A HITMAN murder trial, a host of other callous killings and lengthy jail terms for sexual predators were the court cases that dominated the headlines in the Hunter in 2023.
From guilty verdicts in the contract killing of Stockton grandmother Stacey Klimovitch, to the acquittal of Justin Dilosa for the murder of Danielle Easey and another two decades behind bars for disgraced former Swansea MP and convicted paedophile Milton Orkopoulos, these were the most horrific or engaging criminal cases of the past 12 months.