Bashing murder is small rural town wasn't vigilantism
Roger James Kilby, 40, stole a mobile phone from Andrew John Anthoney's house after a drinking session in the small central western NSW town of Peak Hill on March 2, 2023.
Nine days later, after dancing and drinking at the local RSL, he went back to Mr Anthoney's home to confront the 57-year-old about child abuse material allegedly found on the phone.
Kilby pleaded guilty in February to committing murder after the verbal confrontation escalated into violence.
He was sentenced by the NSW Supreme Court on Monday to a maximum 18 years behind bars.
The concreter left his victim unconscious in his home and was seen by witnesses soon after swearing and screaming in a panic.
"I think I killed this matey down here," he said.
Justice Dina Yehia said Mr Anthoney had been killed by "a sustained and very violent assault involving numerous blows".
While Kilby went to the Peak Hill home over the perceived child abuse material, he had not visited as a vigilante intending to take the law into his own hands, she said.
Instead, the murder was "impulsive and unsophisticated" occurring after the verbal argument worsened.
Kilby had his sentence backdated to his March 2023 arrest when he handed himself in to local police.
He was given a non-parole period of 12 years and six months, meaning he will be eligible for release on September 11, 2035.
The judge found Kilby had shown genuine remorse for his actions and had made positive steps towards rehabilitation while in prison.
This included completing an engineering certificate, being appointed the Aboriginal delegate, leading NAIDOC events within the prison, and having his artwork displayed at an exhibition.
She said his signs of becoming a productive member of society were positive if he could continue getting treatment for his drug and alcohol addiction.
In a letter of apology to the court, the 40-year-old expressed regret and sorrow to his community and said he wanted to become a better man, the judge said.
Kilby sat emotionless wearing prison greens from a room in Bathurst prison during his sentencing.
13YARN 13 92 76
Lifeline 13 11 14
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Perth Now
3 days ago
- Perth Now
Changes urged after family misses farewelling dying son
Lathan Brown was a warm and creative young man with a "fighting spirit", one of eight siblings who shared deep bonds with a big extended family. That family is now living with "endless pain", having missed saying their final goodbyes by just 10 minutes after Mr Brown's sudden death on January 6, 2024. The 28-year-old, a proud Kamilaroi and Barkandji man, was on remand in Wellington Correctional Centre, in central western NSW, when he collapsed in his cell that afternoon. Deputy State Coroner Stuart Devine on Thursday found Mr Brown's unexpected death from heart arrhythmia was not preventable. But Mr Devine highlighted several gaps in NSW Corrective Services officers' communication with the Brown family, which meant they were not at his bedside when he died in hospital. Paramedics took Mr Brown to Wellington hospital just before 5pm and a prison officer called his family to inform them of his dire condition, the inquest was told. One of Mr Brown's uncles called the officer for an update at 6pm and was told he would be transferred to the larger hospital at nearby Dubbo. Mr Brown's father Michael then drove 150km from Orange to Dubbo to be with his son, but medical teams had already arranged for him to be flown by helicopter to Orange Health Service. Resuscitation efforts were stopped soon after Mr Brown arrived at the Orange facility and he died at 11.15pm. His father got to the hospital at 11.25pm. "Lathan passed away without his family being with him and this is still deeply horrifying and upsetting to me," Michael Brown said in a statement, issued through the NSW Aboriginal Legal Service. "We didn't get a chance to say goodbye. "There was time wasted where we could have spent time with him and we can never get that time back." The coroner made several recommendations, including that NSW Corrective Services policies be amended, requiring a senior officer to closely liaise with families in the event of an inmate's imminent death. Mr Devine said Mr Brown's case should also be considered in the context of First Nations deaths in custody. "Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are notoriously over-represented within NSW's prison population and consequently there are a disturbing number of Aboriginal deaths in custody," he said. "There can be no argument that First Nations people continue to experience significant disadvantage and poorer health outcomes across the board compared to the broader population." The Brown family showed strength, fortitude and "quiet dignity" while demanding answers for their son, grandson and brother, Mr Devine said. "It is obvious to me they wanted to understand the full circumstances of Lathan's death, but also wanted to be part of any positive change that could arise from his passing." 13YARN 13 92 76 Lifeline 13 11 14
Perth Now
3 days ago
- Perth Now
Police confusing victim with abuser, family workers say
