Glenroy Man Beaten and Set Alight

A 48 year old man was beaten in his boarding home and later set alight.

Crime:  Intentionally causing serious injury (victim later died)
Occurred:  8 March 2009
Sentenced:  2 February 2011
Where: 116 Loongana Avenue, Glenroy
Convicted:  Darryl McHarg and Wayne Arthur
Victim: Shaun Moloney

What happened?
Darryl McHarg and his girlfriend, Wayne Arthur and Shaun Moloney all lived in a boarding house together.  Darryl and Wayne formed the belief that Shaun had sexually assaulted Darryl's girlfriend's son (although there was no basis for this belief).  They entered his room in the early hours of 8 March and, after a heated argument, beat him unconscious, punching him in the abdomen, face and head.  Believing him to be dead, they put him in the back of a car and drove him out to an empty suburban block in Strathmore and set him on fire, this act ultimately killing him.  At the time of the attack Shaun had a blood alcohol reading of 0.51% and the pathologist speculated this also could have contributed to his death.

Shaun Moloney shortly before his death

Shaun Moloney in 1987

Victim's background
Shaun Moloney was 46 years old when he was killed. He used to work for Ansett and travelled the world.  Following the death of a close friend he spiralled into depression.  He was known to frequent pubs around the Pascoe Vale area and was described by an investigating police officer as someone who 'certainly...liked a beer'.  Described by family as friendly and generous, he lived on a disability pension but freely loaned people money.

Wayne's background
Wayne was 49 at the time of the attack.  He was raised in Melbourne and had three siblings.  He caught meningitis as a child and developed treatment-resistant epilepsy, which contributed to his social isolation in adulthood while he lived on a disability pension. He had one previous conviction for intentionally or recklessly causing injury and resisting police. He is single with no children.

Darryl's background

Darryl was 30 years at the time of the attack.  He was born to a 16 year old mother and his father was killed in a motorcycle gang fight when Darryl was six.  At the age of three he was a subject in pornographic photographs and was sexually abused throughout the rest of his childhood.  His list of abusers included his grandmother.  He left school before completing Year 8 and began using a range of drugs including heroin.  He has a series of prior convictions in three different states including assault, threatening to kill, carrying a controlled weapon and motor car offences.  It is believed his history of sexual abuse contributed to his irrational belief that Shaun had been sexually abusing Darryl's girlfriend's son.  Darryl has one daughter, who was born after his fatal attack on Shaun.

Outcome of trial: There was no trial because both men pleaded guilty to intentionally causing serious injury. It is believed it would have been very difficult to convict the men of murder because they thought Shaun was already dead when they set him alight.  Another theory is that the causal connection between the fire and the death could not be established because it was also possible the high alcohol content in Shaun's blood killed him.  In any event, as a private agreement between the prosecution and defence, we may never know why this deal was made.

Sentence:  Both offenders received three and a half years imprisonment until eligible for parole (max six and a half years).  They have served about 18 months of their sentence while in remand.

You can read the judgement here.  Media coverage is available here and here.