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Supreme Court 25 July 2025

R v Wright

[2025] NSWSC 822

HomicideFirearms & weapons
CRIME SENTENCE MURDER INTENT TO KILL FIREARMS OFFENCE DECEASED WAS SHOT TWICE

Citation: R v Wright [2025] NSWSC 822
Court: Supreme Court of New South Wales
Date: 25 July 2025
Judge: Cavanagh J

Background

The offender, a 34-year-old man, shot and killed his housemate at a rural property at Laguna, New South Wales on 13 April 2023. In the weeks before the shooting, the two men had an acrimonious relationship centred on an ongoing rent dispute, which had led to a notice to vacate. Threats had been exchanged on both sides, including specific references to firearms.

On the day of the killing, the deceased's dogs were seized by the RSPCA in circumstances connected to the offender. The offender shot the deceased twice. He was arrested on 18 July 2023.

The offender was charged with murder under s 18(1)(a) of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) and with possession of a stolen firearm under s 51H(1) of the Firearms Act 1996 (NSW). He pleaded guilty to both charges on 4 April 2024. Four further firearms-related matters were taken into account on a Form 1 (a procedural mechanism allowing a court to take additional charges into account when sentencing, without recording further convictions).

  • What findings of fact should be made in respect of the disputed circumstances immediately before the shooting, and what standard applies to those findings?
  • What is the objective seriousness of the murder and firearms offences?
  • What aggravating and mitigating factors, including the offender's subjective circumstances and degree of moral culpability, bear on the sentence?
  • What discount applies for the early guilty plea, and how should the totality principle operate across the concurrent sentences?
  • What aggregate sentence is appropriate?

Decision

Cavanagh J applied the established principle from The Queen v Olbrich that findings adverse to an offender at sentencing must be proved beyond reasonable doubt, while findings favourable to the offender need only be proved on the balance of probabilities. The parties agreed on almost all facts, with the dispute confined to the events immediately before the shooting.

The sentencing judgment identified several aggravating features of the offending. At the same time, the court found reduced moral culpability, reflecting the offender's subjective circumstances as assessed by the psychological report of Dr Emma Collins. The court had regard to the victim impact statements from the deceased's mother, sister, and former partner, treating them as evidence of harm to the community. The court observed that nothing the deceased did caused his death, and acknowledged him as a good father and loving family member.

On the question of remorse, the court found only limited evidence. The court noted the early guilty pleas and applied the statutory 25 percent discount to the indicative sentences. For the murder offence, the indicative sentence before discount was 23 years; after the 25 percent discount, this became 17 years and 3 months, with a non-parole period of 12 years. For the firearms offence, the indicative sentence was 3 years with a non-parole period of 2 years, to be served concurrently.

Applying the totality principle, the court considered the overlap between the aggregate sentence and an unrelated sentence the offender had been serving. The Crown accepted some concurrency was appropriate but submitted the sentences should not be wholly concurrent. The court fixed the commencement date of the aggregate sentence at 1 September 2023, producing a first eligible parole date of 31 August 2035 and a total sentence expiry of 30 November 2040.

Orders Made

  • Aggregate sentence of 17 years and 3 months imprisonment, with a non-parole period of 12 years
  • Sentence to commence on 1 September 2023
  • First eligible parole date: 31 August 2035
  • Total sentence to expire: 30 November 2040
  • Firearms offence sentence (3 years, non-parole period of 2 years) to be served concurrently with the murder sentence
  • Four Form 1 matters (three counts of possessing unauthorised firearms and one count of possessing ammunition without authority) taken into account
  • Offender's solicitor directed to advise the offender of the operation of the Crimes (High Risk Offenders) Act 2006 (NSW), as required by s 25C of that Act

Key Takeaways

  • Cavanagh J applied the standard sentencing principle that adverse factual findings at the sentencing stage require proof beyond reasonable doubt, while favourable findings require only proof on the balance of probabilities, following Olbrich.
  • Murder committed with intent to kill, involving a firearm and arising from a sustained interpersonal dispute, attracted an indicative pre-discount sentence of 23 years, reflecting several aggravating features alongside findings of reduced moral culpability.
  • A statutory 25 percent discount for an early guilty plea applied to reduce the indicative murder sentence from 23 years to 17 years and 3 months, with a non-parole period of 12 years.
  • Under the totality principle, where an offender is already serving a sentence for an unrelated matter, a court may partially (but not wholly) backdate the commencement of the new aggregate sentence to avoid a disproportionate overall term.
  • Conviction for murder constitutes a "serious offence" for the purposes of the Crimes (High Risk Offenders) Act 2006 (NSW), triggering an obligation under s 25C to warn the offender of that Act's potential application.

Legislation and Cases Referenced

Legislation
- Crimes Act 1900 (NSW), s 18(1)(a)
- Crimes (High Risk Offenders) Act 2006 (NSW), s 25C
- Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW), ss 3A, 25D(1), Pt 4 Div 1A
- Evidence Act 1995 (NSW), s 165
- Firearms Act 1996 (NSW), ss 7A(1), 51H(1), 65(3)

Cases
- Bugmy v The Queen (2013) 249 CLR 571; [2013] HCA 37
- Hili v The Queen; Jones v The Queen (2010) 242 CLR 520; [2010] HCA 45
- Imbornone v R [2017] NSWCCA 144
- Muldrock v The Queen (2011) 244 CLR 120; [2011] HCA 39
- The Queen v Olbrich (1999) 199 CLR 270; [1999] HCA 54
- R v AEM, KEM and MM [2002] NSWCCA 58
- R v Dastan [2024] NSWSC 55
- R v Klein [2008] NSWSC 835
- R v Liavaa; Liavaa v R [2025] NSWCCA 101
- R v Millwood [2012] NSWCCA 2
- R v Stanley [2025] NSWSC 735
- R v Stefanato [2023] NSWSC 73
- R v Tonga [2025] NSWCCA 100