1014CCJ Assignment 1 PDF

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Running Head: ASSESSMENT 1

1014CCJ Homicide Assessment 1: Homicide Case Study

Name: Student Number: Tutor: Assoc Prof Danielle Reynald Word Count: 1649 Due Date: Monday 5pm, 17 August 2020

ASSESSMENT 1

2 Assessment 1: Homicide Case Study

Question 1 On the first of February, 2016, Gavin De Beyer had allegedly murdered his wife, Sharon Michelutti, by a single abdominal stab wound inflicted with a kitchen knife in her Riverwood home in New South Wales (Benny-Morrison, 2016; R v Gavin John De Beyer, 2017). Approximately twenty-two months later, on the seventh of December, 2017, De Beyer was found guilty of murder and sentenced to twenty-five years’ imprisonment with no possibility of parole for nineteen of those years by the Supreme Court of New South Wales (R v Gavin John De Beyer, 2017). This case features intentional homicide and, more specifically, interpersonal homicide. As court records state, Sharon Michelutti was the offender's wife and, hence, an intimate partner; therefore, the R v Gavin John De Beyer case falls under the category of intimate partner homicide. Question 2 Mr De Beyer was the eldest of four children, two of whom have passed away. His mother, Barbara Booth, had recounted De Beyer’s childhood as a damaging one (R v Gavin John De Beyer, 2017). The offender's father, John Ralston De Beyer, was described as an angry man by Ms Booth. It was said that he was frequently physically abusive towards her to so much of an extent that, on occasion, Ms Booth would require hospitalisation. On multiple occasions, the offender’s father would physically abuse the mother in front of the offender and his siblings as he “required” an audience (R v Gavin John De Beyer, 2017). Ms Booth had also stated that the father of the offender was very strict with him specifically and physically abused him as a child. When any of the offender’s younger siblings misbehaved, the father would abuse the offender as a punishment for the others’ wrongdoing (R v Gavin John De Beyer, 2017). The offender often excessively consumed alcohol and used illicit substances with the deceased, the use of illicit drugs impacting upon the family's finances which put a strain on the already troubled relationship. The offender would frequently physically assault the deceased. This abuse would involve pushing Sharon Michelutti, punching her, kicking her, throwing objects at her and head butting her. Police had previously been called to the home after the couple had been drinking and arguing which led to an apprehended domestic violence order being made against the offender a little over a fortnight prior to the murder of Sharon Michelutti. At the time of the murder, the offender, Gavin John De Beyer was a 50-year-old male residing in Sydney, New South Wales (Stephens, 2017). He holds a sporadic criminal history, first recorded in the Children’s Court in 1979. Committed offences which hold significance include the breaching of an apprehended violence order (AVO) and stalking and intimidating with intent (R v Gavin John De Beyer, 2017). However, the stated entries were infrequent, appearing over years between 1996 to 2000 and from 2011 to 2014.

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Question 3 Being a male of 50 years old with previous criminal history and an extensive history of physically abusing Sharon Michelutti before acting alone in her murder, De Beyer fits the majority of general patterns of offenders who commit intimate partner homicide such as the characteristics and general behavioural patterns of such offenders. As research conducted by the Australia Institute of Criminology highlighted, 78% of perpetrators of intimate partner homicide were males with 22% of offenders aged 50-64. (Bricknell, 2016). Of the 264 identified offenders of intimate partner homicide in 2015-16, 72% acted alone committing the homicide; 55% of these offenders had previous criminal history (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2016). Intimate partner homicides were accounted for 48 percent of all domestic homicide cases occurring in 2015-2016 (Bricknell, 2016). The murder took place in the victim's home as Mr De Beyer stabbed her with a knife. With 61% of incidents occurring within a residential setting and half occurring in the victim’s home, Mr De Beyer also fits this pattern (Cussen & Bryant, 2015). A weapon was used in 178 homicide incidents, of which 47% were perpetrated with a knife between 2015 and 2016. It is evident that the characteristics of De Beyer are in line with those of other offenders of similar crimes.

Question 4 Sharon Michelutti was a 48-year-old mother of five residing in Riverwood, New South Wales (Benny-Morrison, 2016). Ms Michelutti had been in a relationship with De Beyer since their teenage years and had been married to him since 2001 (R v Gavin John De Beyer (2017). The eldest of the couple's five children was 30 years of age at the time of the homicide and the youngest, seven. At the time of the murder, their two youngest children were residing at their home; however, neither were present during the killing (R v Gavin John De Beyer, 2017). As mentioned previously, the offender and deceased allegedly consumed alcohol excessively at times, in addition to the usage of illicit substances (R v Gavin John De Beyer, 2017). The expense of drug use putting a strain on family finances and causing animosity between the couple (R v Gavin John De Beyer, 2017). Their relationship was said to have been a troubling one for many years with a confidant of Ms Michelutti stating that the deceased had been victimised by De Beyer for "decades". The couple were known to regularly argue about numerous issues including finance, the behaviour of the children and some more petty matters. However, during the arguments, the offender would frequently abuse the deceased by throwing things at her, pushing her, punching her, kicking her and, at times, head butting her (R v Gavin John De Beyer, 2017). The sounds coming from the household had been normalised by neighbours as it was so frequent and had gone on for so long (R v Gavin John De Beyer, 2017).

