Heartbroken parents confront drug-addled ‘coward’ who killed sons as killer learns his fate

The parents of two young boys killed in a horror crash have bravely and angrily confronted their sons’ killer, who will spend at least nine years in jail.

The heartbroken parents of two young brothers who were mowed down and killed in a horror accident have angrily confronted the drug-addled “coward” who took their sons’ lives.

Jacob Donn on Friday sobbed as he faced Dubbo’s District Court as he learned he would spend at least nine years in jail for the manslaughter of Shane, 7, and Sheldon Shorey, 6, in Wellington in Central NSW last year.

Donn was not present in court and watched proceedings via video link from Parklea Correctional Centre as the boys’ parents delivered heartbreaking victim impact statements to the court.

Donn had a cocktail of methamphetamine, Xanax, cannabis and heroin in his system during the crash on January 5, 2021, with the boys’ parents describing the ongoing torment and heartbreak that he had wrought on their family and the community.

Donn pleaded guilty to a string of charges – including two counts of manslaughter – after the unlicensed driver ploughed into the two brothers, their mother Shayleen Frail and two other children.

Jacob Donn was behind the wheel of a Holden Commodore that mounted the kerb and killed two young boys. Picture: Facebook

Ms Frail described Shane, who was three days short of his eighth birthday when he died, as “football crazy” who idolised the likes of Josh Addo-Carr, Greg Inglis and Cody Walker.

She described Sheldon as “my little character” who “loved to be the centre of attention” and was “full of presence” and “a star”.

She recalled the horror of the accident and the pain of having to relive it daily.

“I feel the guilt I have screwed up and I have questioned my faith in God,” Ms Frail said amid a stream of tears.

“The extreme guilt of ‘why couldn’t it have been me? Or you?’ My two boys who were just starting to live and thrive.

“I also can’t stop thinking of every little detail of that day. Helpless, I couldn’t see, I couldn’t move.

“And I remember begging you Jacob to help me when I was pinned against that car and fence. You just left me and those boys there. You took off like a coward. It replays like a horror movie in my head.”

Sheldon Shorey was a ’star’. Picture: Supplied

Shane Shorey loved rugby league. Picture: Supplied

Joseph Shorey angrily confronted Donn, telling him, “I hope you suffer every f***ing day.”

“Their future was very promising, as they were very talented rugby league players,” Mr Shorey said.

“They were destined to play in the NRL one day and I would have busted my a**e to get them there.

“Shane wanted to be a policeman, Sheldon wanted to be a fireman. And I said to them, ‘I’ll get you there’.”

The Shorey brothers had been living in the Queensland town of Emerald with their father and at the time of the accident were visiting their mother for the school holidays.

Moments before he lost control and crashed, Donn was seen speeding at 60km/h in a 50km/h zone and hooning in a Holden Commodore which belonged to his partner.

The court was told he was involved in a near miss with another driver, who was forced to take evasive action to avoid a collision.

As well, just moments beforehand, he collided with a fence while doing “fishtails”, causing his bumper to fall off.

“That collision should have warned him to stop but he continued to drive,” Judge Craig Smith said.

His car mounted a gutter, skidded along the footpath and crashed into the family who were walking down Warne St.

The car Donn was driving when he crashed into five people. Picture: Ryan Young

A woman leaves flowers at the scene on Warne St in Wellington where two children were killed by a car driven by Jacob Donn. Picture: Jonathan Ng.

Ms Frail attempted to throw her children out of the way of the oncoming car, however, tragically, she couldn’t get them out of the way in time.

Shane and Sheldon were trapped under the vehicle and died at the scene.

Donn helped pull one of the boy’s bodies from under the exhaust and said “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it” before fleeing.

He left Ms Frail, who was trapped between the vehicle and a fence for 27 minutes before emergency services freed her.

An 11-year-old friend of the brothers was thrown clear of the wreckage and suffered a leg that was so badly broken he had to have it amputated.

The other victim, a nine-year-old boy, sustained serious injuries and also underwent lifesaving surgery.

Police arrested Donn at an address at Elizabeth St, Wellington, where they found him in possession of 24 buprenorphine strips.

When officers arrived, he fled on foot but was captured soon after.

The court was told on Friday that he took drugs just hours before the accident and was “substantially impaired” while behind the wheel.

Family and friends farewelled Sheldon and Shane Shorey after they were killed during a crash at Wellington. Picture: Colin Rouse

Joseph Shorey at Shane and Sheldon’s funerals. Picture: Colin Rouse

Shayleen Frail described the heartbreaking accident. Picture: Colin Rouse

The court was told that Donn had abused drugs since he was 10 years old, started using amphetamines at 14 and was introduced to heroin at 16.

He had expressed sorrow and remorse for the boys’ death and had been subjected to death threats while in prison.

Judge Smith said Donn would have known there was a high risk of death and he displayed a “complete abandonment of his responsibilities”.

“There were pedestrians in the area where the offender drove,” Judge Smith said.

“His driving ability was very substantially impaired by the combination of a number of different drugs and he must have been aware of that given the number and nature of the drugs he ingested.”

Donn was sentenced for two counts of manslaughter, two counts of aggravated dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm and causing bodily harm by misconduct while driving a motor vehicle.

Judge Smith sentenced Donn to a maximum of 13 years in prison with a non-parole period of nine years.

With time served, he will first be eligible for parole in January 2030.

Family members reacted angrily as Donn’s sentenced was read out.