The prosecutor in the case of four people found guilty of the manslaughter of a north-west Tasmanian man has told the Launceston Supreme Court there was an element of "vigilante justice" in how the man was attacked.
Bobby Medcraft, 23, died following a March 2020 altercation in a Burnie street where he was bashed repeatedly and cut across the knee from behind with a sword.
Five people — Cody Sheehan, Lucas Ford, Michael Hanlon, Geoffrey Deverell and Kelsey Ford — stood accused of his murder in a trial that spanned five weeks.
After five days of deliberations, the jury yesterday found the five not guilty of murder. Four were found guilty of manslaughter.
During sentencing submissions, prosecutor Jack Shapiro said the overwhelming evidence was that the accused were the aggressors and the crime should be put in the most serious category of manslaughter.
He said despite being told by police to go home earlier in the night and to contact them if needed, they instead searched for and attacked Mr Medcraft.
"There is an element of vigilante justice in this," he said.
"The purpose was to attack the deceased … they had a common purpose."
Disagreement stemmed from Snapchat message
The court had previously heard a disagreement began when a friend of Mr Medcraft's mistakenly added Lucas Ford on social media app Snapchat and sent him a message saying, "What's up c***?"
As the night escalated, Mr Medcraft and his friends visited Mr Ford's house first. He was not home, so they continued to his sister's house on Thorne Street, the court was told.
The court heard police intervened to prevent a fight at Kelsey Ford's house, before the accused chased Mr Medcraft and his friends in cars to a Ritchie Street house, where the fatal brawl took place.
Mr Shapiro told the court the fatal cut from the sword — delivered by Cody Sheehan — was dealt when Mr Medcraft was face down on the ground.
"[Mr Medcraft] was apologising for his conduct at Thorne Street … he was covering his head," he said.
"They were kicking him on the ground at the same time, punching him as well."
Mr Sheehan's lawyer Greg Richardson said his client only took the sword to the scene because he believed Mr Medcraft was armed and he had been threatened by him earlier in the night.
"He had been threatened with violence, told he would be stabbed in the head," Mr Richardson said.
"That threat led Mr Sheehan to believe that Mr Medcraft was armed or had access to a weapon.
"He only became involved after a phone call asking for help … he took two bats with him only because he had been asked to."
Mr Richardson told the court his client delivered one blow to the leg and made the submission that if there had been intent to seriously injure, he would have dealt more blows.
"He has expressed remorse to me … his son now has to grow up without a father … Mr Sheehan also had to grow up without a father," he said.
Four to be sentenced in December
Kirsten Abercromby, who was defending Mr Ford, said the Snapchat comment was never meant to be taken "so seriously".
"Mr Ford was the first one to ask about Mr Medcraft's condition, asking if he was alright," she said.
She said her client was also sorry for his role in what happened.
Paul Sullivan, representing Michael Hanlon, told the court his client was not involved in the use of any weapons and was not aware of the fatal blow until after it happened.
"There was never any discussion that he was involved in the use of weapons … he also wasn't in control of the vehicle, he also wasn't encouraging anyone," he said.
"The only time he saw the sword was when it came into the car. There's no suggestion he touched it or knew how sharp it was."
Mr Sullivan said while his client did not dispute being involved in the punching and kicking of Mr Medcraft, he had no history of being involved in violence.
The final person found guilty of manslaughter was Kelsey Ford.
Her lawyer, Fran McCracken, told the court this was Ms Ford's first time "in trouble".
"She wasn't aware of what Mr Sheehan intended to do but she did know there was an intention to cause harm," she said.
"She has multiple motivations — she was trying to prevent any future altercations at Thorne Street where her children were … and to find Medcraft and have it out with him.
"She didn't hit or attack Medcraft, and was not physically involved at all."
The four will be sentenced in December.