Family violence workers hold major concerns about police misidentifying victims as perpetrators, minimising or downplaying violence and discriminating against marginalised groups. That's according to a survey of 225 frontline family violence experts including support workers and lawyers, published by advocacy group and charity Flat Out Inc. The report into Victoria Police released on Thursday found officers' responses to family violence can bring harm or replicate power and control dynamics that underpin abuse. Some 90 per cent of those surveyed said they had witnessed police discrimination or bias and 83 per cent said they had witnessed police misidentifying the victim-survivor as the perpetrator. They also reported cases of police minimising violence, colluding with perpetrators, avoiding accountability and "institutionally protecting" officers who committed abuse. Researchers noted many professionals reported police "targeting and discriminating" against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, migrant communities, LGBTQI people, people living with disability and other groups. "The testimony from family violence workers is a significant indictment of Victoria Police and their role in family violence response across this state," RMIT criminologist and report co-author Peta Malins said. Family violence sector workers are in a unique position to observe police practices by seeing them firsthand and through the experience of people they support, she said, adding the harms "are not standalone mistakes or failures". Family violence experts completed the survey in 2020/21 and the results were released by Flat Out Inc, an advocacy and support service for women, trans and gender-diverse people with experience of the justice system. The authors called for a move away from policing and towards investment in community-led family violence responses. A Victoria Police spokesperson said the force was not involved in the research and noted it was conducted in 2020/21. They said police work closely with sector-wide partners and regularly engage with support groups and professionals to strengthen their response to family violence. "The safety of victims is at the forefront of everything we do," they said. All police receive extensive family violence training including how to identify predominant aggressors, and more than 90 per cent of officers had completed Aboriginal cultural awareness training, the spokesperson added. "We know it's especially difficult for victim-survivors to come forward when their perpetrator is a police officer," they said. "That's why we created a team specifically tasked with tackling this issue, skilled in supporting victims and understanding the tactics police perpetrators use." About one in four Australian women has experienced family violence involving an intimate partner, according to Australian Institute of Health and Welfare data.
The Advertiser
4 days ago
- The Advertiser
Legal issues arise in the prosecution of a 13-year-old Chinese girl for murder
The prosecution of a 13-year-old Chinese girl for the stabbing murder of a fellow exchange student at Lake Macquarie will present extraordinary challenges for the state's justice system. The prosecution of a child, who is also a foreign national, for murder is believed to be unprecedented in Australian legal circles. "There are certainly examples of children being prosecuted for murder, but I have never heard of a Chinese girl in a situation like this. It's quite extraordinary," Professor John Anderson from the University of Newcastle's School of Law and Justice said. Australia's youngest killer, known as SLD, was convicted of killing three-year-old Courtney Morley-Clarke on the Central Coast in 2001 when he was just 13. He was released from prison in March this year after serving 22 years in custody. For children over the age of 10 and under the age of 14, the common law presumption of doli incapax (incapable of wrong) applies to criminal offences - that is, children do not possess the necessary criminal intent to be held responsible for their actions. This means the law presumes they cannot distinguish between right and wrong in a way that would make them legally culpable for a crime. This can be rebutted by the prosecution if it can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the child understood their actions were seriously wrong. "If you look at the James Bulger case in England, those boys were 10 and 11 when they were prosecuted. There was a doli incapax argument raised in that case, but it was overcome," Professor Anderson said. "Prosecuting a 13-year-old does raise lots of other issues in the criminal system in terms of establishing criminal responsibility, but it's not impossible. Certainly, a 13-year-old can be criminally responsible. In addition to her age and nationality, the girl's fitness will be a further complication for prosecutors. Magistrate Andrew Eckhold noted that the girl, who can not be named, appeared to be"severely unwell" and was taking "an extraordinary number of medications" when the case was mentioned in Broadmeadow Children's Court on Wednesday. "Depending on what the mental health issues are, and if there is any psychiatric evidence, it then becomes a question of whether they (the defence) can raise the mental health defenses to murder, of which there are two - the mental illness defense or the defense of substantial impairment by mental abnormality, which is only available to murder, and would reduce murder to manslaughter if it was successful," Professor Anderson said. Ultimately, the case will be determined in the NSW Supreme Court. Newcastle-based lawyer Drew Hamilton said he believed that, given the recent push by NSW Chief Justice Andrew Bell to bring justice to the regions, there was a fair chance a future trial would be held in Newcastle. Specialist resources will also have to be provided to ensure the girl is appropriately represented. "As a Chinese foreign national and young person, she would be considered extremely