R v Jermaine BOLT

REMARKS ON SENTENCE 1On 15 October 2011, Jermaine Bolt was arrested and charged with murder. He has been in custody since that date. Mr Bolt was charged that, on the day of his arrest, namely, 15 October 2011, at Ballina in the State of New South Wales, he murdered Tanya Murray. The offence arose out of an incident of domestic violence. The deceased, Tanya Murray, was Mr Bolt's partner.

Circumstances of the Offence 2Jermaine Bolt was born on 25 November 1984 and was 26 at the time of the offence. The deceased, Tanya Murray, was born on 14 October 1982 and was 29 at the time of her death. 3The offender and the deceased had been in a de facto relationship and lived in the Armidale area until they moved, approximately 12 months before the incident, to Ballina. During the course of their relationship, the deceased had complained to members of her family, on more than one occasion, that she had been assaulted by Mr Bolt. The deceased had been observed with injuries consistent with her complaints. On the other hand, on a number of occasions, Mr Bolt had called the police to the Ballina address to remove the deceased, who was intoxicated and abusive towards Mr Bolt. 4On 14 October 2011, Mr Bolt and Ms Murray were celebrating Ms Murray's birthday at home. They both drank large quantities of alcohol and smoked cannabis. At the time that Ms Murray died, each of them were intoxicated. The deceased's blood alcohol reading at post-mortem was 0.148g/100ml and the vitreous humor alcohol reading was 0.182g/100ml. The anti-psychotic drug, quetiapine was also present within the therapeutic range. A number of people attended during the afternoon each of whom has provided a witness statement that is in evidence before the Court. The summary of facts for sentence is agreed between the parties and reflects those statements. 5The deceased was upset and jealous. It is not absolutely clear what the reason was for those feelings. A number of possible reasons have been given relating, amongst other things, to the manner in which Mr Bolt was celebrating her birthday and the misreading by the deceased of a message on Mr Bolt's phone. It matters not what the reason was. The deceased became aggressive and started to argue with Mr Bolt. The deceased started pushing Mr Bolt around and pushed him in the face. She also slapped another person a number of times. The argument between the deceased and Mr Bolt escalated from time-to-time and sometimes died down only to escalate again. 6Mr Bolt contacted 000 at approximately 1.39am on 15 October stating that the deceased was "going to die" and that he was "resuscitating her". He admitted that he had "hit her". The emergency call has been heard by the Court and the transcript is before me. 7Before that call the incidents, briefly summarised, involved both the deceased and Mr Bolt drinking heavily: both beer and spirits. They were also smoking cannabis. During the course of the afternoon, Mr Bolt and another went for more alcohol and on their return, the deceased started to get wild and argued with Mr Bolt. The deceased pushed Mr Bolt around and, as earlier stated, pushed him in the face. Two of the people left shortly thereafter. During the next part of this altercation Mr Bolt was defensive and seeking to parry the assault from the deceased. 8During the course of the argument things turned. At one stage the deceased went into her room, seemingly to calm down. 9The deceased came out of her room and joined Mr Bolt and others in the lounge room. At that stage, the deceased seemed all right and was not fighting with Mr Bolt. Later, the deceased slapped Mr Bolt again, during which time Mr Bolt was trying to cover his face with his hands. 10At one stage Mr Bolt pushed the deceased in the chest with two open hands. She fell over, got to her feet and walked towards Mr Bolt. 11Mr Bolt punched the deceased in the jaw with a closed right fist as a result of which the deceased fell backwards and hit her head on the lino floor. A witness suggests that the deceased's head hit the ground hard. She did not move for about 30 seconds. After that she started to move; seemingly started to wake up and sat up. Blood was coming from her mouth and the back of her head. There was blood on the floor in the hallway. Her hair at the back of her head was covered in blood and the blood was dripping down the back of her shirt. The deceased and Mr Bolt were yelling at each other. 12The Crown describes the evidence of the altercations as in three phases, with which description I agree. The first phase seemed to occur sometime between 6.00pm and 8.00pm and involved the argument over the text message, to which reference has been made. The second phase occurred between 8.00pm and prior to the arrival of two female guests. The third phase occurred after the arrival of those guests. 13The deceased was the aggressor in the first and second phase, the offender, Mr Bolt, was the aggressor in the third phase. There was a rising level of violence. 