A judge rejected pleas of remorse from a killer who stabbed a dad-of-two to death then denied murdering him for months.
Adam Fletcher was jailed for life with a minimum of 22 years in prison earlier this week following his conviction for the murder of Paul Stenson.
During that hearing, the court heard Fletcher was "undoubtedly devastated" about what he did - but a judge rebutted the notion he was remorseful in any meaningful way.
READ MORE: Murderer emotionless as he's jailed for 22 years for killing dad
Fletcher, 28, killed 30-year-old Mr Stenson outside a house party on December 30 last year. An argument between the two turned into a scuffle after Fletcher tried to come on to Mr Stenson’s partner. After being told to leave the party, they went to finish the fight outside. However, unbeknownst to Mr Stenson, Fletcher had grabbed a kitchen knife from inside the house before doing so.
He then stabbed Mr Stenson once in the chest with little warning, inflicting a wound that prosecutors said knife inflicted “catastrophic” damage, going straight through Mr Stenson’s heart and causing him to bleed to death quickly.
Horrified witnesses, which included Mr Stenson’s partner Samantha Rosser, then tried to save Mr Stenson’s life but he died shortly afterwards. Fletcher fled and hid for a number of days before being arrested.
Fletcher had accepted causing Mr Stenson’s death but maintained he had only got the knife because he himself had been threatened by Mr Stenson’s friends. He denied murder, while the mum of his child, Demi Walsh, and his best friend, Nathan Finnegan, both denied assisting an offender. All three were convicted earlier this year after a six week trial.
Peter Finnegan KC, defending Fletcher and of no relation to Nathan Finnegan, said Fletcher had continuously voiced regret over what happened.
Mr Finnegan said: “In the time of my involvement in this case Mr Fletcher has expressed remorse for what happened on that night on a regular basis. He has expressed it before the trial, during the trial and again today. He is a father and himself and he is undoubtedly devastated about what he has done.”
Judge Cummings replied: “But he has maintained all along he did nothing wrong. I don’t want to make things difficult for you but I always struggle to take submissions of remorse from people who take things to the wire and deny all the way along that they have done anything wrong.”
Mr Finnegan said: “I say only your honour that that is a point he has expressed to me throughout.”
Lawyers for Finnegan and Walsh said they too regretted what they had done and were not motivated by causing further upset to Mr Stenson’s loved ones. But while sentencing all three defendants Judge Cummings said he rejected the idea that they should receive significant credit for their remorse, saying any meaningful remorse would have seen them admit their guilt and spare Mr Stenson’s family the need to sit through a trial.
Judge Cummings has handed Adam Fletcher a life sentence with a minimum term of 22 years. The judge warns Fletcher that even after that point he must face the parole board before any potential release. Demi Walsh was sentenced to 18 months in prison, while Finnegan received a 14 month jail term.
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