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Speaker 1: It was like a band aid coming off. For eleven weeks,

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Speaker 1: we saw witnesses talking to facts, we saw experts going

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Speaker 1: through technical evidence. We heard Aaron Patterson coldly and calmly

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Speaker 1: lying on the stand. But today at Aaron's plea hearing,

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Speaker 1: raw emotion poured out as the people she hurt told

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Speaker 1: of their pain. I'm Brooke Greebert Craig, and this is

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Speaker 1: the Mushroom Cook once again. I'm joined by a court reporter,

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Speaker 1: Laura Plassella.

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Speaker 2: And today has been a very emotional day, as you

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Speaker 2: just alluded to.

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Speaker 1: Yes, it was Aaron Patterson's plea hearing. Laura, can you

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Speaker 1: explain to our listeners what exactly that is.

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Speaker 2: We've touched upon it a few times in previous episodes,

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Speaker 2: and it's also called a pre sentence hearing. But this

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Speaker 2: is when everyone comes together to lay down their arguments

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Speaker 2: for the sentence erin should be ultimately handed down. But

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Speaker 2: before all of that can happen, the love ones of

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Speaker 2: the victims are given an opportunity to read out their

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Speaker 2: victim impact statements. And this was a very powerful hour

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Speaker 2: that we had in court today.

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Speaker 1: Yes, so several family members attended court and that included

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Speaker 1: The only guest that survived the lunch, Ian Wilkinson, and

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Speaker 1: also Aaron's only friend, Allie Pryor.

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Speaker 2: Yes, and Ian was surrounded by family as well, including

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Speaker 2: his daughter Ruth du Bois. But there was one person

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Speaker 2: that was notably missing today. It wasn't there.

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Speaker 1: Yes, Simon Patterson, Aaron's estranged husband, did not attend and

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Speaker 1: we don't know why.

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Speaker 2: No, we don't. But those who did attend court today

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Speaker 2: had to travel quite a bit more than usual. Unlike

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Speaker 2: the trial that we all know was held in Morewell,

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Speaker 2: today's plea hearing was held in Melbourne.

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Speaker 1: Yes, at the Supreme Court, and Aaron was transported in

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Speaker 1: a custody van to the court and Harold's son, photographer

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Speaker 1: Jason Edwards, actually managed to snap some photos of her

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Speaker 1: when she was exiting the van.

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Speaker 2: And these were some incredible photos. I work out of

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Speaker 2: the Supreme Court here in Melbourne and when we do

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Speaker 2: have accused or convicted criminals coming to court for hearings,

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Speaker 2: there is a moment where they walk out of the

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Speaker 2: van and walk into the court where we have an

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Speaker 2: opportunity to get some great photos. But it can be

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Speaker 2: pretty challenging. There are big gates at the Supreme Court

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Speaker 2: and authorities don't always want these people getting photographed, so

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Speaker 2: they can make it a little bit difficult for the media.

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Speaker 2: But Jason was able to find a really great vantage

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Speaker 2: point to get these shots we've been talking about.

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Speaker 1: I'm looking at them now. They're fantastic. There's one in

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Speaker 1: particular where Erin is looking up above and it's almost

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Speaker 1: like she's looking up to Peaven and God.

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Speaker 2: It's a very religious shot.

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Speaker 1: Yes, and she's wearing a brown cardigan and she looks

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Speaker 1: a little bit disheveled, and her hair's tied back into

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Speaker 1: a ponytail.

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Speaker 2: And a comment actually got made today by one of

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Speaker 2: the other journalists covering the case that it appeared she

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Speaker 2: was wearing mushroom a lot of brown in that outfit

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Speaker 2: and the Paisley blouse that we saw her wear quite

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Speaker 2: a lot during the trial.

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Speaker 1: Okay, so let's move on. So we heard seven victim

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Speaker 1: impact statements read out in court today.

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Speaker 2: So first up was Ian. He was then followed by

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Speaker 2: his daughter Ruth, so they both read out their statements

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Speaker 2: in person. Then Crown Prosecutor Nnette Rodgers read the statement

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Speaker 2: of Gail and Heather's sister Lynette Young and then after that,

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Speaker 2: the baton was handed to a member of the Pattison family.

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Speaker 2: She is Don's niece. Her name is Naomi Gladau, and

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Speaker 2: she read out the remaining statements. So those statements were

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Speaker 2: penned by Don's one hundred year old mother, Martha Patterson,

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Speaker 2: who I don't think we realized was actually still alive,

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Speaker 2: as well as Don's brother Colin Patterson, Don's nephew Tim Patterson,

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Speaker 2: and finally Simon Patterson.

