A resentful and angry father who murdered his ex-wife on Christmas Day in a brutal and cruel stabbing attack will spend up to 26 years in prison.
Darren Mark Wake used a folding knife he bought online to stab midwife Rachel Wake, 52, 17 times at her Hobart home in 2021.
Wake went to the house with the intention of assaulting Mrs. Wake if she prevented him from seeing his son, who was inside.
His daughter, Romany, was parked outside after driving her father home when he said he wanted to give her a gift and a hug.
Ms Wake told her ex-husband to leave immediately when he tried to enter, and relayed a message from her son that she did not want to see him.
Her son had decided earlier this year to live with Ms Wake because of his father’s “angry, aggressive and emotionally manipulative behaviour”.
In the Tasmanian Supreme Court on Wednesday, Justice Helen Wood said it was a brutal and cruel attack motivated by anger and resentment.
“(Ms Wake) had a right to trust that you would not harm her. She had no way of protecting herself. She was defenceless,” Judge Wood said.
Darren Mark Wake used a folding knife he bought online to stab midwife Rachel Wake, 52, 17 times at her Hobart home in 2021
‘She tried to dodge your blows but you persisted with your attack.
“You killed her in her own home, a place where she should have been safe.”
Judge Wood said Ms Wake stood her ground and was entirely justified in doing so when Wake tried to enter the house against her wishes.
He suffered 24 stab wounds, including three stab wounds to the face and neck and four to the upper chest (the deepest measuring 97 mm).
Some of them were inflicted on him when he raised his arms to defend himself.
“She must have realized at that point that the intent was to inflict deadly force,” Judge Wood said.
“She endured that knowing her son was in the house and her daughter nearby.”
Wake, who has been in custody since the murder, was sentenced to 26 years in prison with a non-parole period of 17 years.
Speaking outside court, Wake’s mother, Maureen Sierink, 80, said losing her daughter had been agonising.
“This sentence is not long enough. It could never be long enough. It will not bring back our beautiful daughter,” he said.
Wake went to the house with the intention of assaulting Mrs. Wake if she prevented him from seeing his son, who was inside.
“I will hate him forever for what he did. She was full of color, full of sparkle and now that’s gone.”
Romany, who has spoken publicly against domestic violence and has since been diagnosed with complex post-traumatic stress disorder, thanked the people who supported her family.
“We are finally starting to get some justice for my mother,” he said.
Judge Wood said Ms Wake had been a devoted mother who always put her children first.
Wake, who was 60 at the time of the crime, pleaded guilty to murder in December after initially pleading not guilty.
He made admissions to police on the day of the crime, but later lied to officers about certain things in an attempt at self-preservation.
Wake, who quit his job shortly before the killing, was deeply remorseful and had prospects for reform, Judge Wood said.
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