Two women who filmed and posted online the “emotional” torture of a man who later died from a fourth-floor holiday unit on Australia’s Gold Coast have “totally disregarded” their involvement, a court has heard.
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 for one count each of torture and two counts of armed robbery in company.
The two women, who were both 16 at the time of the offences, filmed about five minutes of the 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 of the morning. on May 23, 2020.
The court was told English and his friend were invited to the room to join the two young women and Lachlan Paul Soper-Lagas, 21, Jason Ryan Knowles, 25, and Hayden Paul Kratzmann, 23, as they partied while taking prescription cocktails and over-the-counter drugs.
Soper-Lagas, Knowles, Kratzmann were previously sentenced for murdering the English language.
Crown prosecutor Caroline Marco said just before 2 a.m. things changed when Kratzmann began accusing English and his friend of stealing 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 her friend were invited to the young woman’s room. Facebook/Siobhan English
Despite their protestations of innocence, the two friends were then tortured and assaulted for nearly 30 minutes in the room before English tried to escape the unit by escaping through the balcony where he eventually fell to his death.
The court heard some of the abuse was captured on video by two women who appeared in court on Tuesday.
Marco said the two girls had recorded videos on their phones varying in duration from 7 to 59 seconds.
The court heard that the woman, now 19, can be heard saying “this is why you don’t steal from boys” in one of her videos.
Another video recorded by the now 20-year-old shows him ordering English to clean his own blood off the floor after he was attacked.
Hayden Paul Kratzman, 23, began accusing English and his friend of stealing the drugs. Facebook/Hayden Kratzman
The court heard that the woman later added text to the video which read “so bad I made this sad ct clean up her own blood.”
Marco said the two women knew English was “severely injured on the ground” after he fell from the balcony but instead of calling the police, they packed their things and fled the unit.
Marco said the woman then uploaded their video to social media.
The 20-year-old’s defense lawyer, Angus Edwards, said his client had a difficult childhood which led to her using drugs.
“He was trying to numb the pain, especially with the Xanax he was taking a lot of,” Edwards said.
“There is no excuse for his behaviour, all it does is explain his lack of empathy that evening and his lack of memory of what happened.”
Jason Knowles, 25, was previously sentenced for murdering English along with Soper-Lagas and Kratzmann.Facebook/Jason Knowles Knowles was also invited into the hotel room when he partied while taking a cocktail of prescription and non-prescription drugs.Facebook/ Jason Knowles
Edwards said his client’s video was “absolutely heartless” and depicted the “very scary” moments English and his friend faced in the hotel room.
“(He) personally insulted the offender and himself with what he saw in the video,” Edwards said.
The 19-year-old’s defense lawyer, Martin Longhurst, said the night’s actions were “shocking and shameful.”
“My clients are aware of that,” Longhurst said.
“He realized that English is very much loved and missed by his family.
“It’s a family life that my clients didn’t grow up with.
“It was accepted that he showed no remorse or insight at night or late in the week.”
The court heard the 19-year-old had been heard bragging about the night the Englishman died to friends in the weeks following his death.
In his sentencing speech, Judge Peter Applegarth said he had taken into account the two women were not charged with English’s death or had been responsible for attacking him or his friend.
He said the whole series of events leading up to his death was “brutal” and he couldn’t help but wonder what English would have said if he had lived to give his own victim impact statement to the court.
Lachlan Soper-Lagas, 21, was also attending the party where English died. Facebook/Lachlan Soper-Lagas
“I expect that I will get a victim impact statement from him about the physical injuries he suffered and the trauma and psychological injuries he suffered and how his life has changed,” Judge Applegarth said.
“It’s almost cruel to think he’s alive and to think what he’s going to say to the court now but my point is if he hadn’t died in the unexpected and unwanted way he did, he would have been a victim.
“His life will never be the same as (his friend’s) life will never be the same.”
Judge Applegarth sentenced the two women to two years in prison each and recorded no convictions.
“As bad [English’s death] is, it is demeaning conduct and a complete disregard for the dignity of two human beings,” Judge Applegarth said.
“How horrible you behaved there and how despicable you acted after that….. I am aware of your remorse.”
Judge Applegarth said the two women’s decision to upload the video to social media instead of calling emergency services was “absolutely reprehensible.”
The court heard both women were banned from using their phones while on bail for these offenses and have since remained abstinent from drug use.
English tried to escape the unit by escaping through the balcony where he ended up falling to his death. Facebook/Cian English
The two women each previously spent less than two weeks in pre-sentence custody before being released on bail.
Upon hearing their sentences, the two women were embraced by supporters who embraced them in the courtroom.
English’s mother, Siobhan English, told the court on Tuesday that she continues to deal with the painful loss of her “forever hero.”
“The excruciating pain and haunting nightmare of seeing my beautiful son broken and bandaged is an image that will never leave my mind,” she said.
“Cian’s life was taken without any care or mercy.
“I still can’t think about how he died … it destroys me a little bit every time.
“He was only 19 years old and he was taken away in the most horrible conditions.
‘He’s not sick, it’s not an accident. Cian doesn’t want to die, he has his whole life ahead of him.
“An entire generation was changed forever.”
Categories: Trending
Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