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Speaker 1: Yes, so let's jump straight into Ian's statement straight off

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Speaker 1: the bat I have to say it was quite heartbreaking

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Speaker 1: to listen to the emotion in his voice.

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Speaker 2: Yes, yes, I think I've mentioned previously that plea hearings

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Speaker 2: can be some of the most emotional days for US

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Speaker 2: court reporters because we really are bearing witness to these

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Speaker 2: people grieve very publicly and tell the court exactly how

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Speaker 2: these crimes have impacted their lives, and they can be

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Speaker 2: very poignant at times. And we know Ian is a

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Speaker 2: pastor for many decades now. He addresses his congregation every Sunday,

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Speaker 2: and you can really see that he's a wordsmith.

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Speaker 1: Yes, definitely, so. Ian said that Heather was compassionate, intelligent, brave,

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Speaker 1: witty and simply a delightful person. Here's more of what

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Speaker 1: he said. These are his words, but not his voice.

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Speaker 3: Like everyone else, she had faults, but she actively sought

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Speaker 3: to overcome them so she could live peacefully and constructively

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Speaker 3: with all people. She was generous in her attitudes and

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Speaker 3: with her resources. If she could help somebody, she would.

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Speaker 3: Heather had a great sense of humor, and it was

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Speaker 3: a joy to be in her company. She loved learning

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Speaker 3: and had a special interest in languages.

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Speaker 1: Ian then started to cry as he told the court

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Speaker 1: that he had been married to Heather for forty four years.

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Speaker 3: Heather was always supportive and encouraging to me. She was

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Speaker 3: wise and had skills that made up for my shortcomings. Together,

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Speaker 3: we face life as a team, and we delighted in

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Speaker 3: each other's company. He went on to say, I could

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Speaker 3: go on. There's so much more that deserves to be

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Speaker 3: said about Heather. It's one of the distressing shortcomings of

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Speaker 3: our society that so much attention is showered on those

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Speaker 3: who do evil and so little on those who do good.

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Speaker 3: The greatest impact of Erin's actions on me has been

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Speaker 3: to deprive me of Heather's company, and Heather's important place

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Speaker 3: in our family. The silence in our home is a

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Speaker 3: daily reminder. I continue to carry a heath the burden

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Speaker 3: of grief over her untimely death. It's a truly horrible

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Speaker 3: thought to live with that someone could decide to take

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Speaker 3: her life. I only feel half alive without her.

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Speaker 2: It was at this point that Ian appeared to be

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Speaker 2: overcome with emotion. He dropped his tissue and bent over

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Speaker 2: to pick it up. He then took a moment to

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Speaker 2: compose himself and continued. He told the court that his

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Speaker 2: only consolation was that one day he will be reunited

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Speaker 2: with Heather. He then said the second greatest impact of

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Speaker 2: Erin's crime was losing Doningale.

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Speaker 1: Ian also mentioned that he nearly died and it had

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Speaker 1: taken him two years for his health and strength to improve,

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Speaker 1: although he did make it clear that he has never

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Speaker 1: really fully recovered.

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Speaker 3: He went on to say, I'm distressed that Aaron has

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Speaker 3: acted with callous and calculated disregard for my life and

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Speaker 3: the life of those I love. What foolishness possesses a

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Speaker 3: person to think that urder could be the solution to

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Speaker 3: their problems, especially the murder of people who had only

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Speaker 3: good intentions. Towards her.

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Speaker 1: After taking a sip of his water, he continued.

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Speaker 3: In regard to the many harms done to me, I

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Speaker 3: make an offer of forgiveness to Erin. I have no

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Speaker 3: power or responsibility to forgive harms done to others. In

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Speaker 3: regards to the murder of Heather, Gail and Don, I

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Speaker 3: am compelled to seek justice. However, I encourage Erin to

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Speaker 3: receive my offer of forgiveness for those harms done to me.

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Speaker 3: I bear her no ill will.

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Speaker 2: He then sent Erin one final powerful message.

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Speaker 3: My prayer for her is that she will use her

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Speaker 3: time in jail wisely to become a better person. Now

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Speaker 3: I am no longer Aaron Patterson's victim, and she has

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Speaker 3: become the victim of my kindness.

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Speaker 1: Next up was Ian's daughter Ruth. I have to say

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Speaker 1: it was really lovely seeing Ian standing next to her

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Speaker 1: and supporting her her while she was reading her statement.

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Speaker 1: She began by talking about her beloved mother, Heather. She

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Speaker 1: was one of my closest friends and someone I cherished deeply.

