where the offender entered an early guilty plea SENTENCING
objective seriousness of offending
Quick Take
1Where the medical cause of death is 'unascertained' because no single factor was independently sufficient to cause death, the combination of blunt force trauma and asphyxia inflicted by the offender may still be found to be a significant and operative cause of death, particularly where the temporal connection between the assault and death is proximate and the victim's self-induced intoxication was merely a contributing factor.
2An intention to inflict grievous bodily harm rather than an intention to kill may be found where the force applied was moderate rather than severe or extreme, no weapon was used, there was no history of prior violence, and the offender's immediate remorse was more consistent with an unexpected and unintended outcome.
3Section 21A(2)(be) of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW) is engaged where the offence occurs in the offender's own home and the victim was present there as an intimate partner, applying the dictum in Jonson v R [2016] NSWCCA 286 that a home should be safe and secure for persons in a domestic relationship at the offender's home.
