Hannah McGuire’s killer motivated by ‘male entitlement’ and disregarded her dignity after murder, court hears | Victoria

A murderer was motivated by male entitlement, jealousy and anger by strangling his ex-girlfriend and then burning her remains in a remote Victorian woodland, a prosecutor told a court.

Attorney-General Kristie Churchill told the Victorian supreme court in Ballarat on Tuesday that Hannah McGuire had the right to leave Lachlan Young after months of abusive and controlling behaviour.

Rather than accept that the relationship was over, Young killed the 23-year-old woman because he couldn’t stand her living life without him.

“He attacked and killed Miss McGuire in her own home,” Churchill said. “His last moments must have been filled with terror.”

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Young, 23, initially denied killing McGuire and maintained that her death in April 2024 was a spontaneous event.

However, after eight days of testimony at the hearing, he admitted that he had strangled her in the bathroom of their Sebastopol home at around 2:30 in the morning of April 5.

He then pushed her body into the footwell of a Mitsubishi Triton, drove it into remote wooded land in Scarsdale, and set the vehicle on fire.

As he left the scene, Young used McGuire’s phone to send messages to his mother, Debbie, claiming he was going to take his own life.

He then transferred $2,000 from McGuire’s bank account to his mother and $5,000 to himself.

Young’s attorney, Glenn Casement, said his client’s actions after the murder were callous but argued they were amateurish and a sign of his immaturity.

Churchill rejected the suggestion on Tuesday.

“This cannot be explained simply by his youth or lack of education,” he told the court. “These are the actions of someone who is cold-blooded, calculated and unscrupulous.”

Noting the pain of McGuire’s family, friends and colleagues, he said Young also robbed them of the chance to say a proper farewell.

“While he destroyed every evidence, he also disregarded her dignity,” Churchill said. “He embarked on a series of actions to avoid responsibility and attempted to pin the blame for Hannah McGuire’s death on Hannah McGuire.”

The prosecutor outlined the alarming rates of domestic violence in Victoria and said such crimes warranted serious condemnation and punishment.

He described the harassment he experienced in the lead-up to McGuire’s death and that an active response order was in place at the time.

Churchill called on Judge James Elliott to impose a long prison sentence, citing Young’s high moral culpability.

“He was motivated by men’s rights, jealousy and anger,” he said.

Casement told the court that sentencing should take into account Young’s age, as well as his troubled upbringing, substance abuse issues and poor mental health.

He acknowledged that the only evidence of remorse was his client’s guilty plea and Young’s note in his sister’s reference letter.

During the plea hearing, McGuire’s parents, Debbie and Glenn, wiped away tears as Elliott observed a moment of silence for their daughter.

Young kept his head down in the moment of reflection.

Elliott did not set a date for the sentencing hearing, instead stating that he would need some time to consider all the material.

The young man was detained.

• In Australia, the crisis support service is Lifeline 13 11 14 and the national domestic violence counseling service is 1800 737 732. In the UK, Samaritans can be reached on freephone 116 123 and the domestic violence helpline is 0808 2000 247. In the US, the suicide prevention hotline is 988 and the domestic violence hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). Other international helplines can be found at www.befrienders.org.