Circumstances of the offender
20The offender was born in 1958 and so he was aged 40 at the time of the offence and is now 54.
21He has a criminal history that commences with him being arrested at the age of 21 for three offences of demanding money with menaces and one of armed robbery. He was sentenced to a total term of 7 years imprisonment. There follows convictions for supplying a drug, various types of fraud (and many of them), stealing, assault, contravening apprehended domestic violence orders, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and drug possession. He served another prison sentence at the age of 37 for about 15 months. He was released in January 1997 but was back in gaol again for a little over a month in May-June 1997 before being released on a community service order. This is a record which denies to the offender the leniency that would otherwise be extended to a person without previous convictions.
22The offender was seen by Dr Richard Furst, a forensic psychiatrist, at Long Bay Correctional Centre on 1 November 2012 for the purpose of preparing a report that was tendered at the sentence hearing.
23The history provided by the offender to Dr Furst included that he is single with no dependents. He had been married in 1978 and again in 1987 but the marriages did not last. He had two further serious relationships. He subsequently lived with his mother in Forest Lodge and then, after she died in 2007, on his own in Glebe. His father had passed away in 1987, a sister died at birth, and his older brother died in about 2002.
24The offender had worked as a storeman, cleaner and kitchen hand. He was receiving a disability support pension in recent years as a consequence of cervical spine problems and nerve compression.
25The offender was educated to Year 10 level. There was nothing eventful about the circumstances of his upbringing.
26There have been no issues with alcohol but there have been with illegal drugs. He smoked cannabis and used amphetamines. There were periods of abstinence but it seems he relapsed when he was depressed or feeling under stress. He resumed using cannabis and amphetamines after he was released from gaol in 1997 and continued using until around 2000. He told Dr Furst that his brother was ill after he was released from gaol but that he felt abandoned by him which added to feelings of depression. He used drugs in order to cope. He told Dr Furst "I was always there to help everybody, but no one was there for me. I feel like I have been used all my life."
27The offender also told Dr Furst that at around the time of the offence he had just lost a cleaning job, had no money, and was feeling depressed. He could not recall much of the offence aside from grabbing the handbag and the victim falling. He could not recall hitting her, but accepts that he did. He presumes that he must have been motivated by wanting money. He was under the influence of drugs but Dr Furst said that there was no indication that he was unaware of his actions or their wrongfulness.
28He said that he denied involvement to the police because he was scared. He destroyed the handbag and disposed of it because he was fearful of being caught and returned to gaol. Ever since he found out that Ms Smith had died he experienced some depression; he had questioned himself as to why he had done it. He found his appearance at the Coroner's Court stressful, telling Dr Furst of having been chased by people with cameras. He said, "In my head I knew I had been punished."
29Dr Furst's report includes:
"He expressed remorse about his actions and said he 'felt for the victim's parents,' especially given the losses of a number of close family members he endured himself."
30Later in the report he wrote:
"[The offender] found it hard to talk about the incident in question as he was quite tearful. He was flat and depressed in his mood. He said, 'I am devastated the woman is deceased. If I had known she was hurt, I wouldn't have left her there'. He appeared to be quite remorseful about the events, regretted his actions and expressed much guilt."
31The offender provided the Court with a letter expressing his regret for the death of Ms Smith (Exh 3). He wrote that the "shame, sorrow and guilt" would remain with him forever. He also gave evidence at the sentence hearing to that effect.
32The offender has been in custody since his arrest. He has found employment both at Parklea and Long Bay gaols. He has not engaged in any counselling or seen a psychiatrist. He has not been provided with any antidepressant medication. He said in his evidence that he had no close relatives. There was a person who visited him in gaol but not very often.
33He has a number of physical ailments. He suffered a neck injury in 1995. There were inconsistent accounts given to Dr Michael Fearnside, a neurological surgeon, and in evidence as to the cause of this but nothing turns on that. He suffered another neck injury when he was hit by a car in 2008. He said that he was in constant pain in his legs and arms. A report by Dr Fearnside confirmed that the offender has cervical spine problems and is sufficiently impaired to prevent him working. There is also a suggestion of thyroid and prostate issues, and the possible need for a knee replacement.
34Dr Furst was of the opinion that the offender was depressed, and had unresolved grief and guilt issues. He felt that by virtue of the depression and psychological problems a custodial sentence would weigh more heavily upon the offender than for the average inmate. He suggested that he should receive psychiatric assessment of his depression and need for antidepressant medication, and that he should receive psychological counselling. Another suggestion was that the offender attend a relapse prevention program for his substance abuse issues. It was Dr Furst's assessment that the offender's prospects of rehabilitation were "reasonable".