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Supreme Court 29 November 2019

R v Greentree

[2019] NSWSC 1642

HomicideDomestic & family violence
CRIMINAL LAW SENTENCE MURDER GENUINE REMORSE NO CRIMINAL RECORD OFFENDER SENTENCED TO NON

Citation: R v Greentree [2019] NSWSC 1642
Court: Supreme Court of New South Wales
Date: 29 November 2019
Judge: Davies J

Background

The offender, a 62-year-old man, pleaded guilty in the Local Court to the murder of his de facto partner of approximately 30 years. The killing occurred on 13 August 2018 at their rental unit in Penshurst. The deceased, aged 67, suffered from serious health conditions including end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and the offender had been her primary carer.

In the months before the killing, the couple faced compounding pressures. The offender had lost his job in March 2018, the pair had fallen behind in rent, and an eviction hearing was listed for the very day of the offence. The deceased was also receiving palliative care and had been prescribed liquid morphine.

The offender stabbed the deceased twice while she sat in an armchair, then attempted to take his own life using her morphine. He was found by her home care nurse and was subsequently revived by police. He admitted to the killing at the scene, provided detailed admissions in a formal interview later that day, and was confirmed by hospital psychiatrists not to have been mentally ill or disordered within the meaning of the relevant legislation.

  • Whether the circumstances of the killing warranted a life sentence
  • What weight to give the offender's early guilty plea and frank admissions of guilt
  • How to treat evidence of cognitive deficits where no causal link to the offending was established
  • Whether genuine remorse and low risk of reoffending mitigated the sentence
  • Whether special circumstances existed to justify altering the statutory ratio between the non-parole period and the balance of term
  • How to apply general and specific deterrence, particularly in a domestic violence context

Decision

Davies J determined that the circumstances did not warrant a life sentence, a position both the Crown and the Court accepted. The standard non-parole period of 20 years was treated as a guidepost rather than a starting point. The Court characterised the offending as serious, noting it occurred in a domestic setting, and applied the principle from Hiron v R that general and specific deterrence and denunciation carry particular importance in such cases.

The offender received a 25% discount on his sentence for his early guilty plea and frank admissions from the outset. The Court found genuine remorse and a low risk of reoffending, supported by the offender's lack of any prior criminal history, his cooperation with police, and his expressed devastation at what he had done. While there was some evidence of cognitive deficits, the Court declined to treat these as significantly mitigating because no causal connection between those deficits and the offending was established.

On the question of special circumstances, the offender raised his age, his lack of prior prison experience, risk of institutionalisation, and a history of alcohol misuse as reasons to extend the parole period beyond the statutory ratio. Davies J declined to make a finding of special circumstances, concluding that the proposed parole period would provide adequate time for reintegration and that reducing the non-parole period further would produce a result below what the seriousness of the offending justified.

The offender's age at the time of sentencing (now 63) was nonetheless taken into account as a factor making imprisonment more onerous. The Court noted he would be an old man upon release regardless.

Orders Made

  • The offender was convicted of the murder of the deceased.
  • Sentenced to a non-parole period of 14 years' imprisonment, commencing 13 August 2018 and expiring 12 August 2032, with a balance of term of 4 years and 9 months, expiring 12 May 2037.
  • The conviction was recorded as a domestic violence offence under the Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act 2007 (NSW).
  • The offender was warned that the State may apply for an order under the Crimes (High Risk Offenders) Act 2006 (NSW) before the sentence expires.

Key Takeaways

  • A 25% sentencing discount applied where an offender entered a guilty plea at the earliest opportunity and made frank admissions of guilt from the moment police arrived at the scene.
  • Evidence of cognitive deficits did not operate as a significant mitigating factor where there was no established causal link between those deficits and the commission of the offence.
  • The Supreme Court confirmed, following Hiron v R, that general deterrence, specific deterrence, and denunciation carry particular weight in murder cases occurring in a domestic setting.
  • Special circumstances were not found where the court concluded the proposed parole period would be sufficient for rehabilitation and reintegration, and where altering the statutory ratio would have produced a non-parole period inappropriate to the gravity of the offending.
  • An offender's relatively advanced age is a recognised factor in sentencing, relevant to the comparative severity of imprisonment, even where it does not alter the fundamental structure of the sentence.

Legislation and Cases Referenced

Legislation
- Crimes Act 1900 (NSW)
- Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act 2007 (NSW)
- Crimes (High Risk Offenders) Act 2006 (NSW)
- Mental Health Act 2007 (NSW)

Cases
- Hiron v R [2007] NSWCCA 336
- R v Do (No 4) [2015] NSWSC 512
- R v Rogers (No 9) [2019] NSWSC 1622