The South Australian government has moved to remove a defence used by a man to get a lighter sentence for manslaughter.
Cody James Edwards, 27, was sentenced to at least 11 years in prison for the manslaughter of his partner in the Supreme Court, sitting at Mount Gambier, on Friday afternoon, with his defence built around his use of drugs at the time the offence was committed.
He pleaded guilty to manslaughter in June over the attack that killed mother-of-three Synamin Bell at Millicent in March 2022.
Edwards was originally charged and stood trial for Ms Bell’s murder, but part way through the trial he was re-arraigned and pleaded guilty to the lesser charge.
The court had previously been told the pair had both taken the hallucinogenic drug DOI, when Edwards started experiencing paranoid psychosis.
Edwards attacked Ms Bell, beating her with a metal dumbbell across the head and stabbing her in the back after she was already dead.
At the conclusion of the attack, Edwards had inflicted more than 50 injuries on Ms Bell.
Children orphaned in attack
During sentencing Supreme Court Justice Adam Kimber said Edwards voluntarily consumed DOI, knowing it had made him feel paranoid in the past.
He said this increased his moral culpability for Ms Bell’s death and that the attack was “brutal”.
“Your conduct has not only taken the life of a young woman, but has left three young children without that love and care,” he said.
“There can be no adequate replacement for the love of a mother.
“Each child will suffer for the rest of their lives.”
Mr Edwards sentenced will be backdated to March 12, 2022 and he was handed a non-parole period of eight years and 10 months.
He will be eligible for release in January 2031.
Family angered by sentence
Supporters of Ms Bell’s family attended the Mount Gambier Courthouse today, holding signs that criticised the manslaughter plea and calling for a significant prison sentence for Edwards.
When Justice Kimber read out his sentence, angry members of Ms Bell’s family and their supporters stood up and stormed out of court.
Some attendees in court shouted insults at Edwards as he left the court.
Yesterday, during sentencing submissions, Ms Bell’s family chose to leave court before Mr Edwards could read an apology letter to them.
Outside court today after sentencing, Ms Bell’s sister, Shenta Bell, criticised the length of the sentence.
“It’s a spit in her face, it’s a spit in the face of her children, her mother, everything,” she said.
“She wasn’t acknowledged as a person, what happened to her, it was all the drugs.
“That’s the most disgusting thing. It was all about him, what he’s gone through, it wasn’t about what she’s gone through, what happened to her.”
Call for change heeded
Shenta Bell, Kimmi Smith, Zoe Widdison and other friends of Ms Bell started an online petition after Mr Edwards’ guilty plea to manslaughter, calling for no reduction in the sentence for people who took drugs and then committed crimes.
“They’re kind of sending a message of ‘You do drugs, you kill someone, you get five years’,” Ms Widdison said, referring to the minimum extra time Mr Edwards will spend in jail.
“What’s that going to say to all the men who are already abusing their partners, that they can take it to the next step if they have drugs in their system?”
After the sentence, South Australian Attorney-General Kyam Maher said the government would introduce legislation to address concerns around using delusions brought on by drugs as a defence in court.
“We don’t think the laws as they currently stand meet community expectations,” Mr Maher said.
“We have already started drafting laws that would seek to change this, and as early as next week, we will start consultation.”