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Speaker 1: She was the person who comforted me and lifted me up.

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Speaker 4: She was someone I trusted with both the best parts

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Speaker 4: and the worst parts of myself. Knowing there would be

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Speaker 4: no judgment. Life feels less bright without her.

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Speaker 2: Ruth went on to say that she and her siblings

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Speaker 2: grew up in a home that was shown love, empathy

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Speaker 2: and compassion, but it was these qualities that were used

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Speaker 2: to lor Heather, Gail and Don to their deaths. Here's

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Speaker 2: more of what she said.

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Speaker 4: The world seems colder and harsher knowing this, and for

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Speaker 4: the offender to sit and watch over casual conversation as well,

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Speaker 4: these people who showed nothing but love and care for

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Speaker 4: her ate a meal that would kill is beyond anything

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Speaker 4: I could put words to. The following days were in

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Speaker 4: stark contrast. The events we witnessed in hospital were an

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Speaker 4: endless nightmare, and now we have heard in court how

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Speaker 4: seemingly normal life continued for the offender. It is difficult

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Speaker 4: to comprehend how someone could spend months planning this out, researching,

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Speaker 4: collecting the items needed, making the lunch invitation, preparing the meal,

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Speaker 4: sitting through eating it, and then to carry on with

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Speaker 4: normal life, all while knowing tremendous harm that was being caused,

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Speaker 4: followed up by the extraordinary lies and the absolute lack

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Speaker 4: of care shown to the victims. There are multiple times

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Speaker 4: through this process. She could have stopped, she could have

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Speaker 4: canceled the plans, she could have thought about the consequences,

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Speaker 4: she went on to say, instead, at every step of

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Speaker 4: the way, she chose to follow through.

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Speaker 1: Ruth also mentioned that she constantly felt a weight of

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Speaker 1: sadness of the wider impacts of Aaron's crimes. I thought

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Speaker 1: it was quite compassionate that she mentioned a range of

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Speaker 1: different people that had been affected.

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Speaker 2: Yes, she was really acknowledging the victims in this case

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Speaker 2: that almost go unnoticed. She mentioned the medical staff, the

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Speaker 2: shop owners who had their names and businesses scrutinized, the

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Speaker 2: mushroom industry, and even the taxpayer.

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Speaker 4: The list just seems endless. I'm horrified that our family

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Speaker 4: is even associated, through no choice of our own, with

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Speaker 4: such destructive behavior towards the community. This crime has changed

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Speaker 4: every part of my life. My life will never be

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Speaker 4: the same.

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Speaker 1: We then heard a range of different statements read on

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Speaker 1: behalf of Gale and Heather's sister, Don's mother, and Don's brother,

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Speaker 1: before we finally heard from Simon.

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Speaker 2: That's right, Brooke, to again remind our listeners. Simon didn't

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Speaker 2: attend the hearing today, but to bring his words to

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Speaker 2: our listeners, we're going to use the same actor who

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Speaker 2: has voiced Simon in the past. He began by describing

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Speaker 2: how much he missed his parents and his aunt.

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Speaker 5: I'll be aware for roughly the next thirty years that

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Speaker 5: they could still be alive if Heron had not chosen

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Speaker 5: to murder them. Praise God that at least em Marakis survived.

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Speaker 5: He went on to say, their credible love, support, wisdom, knowledge, intelligence, warmth, gentleness, godness,

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Speaker 5: and humor in both spirit and truth are gone. My children,

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Speaker 5: two children, are left with our grandparents as the result

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Speaker 5: of these murders. They've also been robbed of hope for

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Speaker 5: the kind of relationship with their mother that every child

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Speaker 5: naturally yearns for. Like all of us, they face the

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Speaker 5: dawning challenge of trying to comprehend what she's done. The

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Speaker 5: grim reality is they live and an irreparably broken home

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Speaker 5: with only a solo parent, when almost everyone knows their

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Speaker 5: mother murdered their grandparents. None of these hurdles that my

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Speaker 5: children face are easy for them to overcome. The fact

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Speaker 5: these foreseeable hurdles were actively put in front of them

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Speaker 5: by their own mother is an impact we will wrestle

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Speaker 5: with for the rest of our lives.

