Rebecca Payne wins appeal after murdering her abusive husband with poisoned biscuit

A Victorian mum who murdered her husband with a poison-laced biscuit after he physically, sexually and emotionally abused her has had her sentence slashed on appeal.

Rebecca Payne has now been sentenced to 12 years’ jail for the murder of her abusive husband. Picture: Aaron Francis

A Victorian mum who murdered her husband with a poison-laced biscuit following more than a decade of physical, sexual and emotional abuse in a “house of horrors” is set to be freed from jail in three years after her sentence was slashed on appeal.

Rebecca Payne, 45, was sentenced in June last year to 16 years’ jail with a non-parole period of 10 years after a jury found her guilty of murdering her husband, Noel, in the tiny town of Walpeup in the state’s northwest in September 2020.

But on Wednesday, Payne’s sentence was set aside by Victoria’s highest court, which means that with time served, the mum will now be eligible for parole in late 2027.

“In all the circumstances of this remarkable case, we will allow the appeal against sentence and in its place impose a sentence of 12 years’ imprisonment with a non-parole period of seven years,” said the three justices presiding over her appeal.

Her family and friends spoke of their relief on Wednesday, saying they were “over the moon” to know she will be reunited with them sooner.

However, Payne failed to have her murder conviction overturned, which could have resulted in a retrial or her charge being substituted with the lesser charge of manslaughter.

Rebecca Payne was hailed a hero for killing her abusive husband. Picture: Mark Scott

At trial, the court heard Payne crushed more than seven of her sleeping pills with a mortar and pestle, before lacing the icing of one biscuit with the powdered poison.

She then handed the deadly biscuit to her 68-year-old husband with a cup of Milo, wrapped his unconscious body in a blanket and stashed him in an empty chest freezer, making sure to tie down the lid with straps.

From the witness box, Payne – who offered to plead guilty to manslaughter – detailed to the jury the shocking abuse she suffered at the hands of her husband of 15 years.

She said that Mr Payne, described as a “domestic terrorist”, would brutally rape her, control her every move and bash her frequently, including once on a dirt road at the local graveyard.

In moving testimony, the woman told the court he even forced her into getting 18 tattoos of his name all over her body, so no one else could ever “love her”.

The Walpeup kitchen where Payne laced a biscuit with poison.

She attempted to leave their marriage on two occasions but when she ran away with their two young sons in 2012, Mr Payne entered into a sexual relationship with another woman, who he moved into the home.

The vulnerable woman with an acquired brain injury was also subjected to Mr Payne’s abuse, with neighbours commenting that the women were “prisoners” in their own home.

Despite this, Payne claimed she did not intend to kill her husband but send him to sleep, so she would not “cop any abuse” that September evening.

But the jury refused to find her guilty of manslaughter and convicted her of murder.

The pantry where Payne crushed up her sleeping pills with a mortar and pestle.

“The motive for the killing had built up and festered in the sordid and stifling environment created by the cruel and degrading conduct of the deceased over many years,” Justices Stephen McLeish, Stephen Kaye and Terence Forrest said on Wednesday.

They added: “She had endured upwards of ten years of intolerable and seemingly escalating emotional and physical torment at the hands of the deceased. Her situation was, the judge found, inescapable.

“Having lost her thirties in this way, she now stands to lose her forties and more as a result of the offence she committed. That is no small thing, especially given that she will be separated from her children.”

Payne, who launched her appeal against conviction and sentence in late October, watched the proceedings from the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre via video link in a prison-issued blue sweater.

She is expected to be granted parole when she becomes eligible, with the justices noting she has gained employment in prison and has acted as a “mother” role model to fellow prisoners.

“In short, having regard to the applicant’s reduced moral culpability and her excellent prospects of rehabilitation … seven years is the minimum time that we consider justice requires the applicant to serve,” they said.

Payne was found guilty by a Supreme Court jury. Picture: Supplied

Noel Payne in 2012, eight years before he was killed. Picture: Facebook

In the Court of Appeal last month, Payne’s barrister Veronika Drago had argued that despite there being no error by the sentencing judge, it was a “unique case” that called for a greater degree of mercy.

“There were images, there were videos depicting what could only be described as an absolute house of horrors,” she said.

In response, lawyers for the Crown argued that the sentence was a clear demonstration of mercy given the standard sentence for murder is 25 years, but the three justices agreed with Ms Drago that the sentence imposed was “manifestly excessive”.

Ms Drago had also argued her client’s conviction should be overturned due to a “substantial miscarriage of justice”, pointing to seven separate issues with the closing address made by the prosecutor at trial.

“Crucial evidence, key evidence, in the case was misstated and overstated,” she told the court, adding: “What chance did Rebecca Payne have at a fair trial?”

She said during parts of his address, the prosecutor displayed “enormous overreach”.

“The learned prosecutor simply went too far.”

But Justices McLeish, Kaye and Forrest found that the prosecutor’s closing address did not contravene certain requirements.

“It is relevant in that regard that no application for the discharge of the jury was made after the prosecutor’s address, notwithstanding it is now submitted to have caused a substantial miscarriage of justice,” they said.

The Herald Sun last year travelled to Walpeup, revealing how the locals hailed her a hero because they believe that by ending Mr Payne’s life, she saved countless others, including her own.

Originally published as Rebecca Payne wins appeal after murdering her abusive husband with poisoned biscuit