A Launceston man has been sentenced to 38 years in prison for attempting to murder his ex-partner and killing her new boyfriend.
Kerry Lee Whiting was found guilty by a jury last week for the brutal stabbing attack that occurred at a Ravenswood home in November 2021.
Justice Tamara Jago handed down the sentence in the Launceston Supreme Court, stating that Whiting will be eligible for parole after 24 years.
Justice Jago described Whiting as having a “controlling, possessive and jealous attitude” towards his ex-partner Natalie Harris and “resented the presence” of her new boyfriend Adrian Mayne in his children’s lives.
Whiting and Harris had been in a relationship for approximately 20 years, which was described as “abusive and violent.”
“These were selfish, brutal and callous crimes committed by you because you had no other way of exerting control over your ex-partner,” Justice Jago said.
“It was family violence of the most extreme kind.”
The court heard Whiting entered the couple’s home in the early hours of the morning with a knife, intending to kill them both.
“You entered their bedroom … and stabbed Mr Mayne 20 times and Ms Harris 27 times,” Jago said.
“The crimes were committed in circumstances where you knew two of your children were living in the house and you showed no care or regard for the impact your crimes would have upon them.”
Their 16-year-old son witnessed his father attacking his mother and wrestled Whiting away from her, asking him, “You’re my dad, why are you doing this? I don’t ever want to see you again.”
Whiting claimed during the trial that he wasn’t responsible for the attack and that his family had mistaken him for someone else.
However, the court heard that Whiting had told his children he was going to kill Mr Mayne before the attack.
“In my view, the evidence you gave in court denying [the comments] was entirely unbelievable. I am satisfied the comments were made to your children, and the sentiments expressed were reflective of your anger and jealousy – the catalyst for these crimes,” Justice Jago said.
After the attack, Whiting spent a week evading police before being found in a shed in his yard, only “exacerbating the fear your surviving victims felt that you may return and cause further harm”.
A victim impact statement from Ms Harris described the physical and psychological impact of the attack, saying she still experiences pain from the stab wounds, while her son, now 18, said he still has flashbacks from that night.
Whiting’s sentence will begin from when he was arrested on December 2, 2021.