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Speaker 2: So after Simon's statement was read out, the court actually

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Speaker 2: adjourned for a few hours. I must say it felt

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Speaker 2: like a well can break because it was a very

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Speaker 2: emotionally charged hour. We came back at two point fifteen

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Speaker 2: and the first person we heard from was actually a witness,

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Speaker 2: and she was a prosecution witness who had been called

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Speaker 2: to provide an insight into Aaron's life behind bars. Her

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Speaker 2: name is Jennifer Hosking. She is the Assistant Commissioner of

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Speaker 2: the Sentence Management Division at Corrections Victoria. The title is

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Speaker 2: quite a mouthful. She was being questioned by Crown Prosecutor

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Speaker 2: Jane Warren, who initially focused Miss Hosking on the timeline

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Speaker 2: of Aaron's time at Dame Phyllis Frost Center. We won't

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Speaker 2: confuse our listeners with all of the dates because there

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Speaker 2: were a lot, but it appears that since November twenty

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Speaker 2: twenty three, when Erin was charged, she has been moved

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Speaker 2: between two different units within the prison. One is the

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Speaker 2: Murray Protection Unit and the other one is the more

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Speaker 2: restrictive Gordon Management Unit. And the court heard that for

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Speaker 2: about fourteen months Erin has been housed in that more

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Speaker 2: restrictive unit. She has a small cell that has a

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Speaker 2: very small courtyard at the rear. According to a defense team,

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Speaker 2: she spends twenty two to twenty four hours a day

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Speaker 2: in that cell, and she isn't afforded many luxuries. They

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Speaker 2: say that she has limited access to the library, limited

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Speaker 2: access to exercise equipment, and isn't really able to socialize

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Speaker 2: with any inmates.

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Speaker 1: But she is able to socialize with another inmate within

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Speaker 1: the Gordon unit, and that is Air convicted terrorists.

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Speaker 2: That's right. It appears that their cells are next to

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Speaker 2: each other and they both have those courtyards I was mentioning,

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Speaker 2: so they're allowed to go out onto those courtyards and

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Speaker 2: talk to each other. But according to defense barrister Colin Mandy,

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Speaker 2: Aaron has never once spoken to this terrorist.

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Speaker 1: Yes, that's right. And we also did hear that Aarin

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Speaker 1: has access to things like a hair straightener, she can

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Speaker 1: watch TV, she can go on her laptop, so there

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Speaker 1: are little luxuries that she does get within this unit.

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Speaker 2: But you haven't mentioned her hobby. We actually found out

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Speaker 2: today that Erin has a passion for crochet and in

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Speaker 2: her cell she has access to wool and some other

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Speaker 2: materials that she uses to make items such as blankets.

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Speaker 1: But despite these luxuries, mister Mandy said, her conditions have

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Speaker 1: been quite harsh.

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Speaker 2: Yes, and that was one of the main points he

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Speaker 2: made today. So to bring our listeners back to the

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Speaker 2: overarching arguments that came out of today from the prosecution

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Speaker 2: and defense, I'll start by saying that they actually, for

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Speaker 2: once in agreeance about something, and that is the fact

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Speaker 2: that they both agree Erin should be sentenced to a

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Speaker 2: maximum term of life imprisonment. Murder does carry a maximum

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Speaker 2: penalty of life imprisonment, and mister Mandy said that he

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Speaker 2: can't argue that that is not what should be imposed

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Speaker 2: by Justice Christopher Bielee. But where they do differ is

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Speaker 2: the minimum sentence. So the prosecution said today that they

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Speaker 2: believe Justice Biel should sentence Erin to life without parole,

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Speaker 2: and that essentially means they say she should die behind bars.

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Speaker 2: But on the other hand, mister Mandy said that Erin

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Speaker 2: should be given a non parole period, which means at

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Speaker 2: some point in the future, maybe thirty thirty five, forty years,

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Speaker 2: she'll be allowed to apply for parole and if the

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Speaker 2: Parole Board grant her application she can be freed to

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Speaker 2: live out the rest.

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Speaker 1: Of her days, and mister Mandy said, the harshness of

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Speaker 1: her prison conditions is one of the reasons why she

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Speaker 1: should be given a non parole period exactly.

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Speaker 2: And we did get an insight today into some of

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Speaker 2: his other arguments. Both parties have been allowed to hand

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Speaker 2: Justice Biel written submissions, so we don't know everything that

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Speaker 2: is before his honor. But one thing that came up

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Speaker 2: is that the defense have claimed that Erin has Asperger's syndrome.

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Speaker 2: But Justice Biel appeared to be a bit skeptical about

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Speaker 2: this today and he asked mister Mandy whether or not

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Speaker 2: there was any evidence to back up this claim.

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Speaker 1: Yes, so we heard that there was no medical diagnosis,

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Speaker 1: and Justice Bill even said something along the lines of

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Speaker 1: Aaron's claim not having a lot of credibility.