vulnerable," Mr Hamilton said. "She would need additional assistance from an experienced legal team, qualified interpreters, juvenile justice officers and allied health professionals. If found guilty, further questions would arise as to whether the girl would serve her sentence in Australia or whether she could be transferred to China. "Australia does have prisoner exchange programs with certain countries, but I think it would go over to the Foreign Minister. That would bring in very different types of negotiations," Professor Anderson said. The prosecution of a 13-year-old Chinese girl for the stabbing murder of a fellow exchange student at Lake Macquarie will present extraordinary challenges for the state's justice system. The prosecution of a child, who is also a foreign national, for murder is believed to be unprecedented in Australian legal circles. "There are certainly examples of children being prosecuted for murder, but I have never heard of a Chinese girl in a situation like this. It's quite extraordinary," Professor John Anderson from the University of Newcastle's School of Law and Justice said. Australia's youngest killer, known as SLD, was convicted of killing three-year-old Courtney Morley-Clarke on the Central Coast in 2001 when he was just 13. He was released from prison in March this year after serving 22 years in custody. For children over the age of 10 and under the age of 14, the common law presumption of doli incapax (incapable of wrong) applies to criminal offences - that is, children do not possess the necessary criminal intent to be held responsible for their actions. This means the law presumes they cannot distinguish between right and wrong in a way that would make them legally culpable for a crime. This can be rebutted by the prosecution if it can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the child understood their actions were seriously wrong. "If you look at the James Bulger case in England, those boys were 10 and 11 when they were prosecuted. There was a doli incapax argument raised in that case, but it was overcome," Professor Anderson said. "Prosecuting a 13-year-old does raise lots of other issues in the criminal system in terms of establishing criminal responsibility, but it's not impossible. Certainly, a 13-year-old can be criminally responsible. In addition to her age and nationality, the girl's fitness will be a further complication for prosecutors. Magistrate Andrew Eckhold noted that the girl, who can not be named, appeared to be"severely unwell" and was taking "an extraordinary number of medications" when the case was mentioned in Broadmeadow Children's Court on Wednesday. "Depending on what the mental health issues are, and if there is any psychiatric evidence, it then becomes a question of whether they (the defence) can raise the mental health defenses to murder, of which there are two - the mental illness defense or the defense of substantial impairment by mental abnormality, which is only available to murder, and would reduce murder to manslaughter if it was successful," Professor Anderson said. Ultimately, the case will be determined in the NSW Supreme Court. Newcastle-based lawyer Drew Hamilton said he believed that, given the recent push by NSW Chief Justice Andrew Bell to bring justice to the regions, there was a fair chance a future trial would be held in Newcastle. Specialist resources will also have to be provided to ensure the girl is appropriately represented. "As a Chinese foreign national and young person, she would be considered extremely vulnerable," Mr Hamilton said. "She would need additional assistance from an experienced legal team, qualified interpreters, juvenile justice officers and allied health professionals. If found guilty, further questions would arise as to whether the girl would serve her sentence in Australia or whether she could be transferred to China. "Australia does have prisoner exchange programs with certain countries, but I think it would go over to the Foreign Minister. That would bring in very different types of negotiations," Professor Anderson said. The prosecution of a 13-year-old Chinese girl for the stabbing murder of a fellow exchange student at Lake Macquarie will present extraordinary challenges for the state's justice system. The prosecution of a child, who is also a foreign national, for murder is believed to be unprecedented in Australian legal circles. "There are certainly examples of children being prosecuted for murder, but I have never heard of a Chinese girl in a situation like this. It's quite extraordinary," Professor John Anderson from the University of Newcastle's School of Law and Justice said. Australia's youngest killer, known as SLD, was convicted of killing three-year-old Courtney Morley-Clarke on the Central Coast in 2001 when he was just 13. He was released from prison in March this year after serving 22 years in custody. For children over the age of 10 and under the age of 14, the common law presumption of doli incapax (incapable of wrong) applies to criminal offences - that is, children do not possess the necessary criminal intent to be held responsible for their actions. This means the law presumes they cannot distinguish between right and wrong in a way that would make them legally culpable for a crime. This can be rebutted by the prosecution if it can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the child understood their actions were seriously wrong. "If you look at the James Bulger case in England, those boys were 10 and 11 when they were prosecuted. There was a doli incapax argument raised