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Supreme Court 9 August 2004

Regina v TJA

[2004] NSWSC 1308

HomicideFraud & dishonesty
CRIMINAL LAW SENTENCE FOR CONVICTION OF MURDER

Citation: Regina v TJA [2004] NSWSC 1308
Court: Supreme Court of New South Wales
Date: 9 August 2004
Judge(s): Howie J

Background

The offender, TJA, pleaded guilty to the murder of a man shot at point-blank range while he slept in his own home at Muswellbrook on 22 February 2003. The killing was arranged by the deceased's wife, who had recently taken out insurance policies on her husband's life worth approximately $250,000. The offender was recruited into the scheme through his partner at the time, who was a friend of the deceased's wife.

TJA was a juvenile at the time of the offence. He obtained a cut-down rifle from a friend, was driven to the premises by his partner, and carried out the shooting himself. His stated motivations were financial gain (he expected $20,000 and a motorbike) and a desire to impress his partner. He had injected amphetamine the day before the killing and described himself as "charged up" at the time.

Both TJA and his partner were charged with murder as participants in a joint criminal enterprise with the deceased's wife. The partner, Danielle Wilkinson, had already been sentenced by the same court. The central question at TJA's sentencing was whether parity principles required that he receive the same sentence as Ms Wilkinson.

  • Whether the principle of parity required TJA to receive the same sentence imposed on his co-offender, Ms Wilkinson
  • Whether TJA's youth and personal circumstances warranted a finding of special circumstances, affecting the ratio of non-parole period to total sentence
  • What weight to give TJA's guilty plea, his background, and his prospects of rehabilitation in arriving at the appropriate sentence

Decision

Howie J found that the offence fell towards the upper end of seriousness for murder, characterising it as a contract killing of a domestic rather than commercial nature. Despite TJA being the person who physically carried out the killing, his Honour found that the moral and legal culpability of TJA and Ms Wilkinson was broadly equivalent, given their shared participation in the joint criminal enterprise.

His Honour had previously sentenced Ms Wilkinson to 22.5 years imprisonment with a non-parole period of 16.5 years, allowing her a 25% discount in total for her guilty plea and expressions of remorse. Both Crown and defence counsel accepted that the same sentence was appropriate for TJA. His Honour agreed, finding no basis for a materially different outcome on the question of the head sentence.

TJA's youth and background received significant attention. His Honour found that TJA had suffered considerable disadvantage through his early years, including exposure to criminal influences and instability, and that society bore some responsibility for that. His Honour also noted TJA's demonstrated vulnerability to self-harm, his positive engagement with rehabilitation programs in custody, and an assessment that he posed no threat to others. These factors led to a finding of special circumstances, which influenced the structure of the sentence so as to allow TJA to remain in custody until the age of 21, with a longer parole period to provide supervision and support upon release.

The court also acknowledged that TJA's guilty plea spared the deceased's family from the distress of a contested trial, noting that this was at least something the offender could do to partially address the harm caused to them.

Orders Made

  • TJA sentenced to a total term of imprisonment of 22.5 years
  • Non-parole period of 16.5 years (the minimum period before eligibility for release to parole)
  • Sentence commenced 3 March 2003, non-parole period expiring 2 September 2019
  • Balance of term: 6 years, commencing 3 September 2019

Key Takeaways

  • Parity principles played a decisive role: where two participants in a joint criminal enterprise have equivalent moral culpability, the sentencing court will ordinarily impose the same sentence even where one was the actual perpetrator and the other a facilitator.
  • A contract killing, even of a domestic rather than commercial nature, will generally be treated as murder at the upper end of the seriousness spectrum.
  • The sentencing court found special circumstances based on the offender's youth, personal disadvantage, and rehabilitation prospects, resulting in a proportionally longer parole period to facilitate supervised reintegration.
  • Amphetamine dependency, while not a complete mitigating factor, was treated as relevant context explaining how the offender came to be susceptible to participation in an offence of this nature, consistent with the approach taken to Ms Wilkinson.
  • The offender's guilty plea was acknowledged not only as a sentencing consideration but as a tangible, if limited, means of reducing harm to the victim's family.

Legislation and Cases Referenced

Legislation:
- Children (Criminal Proceedings) Act 1987 (NSW)
- Sentencing Act 1989 (NSW)

Cases:
- R v Henry (1999) 46 NSWLR 346
- R v Way [2004] NSWCCA 131