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Speaker 2: Exactly, And like you said, Brook, this is because there

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Speaker 2: isn't any medical diagnosis. The prosecution made the point today

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Speaker 2: that this claim is just hearsay because family members have

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Speaker 2: mentioned that Aaron believed she had autism and that Simon

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Speaker 2: may have made a comment about that in the past. However,

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Speaker 2: mister Mandy did concede today that while Erin does maintain

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Speaker 2: her innocence, she did stand to be sentenced for very

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Speaker 2: grave offending. Obviously, the jury returned a guilty verdict, and

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Speaker 2: he said that the defense is in no other position

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Speaker 2: but to agree that Erin did have the intention to

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Speaker 2: kill at the time she served the Beef Wellington meal.

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Speaker 2: But he did flag with Justice Biel today that there

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Speaker 2: were a number of disputed facts that were still in

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Speaker 2: the realm of speculation. He said, despite the jury's verdict,

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Speaker 2: Justice Bill could not be certain when the death caps

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Speaker 2: were sourced, where they were sourced, and with what intention

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Speaker 2: they were sourced. And I might just mention that before

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Speaker 2: Justice Biel's sentences Erin, he does have to reach a

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Speaker 2: number of conclusions himself, almost like the jury would happen.

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Speaker 1: So that was the defense. Now what did the prosecution

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Speaker 1: have to say?

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Speaker 2: As we touched upon earlier, the prosecution said today that

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Speaker 2: straight out Aaron should not get a non parole period,

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Speaker 2: and they said this was because the seriousness of her crimes.

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Speaker 2: Miss Warren actually quoted another Supreme Court justice who sentenced

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Speaker 2: rapist and murderer Michael Cardamone to life without parole in

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Speaker 2: twenty seventeen. He said back then that sometimes a crime

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Speaker 2: is so horrific, so cruel, and so callous, that a

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Speaker 2: step towards mercy seems too difficult to make. And Miss

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Speaker 2: Warren really used these words today when she told Justice

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Speaker 2: Biale that what Erin had done was also so cruel

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Speaker 2: and so callous that she was not deserving of mercy,

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Speaker 2: and Justice Biale actually agreed with her that the offending

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Speaker 2: was quite horrendous, although he did flag with her that

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Speaker 2: he had some concerns that Erin may for the foreseeable

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Speaker 2: future remain in that unit at Dame Phyllis Frost Center.

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Speaker 2: He said it did not sound very humane for a

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Speaker 2: person to be locked in a cell for at least

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Speaker 2: twenty two hours every day. He was of the belief

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Speaker 2: that her notoriety is not going to diminish. Miss Warren

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Speaker 2: did disagree with him on this point, and she said

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Speaker 2: that the interest in who she is would likely diminish,

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Speaker 2: and even mentioned the Port Arthur mass murderer Martin Bryant,

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Speaker 2: and she said that they wouldn't be too many twenty

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Speaker 2: year olds walking around these days who would know who

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Speaker 2: he is. But Justice Biale quickly replied, did they make

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Speaker 2: a TV series? Out of Martin Bryant, obviously alluding to

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Speaker 2: the fact that there will be drama series created about Erin,

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Speaker 2: and then told Miss Warren that he feels fairly confident

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Speaker 2: that Erin will remain notorious for a long long time.

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Speaker 1: Now we found out a sentence day, when will that

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Speaker 1: be taking place?

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Speaker 2: Justice Beer revealed today that he plans to sentence Erin

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Speaker 2: on September eighth, so that is a fortnight away. He

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Speaker 2: told the court that he wanted to do this in Morewell,

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Speaker 2: where the trial took place, but due to maintenance works,

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Speaker 2: it does look like it will be here in Melbourne

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Speaker 2: before we wrap up. There was one thing that Justice

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Speaker 2: Beale said today that I think we really should mention

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Speaker 2: because it really speaks to the emotion of today. He

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Speaker 2: said that the victim impact statements read out to him

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Speaker 2: and those provided to him as well, brought home how

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Speaker 2: Aaron's crimes have affected four generations of the extended Patterson

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Speaker 2: and Wilkinson families. He said, the word ripple effect is

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Speaker 2: often mentioned, but this felt more like a tsunami than

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Speaker 2: a ripple and.

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Speaker 1: He couldn't be more right exactly. So, Laura, you and

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Speaker 1: I will be back in two weeks, but before then

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Speaker 1: we may have one or two more episodes to bring

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Speaker 1: to you.

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Speaker 2: Until then, Brook