Jaymes Todd in court over rape and murder of Eurydice Dixon
For 57 minutes this man stalked an aspiring Melbourne comedian before raping and murdering her. What he did next is utterly bizarre.
The haunting final hour of Eurydice Dixon’s life was broadcast in court today as her killer watched on.
James Todd, 20, is in court for a two-day hearing where graphic details of the young Melbourne comedian’s rape and murder are being revealed prior to his sentencing.
Todd pleaded guilty to the June 13, 2018 rape and murder of Ms Dixon on a dark soccer pitch at Princes Park in Carlton North.
CCTV footage played for the Victorian Supreme Court this morning showed Todd stalking his victim for 54 minutes.
It showed the moment Todd and Ms Dixon crossed paths outside Flinders St railway station at 11.07pm on June 12.
Todd can be seen in the footage following Ms Dixon at a distance before passing her, sitting on milk crates, and waiting for her to walk ahead of him. At regular intervals he stops, rolls cigarettes and continues following.
Todd’s lawyers conceded he used “some sophistication” in remaining unseen by Ms Dixon between 11.07pm and 12.04am when he attacked her from behind.
Sitting in the dock wearing grey jeans, runners and a grey shirt, Todd regularly closed his eyes as details of the rape and murder were read aloud.
He cried and wiped away tears when Ms Dixon’s sister Polly read out a victim impact statement detailing how her life was “shattered” by the crime and how she lives her life “in indescribable agony”.
“My world has been turned inside out,” she said. “I’m seething with anger.”
KILLER’S SICK ACT AFTER MURDER
The court heard Todd was attracted to Ms Dixon and followed her with the purpose of sexually assaulting her after she left her boyfriend following a night at a comedy show.
It was revealed that Todd watched pornography depicting strangulation “six hours after the murder” of Ms Dixon.
Todd told his lawyer he has the condition paraphilia, which is characterised by abnormal sexual desires involving violence and danger.
“Ms Dixon’s appearance … was of a sexual interest to him,” his lawyer conceded.
“On any measure, this is an extremely serious … brazen and brutal attack,” he said.
“There was no justification for his conduct.”
Todd’s lawyer tried to make a case that murder was an afterthought and that he did not entertain the idea of killing Ms Dixon until she walked into the empty park.
But Supreme Court Judge Stephen Kaye said Todd was at the very least entertaining the idea of murder as part of a sexual fantasy driven, in part, by his interest in so-called “snuff films”.
“His intent to kill was driven by thoughts, fantasies and pornography,” Mr Kaye said.
TODD’S LIES EXPOSED
The court heard details of the web of lies Todd told to police, friends and his girlfriend the day after Ms Dixon’s murder.
After police circulated CCTV images of Todd in the vicinity of the attack — and those images were broadcast on various news channels — friends contacted Todd to ask if he was involved.
His long-term girlfriend asked him if he was in any way involved and he told her he was not.
“There’s nothing to worry about,” he told her, the court heard.
In an interview with police, he said scratches on his face, which he received as Ms Dixon tried to defend herself, “had possibly been caused by his cat”.
He told police he followed Ms Dixon because she appeared to be drunk, despite an autopsy revealing she had not consumed any alcohol.
“(I thought), look at this drunk idiot. Might as well see if she does anything funny,” Todd said.
Later, after admitting to the attack in the face of overwhelming evidence, Todd told police “she looked like she was stumbling around … she looked like she was not in a position to defend herself”.
Judge Kaye said he would have to give “serious consideration to a life sentence” if he could be satisfied Ms Dixon’s murder was premeditated.
The court heard new details about what Todd was doing in the city when he crossed paths with Ms Dixon.
The hospitality student from Broadmeadows had finished class for the day and took the train into the CBD with mates. He tried to buy alcohol about 3.30pm from Liquorland on Elizabeth Street but was refused service.
A short time later he purchased vodka, cigarettes and cannabis and smoked and drank in a park with his friends.
At 10.26pm, he loitered around the intersection of Flinders and Swanston Streets” before buying a meal from McDonald’s and eating alone.
He crossed paths with Ms Dixon at 11.07 near Federation Square where he began following her and would later rape and murder her.
Ms Dixon’s body was discovered by a passer-by on the morning of June 13.
Todd handed himself into police later that day, initially denying involvement.
Ms Dixon’s death sparked a national outpouring of grief with a vigil at Princes Park attracting more than 5000 people.
Todd was expected to face a plea hearing earlier this year, but the matter was delayed while prosecutors sought a psychiatric report from James Ogloff at the Victorian Institute of Forensic Mental Health.
Todd has been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder.
The Supreme Court plea hearing, before Justice Stephen Kaye, is expected to run throughout Thursday and Friday before Todd is to be sentenced later this year.
— with AAP