Ashwood Rooming House Rampage - Not Guilty

A man with a psychotic disorder lashed out after being evicted from a rooming house 

Charges: Murder and intentionally causing serious injury

Occurred: Friday, 15 March 2012

Where: 32 Salisbury Road, Ashwood

Judgment:  12 April 2013

Accused:  Barry Lee Kingi

Victims:  Jared Clinton (deceased), and Lisa, Jeremiah and Vincent Vu (injured)

What happened?
For several weeks, Barry, a 28 year old man who had been previously diagnosed with a psychotic disorder, had been living in an allegedly unregistered rooming house in Ashwood with, among others, Jared Clinton, Lisa Vu and her two children. On the night before the attack, Lisa, who ran the establishment, informed Barry that he would have to leave because of the damage he had earlier caused to an internet connection plug.  Barry grew angry and began to act unusually - he was seen later on that night lying on the floor muttering to himself.  In the early hours of the morning he knocked on all the residents' doors.  He came to Jared's door at 4am and a physical altercation ensued.  Barry dragged Jared out onto the street and attacked him further.  He left Jared lying helpless and returned inside the house.  Jared, 34 years old, died the next day in hospital of 'severe injuries to the head exacerbated by the injuries to his abdomen'.

Emergency crew at the scene (source).

Barry then entered the room occupied by Lisa and her two children.  He attacked all three of them, causing lacerations, bruising and memory loss to Lisa (who was in hospital for three days), head injuries to Jeremiah, a 15 year old boy who was hospitalised for two weeks, and several abrasions and bruises to Vincent, who was only three years old.

Later, during an interview with police, Barry (who was later observed by a forensic psychiatrist to be 'floridly psychotic and manic') did not say much other than that he was 'acting on a self defence theme'.

Outcome of trial
The prosecution and defence counsel agreed to run a hearing before a Judge pursuant to the Crimes (Mental Impairment and Unfitness to the Tried) Act 1997 (Vic).  Under that legislation, if it is established that the accused has a defence of mental impairment, he or she must be found not guilty.

The Judge was satisfied that Barry had a mental impairment which caused him to have no understanding of the nature and quality of his actions, nor that his conduct was wrong.  Accordingly, Barry was found not guilty of all charges.

Orders

Police outside the Ashwood home (source).

Barry received a custodial supervision order for a mandatory nominal term of 25 years. He was committed into the custody of Victorian Institute of Forensic Mental Health, which runs the Thomas Embling Hospital, a 116 bed secure mental health facility in Fairfield that houses patients from the criminal justice system. Barry will spend a minimum of 25 years in custody before the Court reviews the order.  In the meantime he may apply for temporary leave or extended leave from custody, which will be granted only if it is considered that the public will not be put at risk by his presence.

You can read the judgment here.  News articles are available here, here and here.

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.