30 years for death, but no answers

THE widow of slain security guard Erwin Kastenberger and the judge who jailed his killer for 30 years both had one unanswered question. Why?

THE widow of slain security guard Erwin Kastenberger and the judge who jailed his killer for 30 years both had one unanswered question. Why?

Neither Robyn Kastenberger nor Justice Lex Lasry could explain why Mr Kastenberger was shot dead during an armed robbery at a suburban shopping centre after surrendering the money bag he was carrying.

Justice Lasry told Hugo Alistair Rich he was satisfied he "deliberately and cold-bloodedly" shot the guard.

The judge said the evidence showed that Mr Kastenberger threw down a bag containing $162,000 as soon as he was challenged by Rich and co-offender Leonard Ryan.

As Ryan picked up the bag, Rich confronted Mr Kastenberger, hit him over the head with a pistol and shot him.

Justice Lasry said Mr Kastenberger, 58, had done nothing to provoke the shooting.

Rich, 57, one of the state's most notorious prisoners, was unrepentant as he was led away. With a hint of sarcasm, he thanked the judge for his charity and wished him well before he left the dock. But as he was led past the bench, he muttered "idiot" as he glanced up at the judge.

Rich, who has spent 22 of the past 25 years in jail, was described by Justice Lasry as irredeemable and incapable of rehabilitation. He had 80 previous convictions.

Mrs Kastenberger said Rich's 30-year minimum sentence was "fantastic, absolutely fantastic".

"It's a marvellous relief, and it is justice," she said.

But she was scathingly critical of the time it had taken to get this far, and at the end of the day, she still had no answer to the question that Rich has never answered.