A court heard two women who filmed and posted online the “callous” torture of a man who later died after falling from a fourth-floor holiday unit on Australia’s Gold Coast had “complete disregard” for their involvement.
A 19-year-old woman and a 20-year-old woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were sentenced in the Brisbane Supreme Court on Tuesday to one count each of torture and two counts of armed robbery in company.
The two women, who were 16 at the time of the crime, had filmed about five minutes of a 27-minute episode in which Cian John English and his friend were tortured in a room at the View Pacific hotel in Surfers Paradise in the early hours in the morning. of May 23, 2020.
The court was told English and his friend were invited into the courtroom to join the two girls and Lachlan Paul Soper-Lagas, 21, Jason Ryan Knowles, 25, and Hayden Paul Kratzmann, 23, as they partied while They were drinking a prescription cocktail. and over-the-counter medications.
Soper-Lagas, Knowles and Kratzmann had previously been convicted of English’s manslaughter.
Crown prosecutor Caroline Marco said that shortly before 2 a.m. things changed when Kratzmann began accusing English and his friend of stealing the drugs.
Cian John English was tortured in a room at the View Pacific Hotel in Surfers Paradise in the early hours of May 23, 2020. Facebook/Siobhan English English and his friend were invited to the girls’ room. Facebook/Siobhan English
Despite their protests of innocence, the two friends were tortured and assaulted for almost 30 minutes in the room before English attempted to flee the unit by escaping over the balcony where he eventually fell to his death.
The court heard some of the abuse was captured on video by the two women who appeared in court on Tuesday.
Marco said the two girls had filmed videos on their phones, each lasting between 7 and 59 seconds.
The court heard that the woman, now 19, could be heard saying “that’s why you don’t steal from kids” in one of her videos.
Another video recorded by the 20-year-old showed her ordering English to clean his own blood from the floor after being assaulted.
Hayden Paul Kratzman, 23, began accusing English and his friend of stealing the drugs. Facebook/Hayden Kratzman
The court heard the woman had later added text over the video saying “bad bitch im making this sad ct clean up his own blood”.
Marco said both women knew English was “seriously injured on the ground” after falling from the balcony, but instead of calling police they packed up their belongings and fled the unit.
Marco said the women then uploaded their videos to social media.
The 20-year-old woman’s defense lawyer, Angus Edwards, said his client had had a difficult childhood which led to her drug use.
“I was trying to relieve the pain, particularly with Xanax, which I was using a lot,” Edwards said.
“None of that excuses his behavior, all it does is explain his lack of empathy that night, as well as his lack of memory of what happened.”
Jason Knowles, 25, was previously sentenced for the manslaughter of English along with Soper-Lagas and Kratzmann. Facebook/Jason Knowles Knowles was also invited to the hotel room where he was partying while taking a cocktail of prescription drugs and not prescriptions.Facebook/ Jason Knowles
Edwards said his client’s videos were “certainly insensitive” and showed the “very frightening” moments English and his friend faced in the hotel room.
“(She) despises criminals and herself because of what she sees in those videos,” Edwards said.
The 19-year-old’s defense lawyer, Martin Longhurst, said the actions that night were “shocking and disgraceful.”
“My client is aware of that,” Longhurst said.
“She acknowledges that her family loved and missed English very much.
“It’s a family life that my client didn’t have as a child.
“It is accepted that she showed no remorse or insight that night or later in the week.”
The court heard the 19-year-old woman had been heard bragging about the night English died to her friends in the weeks after his death.
In his sentencing remarks, Judge Peter Applegarth said he had taken into account that the two women were not charged over English’s death nor had they been responsible for assaulting him or his friend.
She said the entire series of events leading up to his death were “cruel” and she couldn’t help but wonder what English would have said if he were alive to give his own victim impact statement in court.
Lachlan Soper-Lagas, 21, also attended the party where English died. Facebook/Lachlan Soper-Lagas
“I would expect to receive a victim impact statement from him about the physical injuries he suffered and the trauma and psychological injuries he suffered and how his life had changed,” Judge Applegarth said.
“It’s almost cruel to think about him being alive and to think about what he would be saying in court now, but what I want to say is that if he hadn’t died in the unforeseen and unintentional way that he did, he would have been a victim.
“His life would not have been the same just as (his friend’s) life has not been the same.”
Judge Applegarth sentenced both women to two years’ probation and recorded no convictions.
“As terrible as [English’s death] In other words, it is degrading conduct and a complete disregard for the dignity of two human beings,” Judge Applegarth said.
“As horrible as your behavior was there and how despicable you acted after the fact… I am aware of your remorse.”
Judge Applegarth said the two women’s decision to upload the videos to social media instead of calling emergency services was “completely reprehensible”.
The court heard that both women had been banned from using their phones while on bail for these offenses and have since abstained from taking drugs.
English attempted to flee the unit by escaping over the balcony where he ultimately fell to his death. Facebook/Cian English
Both women had previously spent less than two weeks each in protective custody before being released on bail.
Upon hearing their sentence, the two women were embraced by supporters who hugged them in the courtroom.
English’s mother, Siobhan English, told the court Tuesday that she was still dealing with the painful loss of her “forever hero.”
“The gut-wrenching pain and haunting nightmares of seeing my beautiful son torn apart and covered in bandages is an image that will never leave my mind,” she said.
“Cian’s life was taken without any care or compassion.
“I still can’t bear to think about how he died… it destroys me a little every time.
“He was only 19 years old and they took him away in the most horrible circumstances.
“I wasn’t sick, it wasn’t an accident. Cian didn’t want to die, he had his whole life ahead of him.
“An entire generation has been forever altered.”
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Source: vtt.edu.vn