› Murder – domestic partner – strangulation in home – standard sentence of 25 years – Sentencing Act 1991 (Vic) ss 5, 5A, 5B
Criminal law
› Sentence
› Intention to cause really serious injury rather than intention to kill – cause of death unverifiable owing to incineration – offender's admission sole source
Criminal law
› Sentence
› Post-offence conduct – concealment, incineration of body, lies to family and police – aggravating factor and absence of remorse
Criminal law
› Sentence
› Mitigation – youthful offender – childhood marred by alcohol abuse and violence – [name withheld] principle – no causal nexus required
Quick Take
1Where the victim's remains prevent independent proof of the cause of death and the offender's admission is the only direct evidence of intent, the sentencing court may be unable to find beyond reasonable doubt an intention to kill. Post-offence concealment that is equally consistent with an intention to cause really serious injury will not establish an intention to kill. On the facts, however, maintaining a stranglehold long enough to cause death meant that sentencing on the lesser intention did not greatly reduce moral culpability.
2Deliberate post-offence conduct aggravates a domestic homicide and shows a lack of remorse at the time. Such conduct includes incinerating the body, impersonating the deceased to suggest suicide, and lying to the family and police. Its amateurish character may show an absence of premeditation but does not lessen that aggravation.
3A deprived upbringing marked by alcohol abuse and violence may reduce moral culpability without proof of a causal nexus to the offending, and youth is a mitigating factor. Both are significantly diminished by the gravity of the domestic homicide, where general deterrence, denunciation and just punishment take primacy. Generalised characterisations such as 'male entitlement' do not assist the individualised sentencing task.
