Killer’s bold bid after murdering mum and toddler
A double murderer has appealed against two life sentences given to him for killing his girlfriend and her two-year-old daughter, claiming the sentences were “manifestly excessive”.
Daniel James Holdom has been in custody since November 2018 after pleading guilty to the murders of Karlie Pearce-Stevenson, 20, and her two-year-old daughter Khandalyce Pearce 10 years ago.
Ms Pearce-Stevenson’s remains were found in NSW’s Belanglo State Forest in 2010 but were not identified until five years later, when her daughter’s remains were found inside a bag dumped alongside a South Australian highway.
The sentencing judge underlined the “appalling depravity” and “enormous heinousness” of the murders and noted that Holdom had shown no remorse.
But Holdom, now 51, claims the sentences handed down to him were “manifestly excessive” and is pushing for a lighter sentence in his appeal to the NSW Supreme Court.
He argues that Judge Robert Allan Hulme made a mistake by not properly taking into account his confessions, which he attempted to retract on the morning of sentencing.
Offenders may receive a reduction due to the utility value of filing a guilty plea at an early stage, at the judge’s discretion.
Sentencing judges need to take due account of the offender’s subjective factors, such as their background; Holdom claims Judge Hulme did not do this.
“The criminal’s culpability is so extreme and his crimes so abhorrent that no objective or subjective factor can mitigate the need for ultimate punishment,” Judge Hulme said at the time.
The third basis for Holdom’s appeal is that the judge erred in rejecting professional evaluations of him by a forensic psychiatrist.
In his ruling, Judge Hulme said he could not rely on the psychiatrist’s opinions because he appeared to accept the murderer’s false and incomplete statement.
It was first raised in the appeals court on Thursday, when it was scheduled for a two-hour hearing on March 18.
This came seven years after the courtroom’s public gallery erupted with applause as Holdom was sentenced to two life sentences.
He was found to have raped Ms Pearce-Stevenson in an “extremely callous and sadistic manner”, violently murdering and sexually assaulting Ms Pearce-Stevenson before dumping her half-naked body in the woods.
“His treatment of her demonstrated his complete disdain for her existence as a human being,” Judge Hulme said. he said.
“To him she was nothing but flesh with a life that could be destroyed for the sake of his disgusting pleasure.”
Four days later, Holdom murdered a “completely defenseless” Khandalyce in a “vile” manner, which he admitted had attempted or planned to sexually assault her.
She stuffed a dishrag into the boy’s mouth and wrapped a disposable diaper around his head before packing his body into a suitcase.
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
Lifeline 13 11 14
Male Referral Service 1300 766 491
National Sexual Abuse and Resolution Support Service 1800 211 028
