Australian sentenced to life for murder of "partner"

Nicole Cox, police reporter
April 08, 2009 06:15pm

A PERTH man who left his former de facto wife to die after viciously bludgeoning her with a brick and mallet has been sentenced to life in jail. Alan David Atherden, 61, of Wembley Downs, today pleaded guilty to the murder of Sylvia Murray, 58, on March 31 last year.

In sentencing, WA Supreme Court Justice John McKechnie said Atherden had shown "callous disregard'' for Ms Murray by leaving her critically injured without appropriate medical help.
He ordered Atherden to serve a minimum of 16 years behind bars before being eligible for parole.

Dressed in a navy blue jacket and dark jeans, Atherden sat expressionless in the dock, with his head bowed during today's proceedings.

The court heard that Atherden had been the subject of a violence restraining order that prevented him from contacting Ms Murray or being within 100m of her City Beach home.
Concerned that she was being stalked by her ex, Ms Murray took out a violence restraining order on March 17 - just days before she died.

But despite this, Atherden went to Ms Murray's house at 6am on March 31 last year to ask her to retract the violence restraining order. An argument broke out and Atherden attacked his ex-partner, hitting her three times with a rubber mallet and bashing her with a brick.

He then left the Drabble Rd unit where Ms Murray was clinging to life, without calling police or paramedics, disposed of the mallet in a neighbour's bin and attempted self harm. It was not until later that morning that Ms Murray's friend Graham Barber visited the house and discovered her groaning and lying in her front yard.

Ms Murray had sustained multiple head wounds, her hair was saturated with blood and she was shivering. She was rushed to hospital, but died two weeks later. Today, the court heard that the ferocity of the attack had caused injuries consistent with a high speed motor vehicle crash.

Justice McKechnie said he accepted that Atherden did not intend to kill or hurt his former partner when he went to her City Beach house on March 31, but said he had shown blatant disregard for Ms Murray's welfare by not calling an ambulance to help.

``You must have known how hard you had hit her about the head...You did nothing whatsoever to help,'' Justice McKechnie said.

``All the while Ms Murray was lying unconscious in the garden while the rain pouring down.''
``You never even tried (to help).''

Ms Murray's friend Bernadette Walker said she was satisfied with the sentence.

``Sylvia was brutally murdered by a man who refused to leave her alone and could not take no for an answer,'' she said.

Mr Barber said the sentence ensured that Atherden would be an elderly man once he was eligible for parole.

``I think the judge did a very good job in summing up what was a very cowardly, cruel and callous attack on a defenceless woman who was being stalked for some time by this man,'' Mr Barber said.

``(Finding Ms Murray injured) is something that I'll never forget. The injuries were terrible...The extent of her injuries were just so bad that she just would not have recovered.''