September 5th 2024.
A man who committed a heinous crime of wrapping another man's body in a carpet and leaving it in a canoe will spend more time behind bars. The prosecutors had appealed his initial sentence of seven years and six months, and today, it was successfully increased by two years by the Court of Appeal. This decision was made because the judges found that the man, Terrence Tiumalu, had shown "appalling callousness" towards his victim, Brendon Farrell.
The tragic incident took place in 2021 when Tiumalu, at the request of his friend Richard Jackson, went to Farrell's home to help with an eviction. However, things took a violent turn when Tiumalu spontaneously attacked Farrell, slapping and punching him, causing him to bleed. He then went on to tell Jackson that he had done some "re-decorating" inside the house, referring to the blood that was everywhere. Tiumalu then proceeded to carry Farrell's body to his car and drive away, leaving it there for several days.
In a monitored phone call in July of the same year, Tiumalu mentioned to someone that some of his actions had been featured in the news and that if he were to get caught, the consequences would be severe. This prompted the police to search his home, where they found blood-stained boots and a shovel. A day later, they discovered Farrell's decomposed body wrapped in a carpet inside a canoe in a suburban backyard.
Tiumalu was arrested and pleaded guilty to manslaughter, for which he was initially given a sentence of seven years and six months in prison, with a non-parole period of five years. However, his lawyers argued that his actions were spontaneous and that he was remorseful, and his sentence should be reduced because of his borderline personality disorder and drug use. But the Director of Public Prosecutions appealed this sentence, stating that it was too lenient.
The Court of Appeal agreed with the prosecutor's arguments, stating that the initial sentence was "manifestly inadequate." They found that the sentencing judge had given too much weight to Tiumalu's mental condition, and there was no evidence linking it to his offending. They also noted that Tiumalu's assault on Farrell was disproportionate to any actions by the victim. The three judges re-sentenced Tiumalu to nine years and six months in prison, with a non-parole period of seven years, as they found that he had shown "appalling callousness" towards his victim and was not truly remorseful. The initial sentence was deemed to be too lenient, and the judges believed that a longer sentence was necessary to serve justice.
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