Australia: Loutish killer out of jail in less than a year

A man whose "impulsive and loutish" push led to the death of an 83-year-old Sydney war veteran could be free in less than a year. In jailing Craig William Wheatley for a minimum of two years today, Justice Virginia Bell accepted he had not intended to cause Robert Narramore any physical harm. After drinking three bottles of beer and having a heated argument with an acquaintance, Wheatley pushed Mr Narramore aside on a footpath at Riverwood in Sydney's south-west in September last year. Mr Narramore, who had turned 83 the day before, then fell into the path of a passing car.

Wheatley, 46, of Riverwood, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the NSW Supreme Court. Justice Bell said his history of chronic schizophrenia had played no immediate role in his offending behaviour, which she described as "impulsive and loutish". She offered the court's sympathy to Mr Narramore's family, referring to victim impact statements from his grandson and daughter-in-law.

Glenn Narramore, who spoke of his grandfather having "devoted himself to the service of others in the community", had been greatly affected by his loss in such tragic circumstances, the judge said. Joan Narramore referred to the change in her husband, Robert junior, after his father's death. "From being able to handle the everyday stresses of life and work, there is now a little bottle of pills sitting on the shelf," she wrote. "You are reminded of what happened on the TV and in the newspapers and from being just an ordinary 'keep to themselves family' you are put in the spotlight and are expected to be what you are not."

Wheatley had worked as a baker until he was diagnosed with schizophrenia in the 1980s, the judge said. Since then he had been on medication and while he had committed some crimes, he had never served a jail term. When examined by a psychiatrist in February, Wheatley said the offence was an accident, adding: "We don't even know if he is deceased or not, with the DNA'". "The police said he was dead but I am not sure," he said.

Calling these statements "bizarre", Justice Bell said Wheatley's mental illness made it difficult to assess his remorse. But she accepted he was unlikely to re-offend by committing any serious offence. Justice Bell backdated his two-year minimum term to when he was taken into custody, meaning he will be eligible for release on parole in September next year. She set a maximum term of three years and nine months.

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