‘Unspeakable loss’ as man murdered in dispute over dog
Simple actions like setting the table for a meal or glancing at an array of fishing rods can move Suzanne Magowan to tears as she recalls the many meals she shared with her son.
Almost three years after Paul Davy, 43, was fatally shot during an argument over a dog, his mother says she is still waiting for him to return home.
“I still cook for him,” she wrote in a victim impact statement read in the NSW Supreme Court on Monday.
The father-of-one was shot in the chest by Luke Willcockson on the doorstep of a home in Kendall on the mid-north coast of NSW in November 2023.
Willcockson, now 40, was found guilty of murder by a jury in February following a weeks-long trial.
At the sentencing hearing on Monday, Mr Davy’s family revealed the inevitable pain his killer had caused them.
“You took my friend, my love, my singing and dancing partner, my fishing partner,” Ms. Magowan wrote in her statement.
“It’s so hard to even say his name without crying.”
Mr Davy’s sister Dona said her mother was weakened almost overnight by the “unspeakable loss of Paul”.
Mr Davy had become a “character”, sharing his talents with his family and teaching his sister to swim, play the guitar and fish.
“(He was) one of the funniest people who could lighten anyone’s mood or brighten anyone’s day,” his sister recalled, her voice breaking.
“I still need it every day.”
Speaking in court, Willcockson expressed his “deepest and most heartfelt condolences” to Mr Davy’s loved ones.
“I am truly sorry for the pain, grief and suffering I have caused,” he read.
“I never wanted Paul to get seriously injured or lose his life.”
But chief prosecutor Carl Young questioned how he could say he accepted full responsibility for his actions while denying he intended to harm Mr Davy.
“I take responsibility for the accidental discharge of the gun,” the 40-year-old man said.
Acting Judge Ian Harrison said his insistence that the shooting was accidental was inconsistent with the jury’s guilty verdict and Willcockson’s own claim that he had been provoked by Mr Davy.
CCTV footage shows Willcockson arriving at a home in Kendall with a dog and Mr Davy demanding the dog be returned to its owner moments later.
When Willcockson pointed the gun at him, a witness said Mr Davy “provoked him” by saying: “You’re not going to shoot me.”
Willcockson’s lawyer, David Stewart, argued his client intended to cause grievous bodily harm rather than kill.
He emphasized that the incident occurred suddenly and that Willcockson was under the influence of drugs.
Willcockson will be sentenced on Thursday.
