Mother’s killers and torturers jailed two years after attack
TWO men who bashed and shot mother-of-two Simone Quinlan before dumping her body in a mineshaft have been sentenced today.
THE grieving loved ones of Melbourne mother Simone Quinlan wore red — her favourite colour — the day her murderers were finally brought to justice.
The 33-year-old was bashed, shot, dumped in a mineshaft and set on fire in August 2015, as punishment for “snitching” on her boyfriend who had hit her in the head with a baseball bat.
During a prolonged attack at his home in Melton, Brendan Neil tormented the woman by beating her and taping up her head, telling her she looked beautiful like that.
His mate Wayne Marmo sat in the kitchen, filing a .22 rifle during the assault. It is unknown whether or not she was already dead when Neil and Marmo loaded Ms Quinlan into the back of Marmo’s ute.
Marmo drove Ms Quinlan to a mineshaft at Kangaroo Flat near Bendigo, stopping to shoot her in the head about five times on the way.
Today in the Supreme Court of Victoria, Justice Jane Dixon sentenced Neil to 26 years’ prison, and Marmo to 24 years. Speaking outside court, Ms Quinlan’s mother Lynda said her daughter’s favourite time of year was Christmas, making December a difficult time. “Knowing we’ll never see her again, I still can’t compute in my brain,” she told reporters.
Mrs Quinlan held a big red pillow with the words “I love you to the moon and back” stitched on it.
Neil, 31, will be eligible for parole in 22 years, while Marmo, 26, must serve a minimum of 20 years.