A man who bludgeoned his ex-wife to death by hitting her in the back of the head with a 4-pound mallet intended to murder her, a jury has found.
Shaun Robert Sturgess was found guilty by a jury of a single count of murder in the Brisbane Supreme Court on Thursday.
The jury spent approximately two and a half hours deliberating its verdict.
His plea to the alternative charge of manslaughter was rejected by the Crown on Monday.
The Crown alleged Sturgess murdered his ex-wife, Jacqueline Sturgess, by hitting her in the back of the skull with a sledgehammer at their home in Narangba, north of Brisbane, on April 18, 2020.
Jacqueline Sturgess (pictured) was murdered by her ex-husband Shaun Sturgess in 2020
The court was told that Mrs Sturgess, 45, had previously agreed to go to the family home to collect property, including a desk and some jewellery, when she was murdered.
Sturgess then abandoned his bloodied body for almost a day as he went to a bottle shop and then to a friend’s house to continue drinking, the court was told.
Judge Sullivan ordered Sturgess to serve life in prison, the maximum sentence for murder.
He will serve 20 years behind bars before being eligible for parole.
Judge Sullivan said there was “nothing justified” Mrs Sturgess’ death.
‘His actions were completely excessive and unjustified. ‘What happened that day should never have happened,’ he said.
‘Domestic violence is despicable. Here, a woman and a mother are unnecessarily dead and you will spend the rest of your adult life in prison.
Ms Sturgess’s 80-year-old father, Robert Fitzsimmons, shared his anguish at losing his youngest daughter in a victim impact statement read in court by Mr Cook on Thursday.
“All my life I have been a simple man, I have served my country and the people of this country,” Fitzsimmons wrote.
“Now I am heartbroken and feel like a total failure because I couldn’t protect the one I loved, my beloved Jacqui.”
Fitzsimmons said his daughter had helped him overcome the “traumas of war” by helping him overcome his alcohol abuse and smoking.
“He promised his mother (on her deathbed) that he would take care of his father until he died,” he said.
“My life is now empty as I sit waiting for his car or phone to ring to hear his voice that never comes.”
Jacqueline Sturgess’s father, Robert Fitzsimmons, spoke to reporters after the jury’s verdict.
Police Discover Jacqueline Sturgess’ Bloodied Body During Welfare Check
Outside court, Fitzsimmons said the trauma he experienced upon receiving the phone call about his daughter’s murder was like “being sent back to Vietnam all over again.”
“I am very sad about my daughter’s death, but very happy about the outcome (of the trial),” Fitzsimmons said.
Fitzsimmons said the level of domestic violence affecting the country was “despicable”.
‘Women don’t need this. “There are other ways to overcome these problems, not with domestic violence,” she stated.
Following the guilty verdict, Cook said Sturgess had used “severe force” to kill Mrs Sturgess, “left her for dead” and “showed no effort to help her”.
“He himself spoke of having a cowardly anger,” Mr Cook said.
‘This was a horrible incident of domestic violence. Domestic violence is a scourge that continues to affect the Australian community.
Wilson said his client had always shown remorse for killing his ex-wife, as evidenced by his manslaughter plea.
“He expressed remorse often,” Wilson said.
‘He was a man who at that time was in a state of deteriorating mental health, quite serious depression.
“(He was) certainly someone who couldn’t cope.”
During the trial, the jury heard evidence that Ms Sturgess had spoken to a lawyer hours before she died, who had informed her that she would most likely be entitled to a 60/40 asset distribution in her favor if she divorced. of her husband.
The couple had previously discussed a 50/50 split.
Crown prosecutor Chris Cook told jurors the suggested new deal would mean
Mrs Sturgess could also be entitled to Sturgess’ prized Monaro sports car.
The Crown alleged that the couple had discussed this suggested new arrangement and child support when Mrs Sturgess arrived at the house.
Shaun Sturgess stood trial for the murder of Jacqueline Sturgess after her body was found in her Narangba home in April 2020. Image: 7 News
“You know you should have spoken up,” Cook told jurors in his closing statements Wednesday.
‘We have Shaun Sturgess’ version of how he says they spoke before killing her.
‘The agreement on property, child support was discussed and that valued Monaro.
“He will no longer receive a 50/50 split and his Monaro was now to be considered in the split (which) infuriated him.”
“It seems he couldn’t handle things outside his control, he was a volatile man.”
Defense lawyer Chris Wilson, who represented Sturgess during the trial, had told jurors that his client had “struggled with alcoholism.”
Wilson said his client did not intend to kill Mrs Sturgess when he hit her with the mallet.
Wilson said that when Sturgess hit his wife it was not the action of a cold-blooded killer, but a “hot-blooded” act motivated by anger.
“This is a man who acts impulsively without any intention,” he said.
During the trial, the jury heard a recorded police interview with Mr Sturgess, where he had told police he knew he had killed her when he hit her with the sledgehammer.
“It just went down like a bag of shit,” he said in the recorded police interview.
‘I started spinning uncontrollably, the blood kept rolling.
‘The way he fell was like he had been shot.
“I was screwed, I didn’t know what to do.
‘I’m so serious that it fucked me up instantly.
“I was thinking I’m screwed, my whole life… I’ve let so many people down.”
In the recording, Sturgess told police she had become angry over an argument over family finances and child support, the jury had heard during evidence.
“I was money-oriented, and I lost my mind because I worked so hard… for so long,” can be heard in the recorded police interview.
“She had access to everything of mine, I’m the idiot here, I let my guard down too long ago and she bit me in the ass very, very bad.”
Jacqueline Sturgess’ body was found by police in April 2020.