14Later in the evening there was more violence, seemingly at a time when there was no one else present. A number of explanations have been given. Some of those explanations are plainly wrong. 15At a very early stage, Mr Bolt suggested that the injuries were occasioned during the course of "rough sex". I reject that explanation. 16The injuries sustained by the deceased were extensive. 17As earlier stated, Mr Bolt rang emergency services. He was plainly distraught. He requested someone to come quickly and not to let her die. He told the operator that he had hit the deceased, when asked how she was hurt. 18When the police arrived, Mr Bolt was plainly panicked. He ran to the police vehicle and opened the passenger door before the vehicle had come to a standstill. Mr Bolt was dressed only in a pair of shorts and had blood over his hands, arms, torso and face. He said to the police officer: "I've done it, I've flogged her, I'll do the time just bring her back please. Quick hurry." 19Inside the deceased was lying on the floor next to the bed. Her legs were covered in small bruises and her stomach swollen. There was bruising along her sides from around her lower back. Her face was extremely swollen. Her right and left eyes were swollen shut with swelling around her left eye that was bright red in colour. She had blood over her head and face and coming from her mouth. The walls of the room were covered in smeared blood and there was a hole in the southern wall. 20Mr Bolt offered his hands for arrest, which invitation was not, at that stage, accepted. The officer checked the deceased, who was not breathing and had no pulse. The officer commenced chest compressions. Mr Bolt offered to assist. Some of those words are significant. He said: "Just bring her back; I know I've done the wrong thing. I flogged her but I love her. I'm going away for a long time; just save her." 21Mr Bolt assisted the police by retrieving a facemask from the police car and, on the material before the Court, there can be no doubt that, whatever was the intention of Mr Bolt at the time that the injuries were occasioned, he genuinely wanted the deceased to live and was genuinely remorseful as to what he had done, even at that early stage. 22Other police officers arrived. Mr Bolt offered similar help and pleaded for them to save the deceased. He made similar comments as to his guilt and his responsibility in the occasioning of the damage. The police officers advised Mr Bolt of his rights. He continued to make admissions. 23Mr Bolt was taken to the police station and again advised of his rights. It was at this stage that Mr Bolt suggested that they had an argument and were having sex. Part of his statement was: "She likes it rough. I was hitting her around a bit and we fell off the bed. She has then hit her head on the floor. I called the police." 24Notwithstanding this momentary attempt at diverting responsibility, Mr Bolt continued to make statements as to his responsibility and was continuing to desire, genuinely, for the deceased to survive and be well. He also continued to take general responsibility for the conduct. 25The deceased passed away at the hospital at approximately 4.51am. At 6.15am police officers advised Mr Bolt that the deceased had passed away whereupon Mr Bolt became extremely upset and commenced banging his head against the dock wall. 26At 11.05am on that day Mr Bolt participated in an ERISP (Electronically Recorded Interview of Suspected Person), the terms of which are before the Court. The deceased was subject to a post-mortem exam, the reports of which are before the Court. 27The direct cause of death was multiple injuries to the head, thorax and abdomen. The photographs of the deceased, also before the Court, disclose injuries to the right hand above the right little knuckle area; injury above the right wrist; right inner arm injuries; injury to the right elbow; injuries to the right side of the neck (scratches); injury above the left eye; injuries to the chest; injuries to the left side of the neck; injuries to the left hand above the middle knuckle; injury to the left upper back area; injuries to the left shoulder blade; injuries to the right buttock and injury of the left upper thigh. The photographs of the crime scene show significant smearing of blood in a number of rooms and beyond the bedroom. 28Mr Bolt pleaded guilty at the earliest possible opportunity and has accepted responsibility for his conduct and the death of Ms Murray. 29The pathologist expresses the opinion that there has been a severe degree of force applied, undoubtedly from a combination of factors, and seemingly from punching, kicking or stomping, and possibly being thrown against angled surfaces of furniture or walls. It seems that the hole in the wall in the bedroom has been caused by Mr Bolt throwing the deceased through the wall. 30Mr Bolt had consumed large amounts of alcohol and cannabis during the afternoon, evening and night of 14 and 15 October 2011. He appeared to be drunk to witnesses and was intoxicated late in the morning of 15 October. The alcohol and cannabis were consumed voluntarily.