Ballarat man sentenced to 28 years’ jail for murder of Hannah McGuire

A Ballarat man who strangled his former partner Hannah McGuire to death before burning her body has been jailed for 28 years, with a judge describing his conduct as “brutal and callous” and an “extreme act of domestic violence”.

Supreme Court Justice James Elliott said Lachlan Young’s murder of the 23-year-old Clunes woman was yet another case of a woman being killed by a man she had trusted.

As his sentence was handed down, 23-year-old Young stood in the dock of the packed Ballarat Supreme Court, dressed in a black shirt, and stared straight ahead.

Elliott said Young’s sense of entitlement and aggression towards McGuire in the lead-up to her death was “manifest” and had all the hallmarks of an abusive and domineering relationship.

“Murder is a gravely serious offence. You brutally murdered Ms McGuire in the home she shared with you,” Elliott said.

“This is yet another example of a male using violence and superior strength to murder a vulnerable woman who trusted him.”

The court heard Hannah told police she was “terrified” of Young in the months before her murder and had sought help at a local police station after he stalked her and tried to run her off the road when she left work.

Elliott described the murder as brutal and callous and said Young’s deliberate deceitful steps to conceal his crimes were cold and calculated.

On Tuesday, the Ballarat courtroom was filled with more than 80 of McGuire’s family, friends and colleagues from Delacombe Primary School, where she worked as an educational aide while studying to be a teacher.

There were not enough chairs in the court for the crowd. They stood at the back and sides of the courtroom and filled the jury bench, wiping away tears with crumpled tissues.

McGuire’s parents, Debbie and Glenn, sat in the front of the courtroom and held each other.

McGuire’s family and friends turned to stare at Young and audible gasps rang out, with some of her loved ones exclaiming “yes” as the sentence was handed down.

Young abruptly pleaded guilty to murdering McGuire eight days into his trial, after her parents, friends and colleagues had already been forced to give evidence. He had previously pleaded guilty to manslaughter.

The court previously heard Young strangled his ex-girlfriend on the bathroom floor of the home they once shared in Sebastopol, in Ballarat’s south, at about 2.30am on April 5 last year.

Elliott said Young had violently assaulted McGuire before shoving her to the floor.

“You then put arms around her neck and strangled her for some time,” he said.

Young dumped the university student’s body in the back of her orange Mitsubishi Triton ute before driving to Scarsdale and setting the vehicle alight with a blowtorch.

He tried to cover up the murder by sending a series of text messages, purporting to be from McGuire, to her mother in an attempt to make her death look like suicide.

McGuire’s parents previously told the court how they desperately searched for their daughter after receiving the texts.

By then, their daughter was already dead, and her body burning in the car in bushland.

“I will never forget, and I will never forgive,” Hannah’s mother Debbie McGuire said.

“There are mornings I wake, and I forget for a brief second that she is gone, and then the immense pain and suffering the accused has caused hits me all over again.”

Hannah’s father said he struggled with thoughts of suicide and felt he had failed to protect his daughter.

“I live in grief, I live in anger, I live with guilt and I live with the knowledge that there is nothing I can do to bring her back,” he said.

Elliott said the suffering of McGuire’s parents was difficult to comprehend.

He said by all accounts McGuire was loved and a “very special, warm, giving, talented and thoughtful person” who lived her life for others.

Young remained expressionless throughout most of the hearing, but cried when Elliott described his actions in the lead-up to McGuire’s murder and a conversation he had with his sister where she said he expressed remorse.

Earlier this year, the court heard evidence from the killer’s workmate, tradesman Benjamin O’Keefe, who said days before the murder Young had told him he wanted to “roofie” McGuire, drive her out to a hill, put her behind the wheel and make her car crash to “scare her”.

“F--- women they just wanna hurt you and milk you dry and still have the decency to say it was your fault,” Young told O’Keefe.

O’Keefe said he helped Young dispose of McGuire’s car, but claimed he did not realise her body was inside.

Elliott found O’Keefe was a credible witness.

Among the most harrowing pieces of evidence was that McGuire’s remains weighed just 13 kilograms when she was discovered inside the badly burnt ute.

A veteran County Fire Association volunteer provided evidence to the court in July that he did not realise there was a body inside the scorched remains of the ute, which had been burning for hours before being discovered by a man walking his dog.

Young frequently degraded McGuire, body-shamed her, screamed and swore at her in public, controlled her and stalked her before her murder.

He was also repeatedly physically violent towards her and called her 129 times in less than 24 hours following a break-up.

The prosecution previously told the court Young was motivated by jealousy, rage and male entitlement.

“The level of emotion and heartache that you have caused to Hannah’s family, friends, colleagues, and to the communities of Ballarat and Clunes more generally, cannot be overstated,” Elliott said.

“The immense suffering of so many touched by Hannah’s murder is stark and still raw, including because you lied about the circumstances of her death.”

Debbie McGuire stood on the steps of the courthouse and read out a statement expressing the family’s relief that the court proceedings were over.

Glenn McGuire stood behind her, eyes lowered in sorrow.

“While nothing can bring back what we have lost, or [stop] the pain we continue to carry, today’s outcome is an important step in our journey towards healing,” she said.

“We want to express our heartfelt gratitude towards our family, friends and community for their unwavering support over the past 19 months. We could not have made it through without any of them.

“This has been an incredibly difficult ordeal. We now need time together as a family to process today’s result.”

Young was given a non-parole period of 22 years and four months.

If you or anyone you know needs support, you can contact the National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service on 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732), Lifeline 131 114, or Beyond Blue 1300 224 636.

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