Judge calls for minute’s silence at killer’s sentencing
“Hannah McGuire should have been able to end her relationship as she saw fit.”
Churchill said Young was motivated by “anger and men’s rights” when he violently threw McGuire to the floor on the bathroom floor of the home they once shared.
He then put his hand around her neck and strangled her to death in the early hours of April 5 last year.
“His last moments must have been filled with horror as the criminal took his life,” Churchill said.
Churchill said the devastation caused by McGuire’s murder in the small town of Clunes and nearby Ballarat was palpable and that her death was yet another tragic example of intimate partner violence, which has been declared a national emergency.
“The impact can only be described as tremendous,” Churchill said.
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He described McGuire’s murder as the latest act of extreme violence that occurred against the background of a horrific, abusive and controlling relationship.
Churchill said Young put his body in the back of his orange Trident ute instead of calling Triple Zero or helping McGuire.
He then took his body to a remote forest. Go to Scarsdale and set the car on fire with a blowtorch.
He watched the car go up in flames for a while before driving away.
Churchill said Young did his best to conceal McGuire’s murder, which he later described as “cold, calculated and brutal” for “personal gain and self-preservation”.
He told the court Young displayed a “particular kind of cruelty” when he sent McGuire’s distraught mother Debbie a series of messages purporting to be a suicide note from her daughter.
Messages sent to McGuire’s parents He was frantically looking for her, but at that time his body was already burning inside the burning car.
Debbie McGuire’s last message to her daughter was: “Come home to your mother, Hannah. I love you.”
On Monday Debbie said: While he could never forgive his daughter’s killer, his father Glenn told the court he was struggling with suicidal thoughts and guilt for not being able to protect his daughter.
“I will never forget and I will never forgive,” Debbie told the court. “I hope he experiences the most intense pain imaginable every day for the rest of his life.”
Churchill said Young had undermined the police investigation in every way he could, prolonging the “trauma, pain and suffering” of McGuire’s family and friends.
“Even in death he denied her dignity,” Churchill said.
“He was only 23 when he died. He was expected to live a very long life.”
Churchill said Young’s moral culpability was high and that a prison sentence should be at a high level for his crime.
Young’s lawyer, Glenn Casement, said his client made a “terrible mistake” and eventually admitted murder, which should be taken into account in sentencing. His initial charge of manslaughter was rejected by the prosecution, and he changed his plea to guilty of murder on the eighth day of the trial.
Casement said the murder was a “spontaneous incident” and that Young wrote to his sister and expressed his regret. Details of the letter were not shared in court.
Young grew up in a turbulent and violent home, had substance abuse problems and dropped out of school in the 8th grade, Casement said. He said Young was only 21 at the time of the murder and was seeking help for anger management and mental health issues.
“Mr Young continued his charade but was doomed to fail, and indeed he did fail,” he said.
Churchill said Young’s crime could not be explained by his youth or lack of education.
The court heard that before her death, Young frequently belittled McGuire, body-shamed her, yelled at her in public, controlled her and followed her outside her workplace before trying to run her off the road with his car.
He used physical violence against himself; A hearing was held in court for an attack in which he punched and kicked himself.
Young will be sentenced at a later date.
For support contact: National Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence Counseling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732). Crisis support is available at: Lifeline 13 11 14.
