A devastated woman has described the moment her partner was murdered protecting her when a berserk man broke into their house during a “smash and grab”.
On Thursday, family and friends of David Gaskell, 58, gathered in Mildura’s Supreme Court to detail the traumatic impact of his death.
Mr Gaskell, a much-loved local and seasonal worker, died from stab wounds received fighting off a masked intruder at his Manangatang home, in northwestern Victoria, on March 30 last year.
His killer, Dael Newman, 42, a tattooed stocky man with a shaved head, appeared emotionless as he faced court on a prison video link with his arms crossed.
The court was told Newman had pleaded guilty to the reckless murder of Mr Gaskell and recklessly causing injury to his partner Karen Lyons.
Crown prosecutor Mark Gibson KC said Mr Gaskell and Ms Lyons were watching memorial coverage of the death of Shane Warne when Newman broke in through the kitchen window.
Newman was living more than 400km away in the NSW border town of Albury but had told a friend, Matthew Williams, he was going to “do a rip, steal drugs from someone”, Mr Gibson said.
He told the court that Newman said he’d broken into Mr Gaskell’s home about two months earlier and stolen “pounds of marijuana” when no one was home.
Newman was confronted in the kitchen by Mr Gaskell, whom he didn’t know, after he heard noises in the kitchen.
A cancer patient requiring breathing apparatus, Mr Gaskell yelled at Newman to get out of the house.
The court was told Newman attempted to use a Taser he’d brought but the device failed, so he “panicked’”.
He grabbed a kitchen knife off the counter and swung it wildly as Mr Gaskell’s two dogs attacked him.
Mr Gaskell suffered multiple stab wounds to the upper body and collapsed to the floor.
Mr Gibson said Newman ran towards the front door, where he saw Ms Lyons, 43, in the dark trying to make a phone call.
“Mr Newman pushed Ms Lyons and tried to grab the mobile phone from her,” he said.
“He used the knife to slash her right hand and left thigh.”
Newman’s barrister, Raphael de Vietri, told the court his client acknowledged Mr Gaskell’s death was “needless, unnecessary and should never have happened”.
He said his client maintained he drove to the area to purchase car parts and didn’t accept he had planned this burglary.
“There was a level of desperation for money for drugs that was driving Mr Newman’s ill-fated decision,” he said.
“He had not planned to commit a violent burglary.”
He told the court his client panicked when confronted and wasn’t expecting Mr Gaskell to fight back.
“I was scared, scared I was going to get hurt. I just grabbed what I could off the bench and started swinging,” Mr de Vietri said his client recounted.
“I never wanted to hurt anyone.”
Mr Gibson called on Justice Jane Dixon to find this was a lie, based on Mr Williams’ testimony.
Mr de Vietri said Newman had a disadvantaged background and was exposed to violence and drug use from a young age, leading to a lengthy criminal record.
He said his client should be not be given life imprisonment and asked for a lengthy parole period to give him a chance at rehabilitation.
But Mr Gibson said Newman expressed more concern about the impact the offending would have on his and his girlfriend’s lives during his arrest interview rather than “true remorse” for taking Mr Gaskell’s life.
Mr Gaskell’s brother, Frank Gaskell, told the court his younger brother was a friendly, well-liked, hardworking and jovial character.
“My brother‘s life was taken in such a horrible way … I endure sleepless nights thinking about the horror he went through in his last moments,” he said.
“I hope you never forget the results of your actions that night, the impacts of which my family will have to live with forever.”
Ms Lyons told the court she couldn’t forget the moment a “total stranger was going berserk” in her home.
“I was petrified when this happened … I remember Dave tried to protect me,” she said.
“I hope you rot in jail.”
Justice Dixon said it was clear the murder unfolded in a “spontaneous and unplanned way”, but Mr Gaskell was “perfectly entitled” to defend himself from a home invasion.
She remanded Newman into custody and will hand down a sentence at a later date.