Heartbreaking story of woman’s murder at hands of older brother revealed

A western Sydney man has been sentenced to 21 years in jail for the “vicious, brutal” murder of his younger sister inside their home.

A man who viciously bludgeoned his sister to death with a hammer inside their western Sydney home during a drug-induced episode will spend at least 15 years and nine months in prison.

Lucas Christian Delaney, 32, on Wednesday learned his fate after pleading guilty to murdering his sister Gabriella Delaney on July 3, 2020 inside the Cambridge Park house.

Concerns were raised about the talented 20-year-old artist after her family had not heard from her in five days.

A family member made the grisly and heartbreaking discovery when he found her body wrapped in a blanket and hidden under a number of items on Delaney’s bed.

Delaney was arrested after voluntarily admitting himself to a mental health hospital five days after the bloody murder.

Lucas Delaney has been sentence to 21 years in jail. Picture: Facebook.

Justice Peter Garling said his crime was made more serious by the fact it occurred in Ms Delaney’s home, where she was entitled to feel safe.

“It was a vicious, brutal and very violent assault by the offender, with a weapon, on a member of his family in their home,” Justice Garling said.

“The assault caused extensive head, facial and bodily injuries. There is not said to have been anything done by the deceased to have caused the attack.”

The court heard that in the days after killing his sister, he took $9300 from her bank account which he used to pay for a two-night stay in a hotel where he smoked ice and cannabis with two friends.

Her body was discovered by a family member who went to her flat to search for any clues as to her whereabouts.

Underneath the covers he saw what looked like the silhouette of a body.

“He realised it was the deceased’s body and he reported his discovery to his family and the police,” Justice Garling said.

Gabriella Delaney was found in the western Sydney home she shared with her brother.

Delaney reported to a psychiatrist that prior to the incident he remembered smoking cannabis with a person he met online.

“He tried to get them to leave but they became angry and changed from a normal person to a tall person like a demon,” Justice Garling said.

“He described the person as walking through walls and furniture. He said he took tools which were available and hit the demon with them, but the demon just laughed and was not affected by the attack.”

Police outside Gabriella Delaney’s home following her murder. Picture: Rohan Kelly

He told the same psychiatrist that he believed that his sister was asleep on the couch during the incident and that he came to days later inside the hotel.

The court heard that Delany had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and substance misuse disorder

However psychiatrists concluded it was difficult to find that there was mental health-related cause to his vicious crime.

Justice Garling said he was acutely intoxicated due to his use of cannabis and methamphetamine which resulted in paranoia, hallucinations and aggression.

“I find that at the time of the offence the offender was impaired solely by the temporary effects of ingesting a substance, namely cannabis or methamphetamine or both,” Justice Garling said.

He also accepted arguments by the crown prosecution that Delaney was offered opportunities to address his drug problem, but failed to do so.

He was sentence to 21 years in prison, with a non-parole period of 15 years and nine months

With time served, he will first be eligible for release from prison in March 2036.