meant to be for a brothel.
Mohammad Naddaf: 11 years jail with eight-year minimum for negligent manslaughter of wife Ashlee Brown at Craigieburn. She was found bleeding from head to toe in the garage. It took her five days to die and Naddaf was later charged with manslaughter for failing to get her medical help. Naddaf said he found his wife in the garage but she asked that he not call an ambulance.
Steve Ray Cook: 21 years and six months with a 17-year, six month minimum for the manslaughter of his partner Sharnee Ngatai at their Hampton Park home in 2014. Beat here with a steel chair after she and a relative tried to wake him from a drunken slumber. Cook had been previously jailed for bashing Ms Ngatai.
Bona Lual: 21 years with a minimum 16 and-a-half for the 2013 murder of his estranged wife Suzi Oghie at Noble Park. Stabbed her and mutilated her eyes as their four children slept nearby. Lual had subjected her to years of abuse.
Phuc Thien Tang: 25-year term with 20-year maximum for beating his partner, mother-of-two Hoa Thi Huynh, to death with a vacuum cleaner pole in Melbourne’s west in 2017. Ms Huynh detested Tang’s drug-taking and the killer, high on ice, launched the fatal attack before mutilating her with a samurai sword.
Mr X: Life with a 30-year minimum for the 2016 murder and mutilation of his wife in front of their three children. Victim had her right eye gouged out and two fingers severed at their Broadmeadows home. Killer flushed her eye down the toilet and dumped her body at a tennis club.
Daniel Eckersley: 18 years with a minimum of 14 for the stabbing murder of his wife Amanda Harris in front of their three children in Cranbourne North in 2018. Believed she was trying to poison him and tried to burn their house down.
Scott Cameron: 29 years with a minimum of 23 for the murder of his partner Dannyll Ann Goodsell in Mount Pleasant in 2018. Stabbed her to death before setting fire to the crime scene. Cameron had a long history of violence and was feared by his victim.
Shea Stuart: 22 years with a minimum of 15 years for the murder of his girlfriend Caitlin O’Brien in Gardenvale in 2019. Subjected her to years of abuse and killed her as she was recovering from brain surgery.
Steven Con Samaras: 11 years with a minimum of eight years for manslaughter. Fatally shot his partner Tamara Turner in the Hattah-Kulkyne National Park in the Mallee area in 2016. Stopped for petrol while she lay dying in his car and made no effort to get her medical help.
Murat Davsanoglu: 23 years with minimum of 18 years for the murder of his partner Ozlem Karakoc in Dandenong in 2017. Drowned her in the bath in a jealous rage and claimed she died in an unsuccessful suicide-pact. Dumped her body at an abandoned property.
Borce Ristevski: 13 years with a minimum of 10 years (resentenced) for the manslaughter of his wife Karen Ristevski in their Avondale Heights home in 2016. Lied about her disappearance after dumping her body in the bush. Refused to reveal how or why he killed her.
Mehmed Solmaz: 25 years with a minimum of 20 for the murder of his former wife Fatma Solmaz in Sunshine West in 2017. Strangled and beat her following an argument over a heater. Blamed her for the killing and fled the state.
Anastasios Karatzas: 16 years with a minimum of 11 years for the murder of his wife Georgia Karatzas in Mount Waverley in 2017. Strangled her with an extension cord while she was doing the laundry.
Shane Michael Robertson: 24 years with a minimum of 19 years for the murder of his girlfriend Katie Haley in Diggers Rest in 2018. Posed as a woman on a fake Facebook account to try prove she was cheating on him.
Brian Browning: 21 years with a minimum of 16 years (resentenced) for the stabbing murder of his wife of 21 years Catherine Browning in Skye in 2013. Blamed his murderous rampage on over-the-counter sleeping pills.
David Whitelegg: 18 years with a minimum of 14 years for the murder of his wife Anna Whitelegg in Wallan in 2014. Told authorities his wife died unexpectedly after strangling her to death.
Craig McDermott: 25 years with a minimum of 20 years for the murder of his former partner Fiona Warzywoda in Sunshine in 2014. Stabbed her six times outside her lawyer’s officer after she finalised a family violence intervention order against him.
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