Thu. Nov 17th, 2022

A man who murdered his teenage son and his son’s girlfriend is appealing against his non-parole period, saying his 34-year jail term is “excessive”.

  • Klosowski pleaded guilty to the murders in September 2020 
  • He is arguing he should have received a greater discount for his early guilty plea
  • He says he is remorseful

Pawel Klosowski shot his 19-year-old son Lukasz and his son’s 19-year-old girlfriend, Chelsea Ireland, at his Mount McIntrye property, near Millicent in South Australia’s south-east, in August 2020.
The 47-year-old had drunk at least one carton of beer when he got into an argument with his son, loaded his shotgun and killed him, before firing through a locked bathroom door at Ms Ireland, who was on the phone to emergency services.
He pleaded guilty to the murders in September.
Klosowski, who appeared today via video-link, applied to the Court of Appeal to lower his 34-year non-parole period on the grounds it was “excessive” and the sentencing judge failed to provide an adequate reduction for his early guilty plea.
Klosowski’s lawyer, Nick Vadasz, told the court the head sentence of 40 years started too high and the 15 per cent reduction was too low.
Mr Vadasz said the sentencing judge had not taken into account a number of mitigating factors, including his client’s “genuine remorse” and contrition.
“He is genuinely overwhelmed with grief and remorse that he killed his own child and Chelsea,” he said. 
He said his client has been diagnosed with epilepsy, which he could have explored as grounds for defence.
“There were aspects where he simply had no idea what was going on,” Mr Vadasz said.
“They lasted a minute or two and he came out of it. 
“Now, I’m not suggesting that’s what happened here.
“Exploring a defence which would have kept the suffering and anguish of the community open for many months, he didn’t do so, and it is a substantial consideration to take into account.”
Lukasz and his girlfriend Chelsea Ireland were both in their first year of university.(Instagram
)
In response, prosecutor Lucy Boord SC told the court any reduction would result in a non-parole period that would be disproportionate to the actions, arguing that lowering the period would “erode the dignity and value of human life”.
“The applicant’s argument that the starting point was manifestly excessive and the discount too little, we say is ill-conceived and without merit,” she said.
Ms Boord said the 13 victim impact statements prepared by family and friends of the victims were “hard to read” and “hurt to read”.
“It’s not just the loss of these young two people’s lives, but the loss of those two young lives to their families,” she said.
Ms Boord said a reduction of the non-parole period would make the punishment disproportionate to the offending.
“When we start nitpicking around the number which we say is still in range, it does nothing to record due recognition to human life,” she said.
“It erodes the dignity and value of human life.”
The court has reserved its decision.
Greg Ireland says the appeal against the sentence is “just another kick in the guts”.(ABC News: Brittany Evins
)
Ms Ireland’s father Greg, who spoke outside the court on Tuesday, said he still had faith the justice system would do the right thing.
“It (the appeal) is just another kick in the guts that we really don’t need, still dealing with all the cumulation of everything through the year,” Mr Ireland said.
“It was really tough, it was a shock we weren’t expecting this.”