A Perth man will spend the next two decades behind bars after he killed his housemate while on bail for serious sexual offending against three small children.
Graham Sandy, 51, was making noodles in the McFarlane Circle, Mirrabooka home he shared with two other men when he became angry after being told to clean up after himself in October 2023.
During sentencing in the Supreme Court of WA on Friday, prosecutors said Sandy was angry when 59-year-old Shane Davies told him to clear up, later saying he just wanted to “shut him up” when he grabbed a corded hammer drill and smashed it into Davies’ head.
The attack caused a 75 millimetre drill bit to pierce Davies’ head, causing an internal brain bleed that later killed him.
Sandy was on bail at the time after being arrested over the violent sexual abuse of three small children in his care, Justice Natalie Whitby said on Friday.
Sandy pleaded not guilty to Davies’ murder, lying to police that the 59-year-old had fallen and hit his head while drunk, only later admitting the assault after detectives pressed him for information.
“He’s just got to learn to shut his mouth sometimes,” he told them during a recorded interview a day later.
“Now I’m copping grief again.”
When police asked him what his “endgame”, Davies said it was to “just to shut his mouth up and hope he f—s off and gets back to his drinking”.
Prosecutors and Justice Whitby said Sandy had shown no remorse for Davies, who was only taken to hospital because he dialled triple-zero himself. Police and ambulance officers had no idea he had received such a serious head injury, believing the wound was only superficial.
But the court heard that while a jury determined Sandy did not intend to kill Davies when he delivered the fatal blow, he would have known the drill penetrated his skull because it would have had visible signs of blood and hair attached afterward.
“The degree of violence that was required to cause this injury is significant,” prosecutor Jehna Winter said.
Davies’ sister Zelda Roberts told the court that “no words can truly capture what his death has done to my family” saying Davies, known as ‘Davo’, was “gentle, thoughtful and deeply caring”.
“He did not deserve to have his life taken in such a senseless violent manner by someone unable to control their violent outbursts,” she said.
The court heard Sandy, a father and a grandfather, had a criminal history dating back to when he was 13 years old in multiple states and that he had worked in the defence force, as a teacher’s aide and as a gardener.
In December last year he was sentenced to 15 years behind bars for the child sex offences with Justice Whitby also sentencing him to an extra six years for the death of Davies.
“Both warrant a significant sentence,” she said, adding that Sandy will be 70 years old before he becomes eligible for parole.
