Murder of young mum Jodi Eaton by Darren Michael Dobson among ‘gravest cases’: appeal court judges

THE man responsible for the brutal killing of Hobart mother-of-two Jodi Eaton will potentially spend the rest of his life in jail after his appeal against his sentence was dismissed.

Jodi Eaton's sister Sandra Eaton, left, and mother Margaret Pickerell leave the Supreme Court in Hobart after sentencing in 2015.

THE man responsible for the brutal killing of Hobart mother-of-two Jodi Eaton will potentially spend the rest of his life in jail after his appeal against his sentence was dismissed.

In the Supreme Court in Hobart this morning before the Court of Criminal Appeal, Justices Helen Wood, Shan Tennent and Robert Pearce dismissed convicted killer Darren Michael Dobson’s appeal bid.

Dobson, 40, killed 28-year-old Jodi Eaton by strangling her on February 1, 2014, in a Bridgewater home.

After murdering Ms Eaton, Dobson hid her body in a garage at Sage Court in Bridgewater.

He wrapped her body in a plastic pool liner and buried the remains in a shallow grave on the property of his uncle Maxwell Douglas Morrison at Pelham.

Police would not find the body for another 18 days.

In 2015, Chief Justice Alan Blow categorised the murder as being in the worst category, sentencing Dobson to life in prison — but made him eligible for parole after 15 years.

MORE: DOBSON SENTENCED OVER MURDER OF JODI EATON

Jodi Eaton, 28, was strangled by Darren Michael Dobson on February 1, 2014.

Legal Aid lawyer Katie Edwards attempted to argue that Dobson pleaded guilty on the less serious basis that he “ought to have known” his actions would kill Ms Eaton.

She argued the worst category of homicide should be reserved for people who “intend” to murder.

Ms Edwards had said Chief Justice Blow gave “far too much weight” to the aggravating factors to Dobson’s crime which included hiding the body twice and a history of horrific violence, including rape and assault, against women.

In 1998, Dobson was sentenced to seven years in prison for three counts of rape, one count of assault and one count of aggravated sexual assault.

In 2007, he was sentenced to three years in prison for the assault of his then pregnant partner.

In 2013, he committed further violent crimes against women while on bail or subject to a suspended sentence.

MORE: SHOCKING HISTORY OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

Tasmania Police forensic officers gather evidence at the house where Jodi was last seen alive in Sage Court, Bridgewater.

This morning, the judges unanimously found the three grounds of appeal had failed and the sentence was not disproportionate to the crime.

In their judgment, they found Dobson’s eligibility for parole after 15 years would provide some incentive for reform and rehabilitation.

“We are not persuaded that the sentencing judge erred by concluding that the appellant’s crime warranted a life sentence,” the judgement read.

“It is a case in which it was open to his Honour to regard the appellant’s moral culpability as high, notwithstanding his lack of intention to kill or an intention to cause grievous bodily harm, due to his repeated serious violence against women.

“His Honour was entitled to attach great weight to protection of society, particularly its more vulnerable members. The circumstances show that it was open to his Honour to find that this case was in the category of the gravest cases reserved for the maximum sentence.”