- Najma Carroll, 33, was brutally murdered in 2020
- Drug lord Robert Sloan jailed for 25 years
A man described as a “runner” who worked for his boss and dealt drugs from a western Sydney hotel has been jailed for the violent murder of a woman whose body was then burned.
Robert Sloan, 61, pleaded guilty to murdering Najma Carroll along with a co-defendant before setting her on fire in a remote area of Sandy Point in Sydney’s south-west on 14 July 2020.
The body of the 33-year-old man was discovered by a hiker 15 days later.
“The deceased was isolated prior to her death, then taken to a remote rural area where she had no possibility of escape and then killed,” Judge Natalie Adams said on Friday.
“It must have been an absolutely terrifying experience for her.”
The New South Wales Supreme Court judge sentenced Sloan to a maximum of 25 years and two months in prison, with retroactive effect and set to expire on July 3, 2047.
His non-parole period of 17 years and six months will expire on November 3, 2039.
Sloan received a lighter sentence than his drug boss, Benjamin Troy Parkes, 46, who was sentenced last week for the murder.
Najma Carroll was murdered before her body was burned in a remote area of Sandy Point in Sydney’s south-west on 14 July 2020.
Robert Sloan, 61, has been jailed for the violent murder
The body of the 33-year-old man was discovered by a hiker 15 days later.
He faces a maximum prison sentence of 31 years, with a non-parole period of 21 years and six months.
Judge Adams concluded that Sloan admired Parkes, who often ordered his subordinate to do his “dirty work” for him.
“Mr Sloan assisted Mr Parkes out of a misplaced sense of loyalty to him,” he said.
The motive for the murder belonged solely to Parkes, who was concerned Ms Carroll knew too much about his drug dealing, did not want to repay $8,500 he had “invested” in the illegal business and was worried she might go to the police, Judge Adams found.
Sloan, who previously called himself Ronald Joseph Sladden, also made a deal to kill Carroll at a later time than Parkes.
In sentencing the 61-year-old, the judge took into account his early guilty plea, his severely disadvantaged upbringing and his physical health, including pain issues after he was shot in the leg in a motel room about 25 years ago.
He said he had been threatened and assaulted in custody since his arrest for the murder in November 2020, and said this could have been due to his involvement with The Heathens in Melbourne 10 years ago.
Sloan’s criminal record spans decades and includes run-ins with the law in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia for offences including armed robbery, false imprisonment, threatening witnesses, drug possession and motor vehicle theft.
He had been a long-term drug user and was taking “ice” at the time of Ms Carroll’s murder, Judge Adams said.
Judge Natalie Adams said the victim’s final moments must have been “absolutely terrifying”
Sloan watched the sentencing proceedings from Silverwater Prison and shook his head, muttering “not true” as the judge considered whether he had assaulted Ms Carroll, giving her a black eye days before she was killed.
The judge expressed her suspicions but could not be convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that he had caused the injuries.
He discovered that Ms Carroll was using large amounts of drugs at the time and could have harmed herself instead.
Judge Adams highlighted the significant effect the murder had on the mother, Anne Carroll, who was told the shocking news by police that the burnt body found in woodland was that of her daughter.
“On behalf of the court, I extend my deepest condolences to the family and friends of Najma Carroll,” he said.