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Supreme Court 28 March 2013

R v MEYN, John Michael (No 6)

[2013] NSWSC 243

HomicideDomestic & family violence
CRIMINAL LAW SENTENCING MURDER DOMESTIC HOMICIDE INTOXICATION CONVICTION FOLLOWING TRIAL

Citation: R v MEYN, John Michael (No 6) [2013] NSWSC 243
Court: Supreme Court of New South Wales
Date: 28 March 2013
Judge: Beech-Jones J

Background

The offender, a truck driver and forklift operator, was the former de facto partner of the deceased and the father of their two young children. Following the breakdown of their relationship in late 2010 to early 2011, the parties continued to have intermittent contact, though relations had deteriorated and there had been several incidents of conflict in the weeks before the offence.

On the morning of 8 April 2011, the deceased visited the offender at his converted garage with one of their sons. Between approximately 10.30am and 12.30pm, the offender bashed and strangled the deceased. The offender had consumed a substantial amount of alcohol the previous evening and continued drinking into the following morning.

A jury convicted the offender of murder on 14 December 2012 after a retrial, rejecting a claim of self-defence. Sentencing submissions were heard on 8 March 2013.

  • Whether the standard non-parole period of 20 years (under s 54A of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999) should be the starting point for sentencing, or merely one of two legislative guideposts
  • Whether life imprisonment was warranted under s 61(1) of the Sentencing Act
  • The extent to which intoxication mitigated the offender's culpability
  • Whether the offender intended to kill the deceased, or intended only grievous bodily harm
  • Whether the offender demonstrated genuine remorse
  • The appropriate weight to give mitigating factors including the spontaneous (unplanned) nature of the offence, the offender's intoxication, his personal history, and his prospects of rehabilitation
  • The weight to be given to general deterrence, retribution, and denunciation in the context of extreme domestic violence

Decision

Beech-Jones J held that this was not a case warranting life imprisonment. Consistent with the High Court's approach in Muldrock v R [2011] HCA 39, his Honour did not treat the 20-year standard non-parole period as a starting point or end point, but rather as one of two legislative guideposts. The court identified all relevant factors, assessed their significance, and arrived at a sentence through an instinctive synthesis approach.

On objective seriousness, the court found the offence fell slightly below the middle of the range for murder. This conclusion was driven primarily by the spontaneous character of the killing: there was no planning or premeditation, and the violence erupted quickly in circumstances that remained partly unexplained. The court characterised the offender's conduct as savage, but not calculated.

Regarding intent, the court found it was not established that the offender intended to kill the deceased, though it was satisfied he intended to cause grievous bodily harm. The offender's extreme intoxication was treated as a relevant circumstance, though the court noted it did not excuse the conduct. The court also found the offender's remorse to be genuine to some degree, and took into account his prior good character, stable work history, and the impact of the offence on his children and family. However, the court emphasised that general and specific deterrence carry particular weight in cases of extreme domestic violence, even where the offence is unpremeditated.

The court observed that the killing destroyed the deceased's life, devastated those around her, and inflicted irreparable harm on two infant children. Those considerations weighed heavily in the overall sentencing exercise.

Orders Made

  • The offender was convicted of murder.
  • Non-parole period of 16 years and 6 months, commencing 8 April 2011 and ending 7 October 2027.
  • Additional term of 5 years and 6 months, commencing 8 October 2027 and ending 7 April 2033.
  • Total term of imprisonment: 22 years.
  • The offender will be eligible for release on parole on 7 October 2027, with the sentence expiring on 7 April 2033.

Key Takeaways

  • Following Muldrock v R, the standard non-parole period for murder (20 years) is a legislative guidepost, not a mandatory starting point; the sentencing court must identify all relevant factors and determine the appropriate sentence through an instinctive synthesis.
  • A sentence below the standard non-parole period was available where the objective seriousness of the murder fell slightly below the mid-range, due principally to the spontaneous and unplanned nature of the killing.
  • Extreme intoxication at the time of the offence is a relevant sentencing circumstance, but does not of itself substantially reduce culpability for a killing of this severity.
  • General and specific deterrence carry heightened significance in cases of extreme domestic violence, even where the homicide was not premeditated, a principle the court expressly affirmed.
  • Genuine (if partial) remorse, prior good character, and a stable work history were recognised as mitigating factors, but did not displace the primacy of retribution and denunciation given the savagery of the violence.

Legislation and Cases Referenced

Legislation
- Crimes Act 1900 (NSW), ss 19A, 558
- Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW), ss 21A, 44(2), 54A, 61(1)
- Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Act 2002 (NSW)

Cases
- Muldrock v R [2011] HCA 39; 244 CLR 120
- Markarian v R [2005] HCA 25; 228 CLR 357
- R v Way [2004] NSWCCA 131; 60 NSWLR 168
- MAH v R [2006] NSWCCA 226
- R v Koloamatangi [2011] NSWCCA 288
- R v Chen [2010] NSWSC 64
- R v Christov (No 2) [2006] NSWSC 1179
- R v Heffernan [2005] NSWSC 739
- R v Meyn (No 1) [2012] NSWSC 1441