Lawyer argues dating app killer should only serve four years
The lawyer for a woman found guilty of manslaughter after strangling a man she met online says her client should only spend four years in youth detention and her rehabilitation should be a priority.
Police & Courts
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A disturbed killer who strangled her date with a vibrator cord after meeting him online should only be locked up for another four years, her lawyer says.
And Jamie Lee Dolheguy, 20, should spend that time in youth detention, instead of adult jail, so her rehabilitation can be a priority.
Barrister Sharon Lacy, for Dolheguy, told a pre-sentence hearing in the Supreme Court her client had already spent almost two years, most of which has been in 23-hour lockdown, on remand at the state’s women-only prison, Dame Phyllis Frost Centre.
That time combined with the maximum of four years young accused can be ordered to spend at Parkville Youth Justice Centre would be a sufficient sentence, Ms Lacy said.
A jury acquitted Dolheguy of murder, but found her guilty of manslaughter over the killing of Maulin Rathod, 24, at her Sunbury home on July 23, 2018.
Dolheguy, who has a troubled childhood history and once believed she was a werewolf, invited Mr Rathod to her house on the promise of sex after the pair met on dating app, Plenty of Fish.
While waiting for him to arrive she googled: “I’m going to kill someone tonight for fun”.
The pair agreed to take part in sexual “choke play” but when he tapped her to stop, she choked him harder, before strangling him with the cord to make sure he was dead.
Dolheguy then called police and confessed to the killing.
Mr Rathod’s parents Hiren and Jagruti Rathod, in a joint victim impact statement written from their home in India, urged the judge to ensure justice is served as they revealed how they “cried a lot” and couldn’t understand how they had lost their only son.
“We are now 50 years old. Our son should be still with us at this age. But he’s gone forever,” they said.
“Maulin was (in Australia) for four years but he was a victim of that girl trapping him.
“I just hope that justice is served so that this doesn’t happen to anyone else.”
The Rathods said they are doing everything they can to keep their son’s memory and “very helpful nature” alive, saying they volunteer, helping poor children gain an education and feeding the needy.
“Every month on the 23rd we go and feed the poor as we feel that’s his day,” they said.
The hearing, before Justice Peter Almond, continues on Friday with Dolheguy to be sentenced at a later date.
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