Teen jailed for Virginia Gay attack, Daniel Owen murder
A TEENAGER who attacked a TV star in the street then went on to murder a man will spend more than 12 years in jail.
Now aged 18, he claims he remembers little or nothing of the Sydney attacks because he was high on drugs and alcohol.
He cannot be named because he was a juvenile at the time of the offences.
The teen was involved in three bashings on June 13 and 14, 2008, including the violent robbery of actress Virginia Gay.
Best known for her role in television drama All Saints, Gay suffered head injuries after being attacked by the teen as she walked along Illawarra Road at Marrickville.
After being punched repeatedly and kicked in the face while on the ground, Gay flagged down a passing bus and her attacker fled.
The teen and a juvenile co-accused then launched an attack nearby on chef Daniel Owen, 31, in the driveway of the victim's home.
Mr Owen was found dead, lying face down in a pool of blood, just after midnight on June 14.
His mobile phone was missing and his empty wallet and keys were found a short distance away.
An autopsy revealed he died from blunt force head injuries.
"It was clear that the assailant or assailants had stomped on his head and face numerous times," Justice Roderick Howie said during sentencing in the NSW Supreme Court today.
"Shoe patterns were located on his skull, face and neck.
"There were also rib fractures. It is clear that the deceased had been kicked to death."
The teenager pleaded guilty to Mr Owen's murder, the attack on Gay, and the assault with intent to rob of a male cyclist, also in the Marrickville area on June 13.
"He had little recall of the events of the evening apparently because of his state of intoxication from alcohol and 'two blue tablets that he had consumed'," Justice Howie said.
The matter was "a bad case of murder" and he sentenced the teen to a minimum term of 12 years and nine months in prison.
"I have difficulty accepting that even an intoxicated person would not realise the severity of the injury being inflicted by repeatedly stomping on the head and face of a person who is lying on the ground unable to defend or protect himself," Justice Howie said.
The teen, who has received drug and alcohol counselling since being in custody, will be eligible for parole on April 29, 2021, taking into account time already served.
His co-accused, aged 16 at the time of the offences, also admitted to Mr Owen's murder and the cyclist attack.
He was sentenced in February to a minimum of 10 years and six months' prison.
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