Man who took ‘delight’ in murdering father, step-mother makes bid for reduced jail term

Former security guard Corey Breen, who murdered his father and stepmother in their North Sydney home amid a violent crime spree, has managed to cut just part of his massive prison sentence after a desperate bid in the state’s highest court.

Breen was told he would spend the lion’s share of his adult life behind bars following his conviction in 2015 for the gruesome murders of his father Paul Breen and stepmother Felicia Crawford.

On Good Friday 2013, Breen broke the glass panels of the unlocked front door of his father’s North Sydney home with a hunting knife before kicking in the door.

Breen stabbed his father 15 times before brutally murdering his stepmother as she tried to hide behind a door.

The presence of two young children in the house at the time made his crime even more terrible. Neither can be identified for legal reasons.

In the NSW Supreme Court in 2015, Breen was sentenced to 42 years in prison with a non-parole period of 33 years.

But this year, after spending the last decade in prison, Breen, now 38, tried to get his sentence suspended by appealing at the Criminal Appeal Court.

In his appeal, he argued that sentencing judge Justice Jane Mathews made several errors, including taking into account nine interconnected crimes during a crime spree that Breen launched on the afternoon of the murders.

crime spree

Breen began his crime spree by attacking his girlfriend just hours before the double murder.

He armed himself with a 19cm hunting knife and pulled out his rifle. A guest at his home confiscated the gun, but Breen left the house with the knife.

He stabbed a man in the face before stealing a woman’s bike.

At a nearby convenience store, he attacked two bystanders and his girlfriend and tried to steal a car.

Breen texted his girlfriend’s mother, “You’re dead, you dirty bastard,” and stole a car from a nearby house before driving to his grandparents’ house with the intention of killing them.

Once there, he stole another car and went to his friends’ house to steal guns.

A resident of the home refused to give him a shotgun, and he shook his hand, which held the keys to the firearms store.

He finally dropped her off, grabbed his phone, and headed to his father’s house.

He was captured by the police shortly after killing his father and stepmother.

“Multiple murders, man,” Breen said as he was arrested.

“I achieved my mission”

In sentencing, Judge Mathews said Breen had expressed his “delight” at the murders and told officers of his “absolute pure hatred” for his father and Miss Crawford because of his “bad upbringing”.

Judge Mathews said: “The joy he took in killing the two victims is quite chilling.”

Objection

During the appeal proceedings, the Crown acknowledged that it was open to the three-judge panel of Justices Kristina Stern, Natalie Adams and Nicholas Chen to determine that three of Breen’s four grounds of appeal had been determined.

But they argued that a lower prison sentence was not necessary.

Judge Stern said Breen should not be given a discount for his early guilty plea because his crimes were so heinous.

“The community interest in punishment, retribution, protection of society and deterrence can only be met by the imposition of an unauthorized punishment,” he said.

The Court of Criminal Appeals overturned Breen’s sentence and sentenced him to 43 years in prison with a non-parole period of 31.5 years.

His new sentence shortened the earliest possible release period by 18 months.

He will now be eligible for release in September 2044, but there is no guarantee he will be released on that date.