A Paltry 20 Year Sentence For Callous Murder In Tasmania

TWO Tasmanian men demonstrated a shocking and callous indifference to a man who was stomped to death and then left to die in the street in Launceston last year.

The indifference displayed by two murderers was a significant aggravating factor in sentencing of Neville Whiting and Scott Rock Justice Peter Evans said.

He sentenced Neville Lindsay Whiting, 32, to 20 years jail for the murder of 43-year-old Scott Rock on March 29 last year.

There was no explanation for the killing, he said, as Whiting bore Mr Rock no personal animosity.

Sean Timothy Hudson, 37, was sentenced to seven years jail for assault and for being an accessory after the fact.

The court heard that Hudson punched Mr Rock to the ground before Whiting stomped on his head four times and smashed him over the head with a backpack containing five stubbies.

Hudson, who had 21 pages of prior convictions, helped load Mr Rock's body into a car before Whiting later drove it to a remote area near Hollybank Reserve and burnt it.

"It is clear from the victim impact statements that the devastating impact of Scott Rock's death on those who cared for him was compounded by its concealment and the disposal of his body," Justice Evans said.

"They did nothing to obtain medical assitance for him, left him on the roadway, and then removed his body in order to dispose of it."

Hudson was found not guilty of murder after a jury deliberated for 27 hours.

But Mr Rock's family believed Hudson was guilty of murder.

"When you knock man to the ground and walk off and don't defend that man and go back and help him it is outright murder," sister Sharon Rock said.

Ms Rock said Hudson's prior convictions should have been aired to the jury.

"I believe if that happened he would be doing more than 7 years," she said.

She was critical of the setting of an 11 year non parole period for Whiting.

"If you are sentenced to 20 year sentence you should serve 20 years why should a judge sit there and then say 11 years," she said.

Ms Rock said her mother and family were upset.

"What justice does that give her-its criminal the law needs changing, seriously," she said.

"They are scum of the earth and should rot in hell."

Justice Evans said that Hudson's crime had been aggravated by his attempts to clean the car in which the body had been removed.

He took the car to a car wash twice and then played a role in implementing the swapping of the car by his partner Teena Kelly with another woman.

Hudson was involved with Teena Kelly, the mother of Mr Rocks son, and the murder followed a dispute between Ms Kelly and Mr Rock.

Everyone had been drinking vodka heavily for a number of hours.

After the murder Hudson and Whiting went to friend's place to have more drinks.

Two of their friends saw Mr Rock's body in the back of the car but did not ring police.



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