Australia, Sept. 9 -- New South Wales Land and Environment Court issued text of the following judgement on Aug. 8:

1. On 5 April 2017, Clint David Starkey received fatal head injuries in a callous assault committed by four men, including the offenders (Adam Symons, Beau McDonald and Guy Robertson) at the Caltex Service Station at Peats Ridge.

2. More than eight years later, after the twists and turns of the criminal law processes have buffeted the participants to the litigation, Mr Starkey's family seek closure and justice. For that reason - as well as the fact that the three men who are to be sentenced for a second time, and for a different offence, deserve to know their fate - I heard evidence on Tuesday this week and will impose sentence today. I hope that this will provide the family with some form of closure; I am not sure that it will, but at least the criminal proceedings will finally have reached conclusion. I doubt the family will feel any real sense of justice.

The impact of the crime on the secondary victims and the delay in the case reaching conclusion

3. Based on the victim impact statements tendered by the Prosecutor, the members of Clint Starkey's family feel betrayed by the criminal justice system. It seems appropriate that I speak first about the impact of the crime on them before turning to the reasons there has been such a lengthy delay between the commission of this crime and Tuesday's sentencing hearing. I will then outline the facts relevant to sentence relatively briefly, explain some relevant principles of sentencing before turning to impose a sentence on each of the offenders. Without meaning any disrespect to him or being overly familiar, in this part of the judgment I will refer to the victim as Clint.

The impact of the crime on the secondary victims

4. Clint Starkey's parents, Lorraine and David, prepared a victim impact statement for the purpose of sentencing in 2022. They enjoyed a very close relationship with their son. Clint lived on his parent's property, and they spoke every day. His parents described the pain of his absence, which they feel not only on special occasions such as birthdays and each Christmas, but in everyday moments: their daily conversations, family picnics, dinners and lunches out, and fishing trips on long weekends. Mr and Mrs Starkey explained that Clint was loved by all the children in the family and is particularly missed by his nephew with whom he spent a lot of time. Their grief is indescribable, and the death of their son is something they and their family will have to live with for the rest of their lives.

5. Mr Starkey's sister Stacey prepared a victim impact statement more recently which spoke not only for herself, but also on behalf of her husband Tony and their two children. She described Mr Starkey's death as "the hardest thing we have been through" and that "words just can't seem to explain it". Stacey spoke of the pain felt by the whole family resulting from Clint's absence and she said that her two sons miss him dearly.

6. She explained that all Clint really wanted was a boy of his own and that his killing means he will never experience the joy of raising his child. Stacey expressed her anger and frustration at the offenders' release from custody. She described the heartbreak of discovering that after 8 years the family would have to relive the events surrounding Mr Starkey's death following the offenders' successful appeals. She expressed her frustration at the final outcome, that is the acceptance of the plea of guilty to manslaughter. Stacey and her family hope that they will now, finally, be able to obtain closure and justice.

*Rest of the document can be viewed at: (https://www.caselaw.nsw.gov.au/decision/19887a3ada17eb5cf0775b68)

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