in that case, but it was overcome," Professor Anderson said. "Prosecuting a 13-year-old does raise lots of other issues in the criminal system in terms of establishing criminal responsibility, but it's not impossible. Certainly, a 13-year-old can be criminally responsible. In addition to her age and nationality, the girl's fitness will be a further complication for prosecutors. Magistrate Andrew Eckhold noted that the girl, who can not be named, appeared to be"severely unwell" and was taking "an extraordinary number of medications" when the case was mentioned in Broadmeadow Children's Court on Wednesday. "Depending on what the mental health issues are, and if there is any psychiatric evidence, it then becomes a question of whether they (the defence) can raise the mental health defenses to murder, of which there are two - the mental illness defense or the defense of substantial impairment by mental abnormality, which is only available to murder, and would reduce murder to manslaughter if it was successful," Professor Anderson said. Ultimately, the case will be determined in the NSW Supreme Court. Newcastle-based lawyer Drew Hamilton said he believed that, given the recent push by NSW Chief Justice Andrew Bell to bring justice to the regions, there was a fair chance a future trial would be held in Newcastle. Specialist resources will also have to be provided to ensure the girl is appropriately represented. "As a Chinese foreign national and young person, she would be considered extremely vulnerable," Mr Hamilton said. "She would need additional assistance from an experienced legal team, qualified interpreters, juvenile justice officers and allied health professionals. If found guilty, further questions would arise as to whether the girl would serve her sentence in Australia or whether she could be transferred to China. "Australia does have prisoner exchange programs with certain countries, but I think it would go over to the Foreign Minister. That would bring in very different types of negotiations," Professor Anderson said. The prosecution of a 13-year-old Chinese girl for the stabbing murder of a fellow exchange student at Lake Macquarie will present extraordinary challenges for the state's justice system. The prosecution of a child, who is also a foreign national, for murder is believed to be unprecedented in Australian legal circles. "There are certainly examples of children being prosecuted for murder, but I have never heard of a Chinese girl in a situation like this. It's quite extraordinary," Professor John Anderson from the University of Newcastle's School of Law and Justice said. Australia's youngest killer, known as SLD, was convicted of killing three-year-old Courtney Morley-Clarke on the Central Coast in 2001 when he was just 13. He was released from prison in March this year after serving 22 years in custody. For children over the age of 10 and under the age of 14, the common law presumption of doli incapax (incapable of wrong) applies to criminal offences - that is, children do not possess the necessary criminal intent to be held responsible for their actions. This means the law presumes they cannot distinguish between right and wrong in a way that would make them legally culpable for a crime. This can be rebutted by the prosecution if it can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the child understood their actions were seriously wrong. "If you look at the James Bulger case in England, those boys were 10 and 11 when they were prosecuted. There was a doli incapax argument raised in that case, but it was overcome," Professor Anderson said. "Prosecuting a 13-year-old does raise lots of other issues in the criminal system in terms of establishing criminal responsibility, but it's not impossible. Certainly, a 13-year-old can be criminally responsible. In addition to her age and nationality, the girl's fitness will be a further complication for prosecutors. Magistrate Andrew Eckhold noted that the girl, who can not be named, appeared to be"severely unwell" and was taking "an extraordinary number of medications" when the case was mentioned in Broadmeadow Children's Court on Wednesday. "Depending on what the mental health issues are, and if there is any psychiatric evidence, it then becomes a question of whether they (the defence) can raise the mental health defenses to murder, of which there are two - the mental illness defense or the defense of substantial impairment by mental abnormality, which is only available to murder, and would reduce murder to manslaughter if it was successful," Professor Anderson said. Ultimately, the case will be determined in the NSW Supreme Court. Newcastle-based lawyer Drew Hamilton said he believed that, given the recent push by NSW Chief Justice Andrew Bell to bring justice to the regions, there was a fair chance a future trial would be held in Newcastle. Specialist resources will also have to be provided to ensure the girl is appropriately represented. "As a Chinese foreign national and young person, she would be considered extremely vulnerable," Mr Hamilton said. "She would need additional assistance from an experienced legal team, qualified interpreters, juvenile justice officers and allied health professionals. If found guilty, further questions would arise as to whether the girl would serve her sentence in Australia or whether she could be transferred to China. "Australia does have prisoner exchange programs with certain countries, but I think it would go over to the Foreign Minister. That would bring in very different types of negotiations," Professor Anderson said.