Question 5 Between 2015 and 2016, there were 235 recorded victims of homicide in NSW (Australia Bureau of Statistics, 2016). Of the victims, 95% were killed in single-victim incidents. A woman of 48 years at the time, the deceased shares characteristics with 37% of victims of homicide who were females aged between 35 and 54 (Cussen & Bryant, 2015). Additionally, 80% of victims of intimate partner homicide are female, 60% of them knowing their killer

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(Cussen & Bryant, 2015; Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2016). In this case, the offender was the victim’s partner of 30 years (R v Gavin John De Beyer, 2017). As aforementioned, the homicide took place in Ms Michelutti's home which is where 68% of intimate partner homicides occur due to a presence of control over the victim (Cussen & Bryant, 2015). Of 84 cases where the cause of death was determined to be stab wounds, 34 were domestic which fits the stabbing of Sharon Michelutti (Australia Bureau of Statistics, 2016). Finally, 73% of female victims of homicide were killed in an act of intimate partner homicide, typically not separated from their partner and killed by a partner who had previously inflicted violence against her; this is also similar to the respective case (Cussen & Bryant, 2015).

Question 6 There were many warning signs which emerged as risk factors leading up to this homicide incident. The initial warning sign was the offender’s criminal history which, while sporadic, began in 1979 (R v Gavin John De Beyer, 2017). His recorded offences of significant importance including breaching of an AVO and stalking and intimidating with intent (R v Gavin John De Beyer, 2017). The committal of both of these offences in De Beyer's past make it not unlikely to assume that he could later pose a threat to the victim's life. Secondly, an AVO had been served to De Beyer on the 23rd of January 2016, making the threat to the victim clear to the justice system (R v Gavin John De Beyer, 2017). The AVO would have protected the victim and the two children who resided with them at the time if enforced properly. Thirdly, all the abuse Ms Michelutti endured over the years should have served as the most prominent warning sign. The court report and news articles specify that neighbours were aware of the conflict between the offender and victim, hearing sounds regularly enough that it became usual (R v Gavin John De Beyer, 2017). The deceased was even painted as a “shy and timid” woman who had been experiencing violence at the hands of the offender for decades (R v Gavin John De Beyer, 2017).

Question 7 Firstly, the Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act 2007 aims to ensure that people can be protected from domestic and personal violence. It is the police’s duty to act swiftly in the investigation of possible domestic abuse cases and it is evident that they failed to fulfil this duty in the case of Sharon Michelutti. This is evident in the way that in December 2015, the police were called to the deceased's home as the offender and the victim had been drinking and arguing. An AVO was made against the offender one month after the respective incident. The police should have been monitoring the offender in order to prevent him from breaching the AVO (R v Gavin John De Beyer, 2017). Secondly, the children may have known of the frequent instances at the victim’s house. They had the power to potentially protect the victim by reaching out for help from the police or other support services. Whilst the youngest two children were most likely too young to comprehend the situation, the eldest of their children was aged thirty at the time and could have potentially seeked help for their mother (R v Gavin John De Beyer, 2017).

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Although the offender’s mother, Barbara Booth, had lost frequent contact with her son and the victim, with her knowledge of the offender’s upbringing and the abuse that he had endured by the hand of his father, Ms Booth should have checked in with the couple and supported the Sharon Michelutti as a past victim herself (R v Gavin John De Beyer, 2017). Finally, neighbours have stated that they frequently heard arguments and worrying noises coming from the home prior to Sharon's death. If the neighbours had accessed supportive resources or informed the police of the situation at the victim’s house on the day of the homicide and reported past fights between the couple, it should have prompted the police to arrive at the house, therefore preventing the incident from occurring. Neighbours also should have been made aware of the AVO against the offender as they would then have been able to report his presence at Sharon's property to police. A neighbour who had known the deceased for "a long time", was also a confidant of the deceased and gave evidence in court of the troubles Sharon endured at the hands of Mr De Beyer; yet, she never reached out for the appropriate support to attract help for Sharon (R v Gavin John De Beyer, 2017). If these potential guardians had spoken up, Ms Michelutti would most likely have survived the abuse. However, it must be noted that a lack of information or even a fear of Mr De Beyer could have led any one of these potential guardians to not have the ability to have protected Sharon Michelutti.

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Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2016, July). Victims of Family and Domestic Violence – Related Offences. (No. 4510.0) https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/[email protected]/Lookup/by %20Subject/4510.0~2015~Main%20Features~Experimental%20Family%20and%20Domestic %20Violence%20Statistics~6 Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2017, July). New South Wales - Homicide and Related Offences. (No. 4510.0). https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/[email protected]/Lookup/by%20Subject/4510.0~016~Main %20Features~New%20South%20Wales~7 Benny-Morison, A. (2016, February 2). ‘My dad killed her didn’t he?’: Sharon Michelutti found dead in Riverwood home. The Sydney Morning Herald. https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/mydad-killed-her-didnt-he-sharon-michelutti-found-dead-in-riverwood-home-20160202gmjhiq.html

Bricknell, S. (2016). Statistical Report: Homicide in Australia 2015-2016 (17). Australian Institute of Criminology. Retrieved August 11, 2020 from https://www.aic.gov.au/sites/default/files/2020-05/sr17_homicide_in_australia_2015-16.pdf Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act 2007 No 80 (NSW) (Austl.) https://www.legislation.nsw.gov.au/#/view/act/2007/80/full Cussen, T., & Bryant, W. (2015). Domestic/family homicide in Australia. Australian Institute of Criminology. Retrieved August 11, 2020 from https://www.aic.gov.au/publications/rip/rip38 Stephens, J. (2017). Sydney man jailed over wife’s murder. Proquest. https://search-proquest-com.libraryproxy.griffith.edu.au/docview/1973145297? pqorigsite=summon

R v Gavin John De Beyer (2017) NSWSC 1700 http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgibin/viewdoc/au/cases/nsw/NSWSC/2017/1700.html? context=1;query=R%20v%20de%20beyer;mask_path=...