By Georgie Burgess
The youth who killed pregnant mother Sarah Paino in a joyride crash in central Hobart earlier this year has been sentenced to five years’ detention.
The teenager had driven at high speed through the city in a stolen four-wheel drive before running a red light, slamming into Ms Paino’s car in the CBD in January.
The 16-year-old pleaded guilty to Ms Paino’s manslaughter in May.
The youth, who was sentenced as an adult for manslaughter in the Supreme Court in Hobart, will be eligible for parole after serving two and a half years.
Justice Helen Wood described the teenager’s driving as “chillingly dangerous” and said she had delivered a “heavy sentence”.
At the sentence, the youth’s family cried and shouted: “Bye baby, you’re doing great.”
The youth, who cannot be named for legal reasons, remained emotionless throughout the hearing, and wore a suit jacket and shirt.
Victim’s baby delivered after crash
At the time of the fatal crash, the stolen car was travelling at an estimated 110 kilometres an hour with no headlights.
Ms Paino suffered catastrophic injuries and did not survive, but paramedics kept her alive until her 32-week-old unborn son was delivered a short time later at the Royal Hobart Hospital.
Her two-year-old son was sitting in the back seat of the car and also survived.
Ms Paino’s family and friends were at the court but declined to make any comments, leaving through a side entrance to the court.
Maximum sentence for manslaughter is 21 years’ jail
Prosecutors had called for the boy to be sentenced as an adult on the grounds of the seriousness of his conduct and his reckless driving before the fatal impact.
Manslaughter under the Criminal Code carries a maximum adult sentence of 21 years’ jail.
The maximum sentence for the same offence under the Youth Justice Act would have been two years’ detention.
The sentence had been adjourned for more than a month to allow for further psychiatric evaluations of the teenager.
Prosecutors told the court it showed the boy was not mentally impaired enough not to understand the gravity of his offending.
This post originally appeared on ABC News.
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Top Comments
HE HAS BEEN IN AND OUT OF THE YOUTH SYSTEM / DENTENTION CENTRE FOR AGES - HE KNEW WHAT HE WAS DOING WAS WRONG. I HOPE FOR SARAH'S FAMILY THE LITTLE A/HOLE DOES TURN HIS LIFE AROUND ONCE HE GETS OUT
Why has he been in and out of youth detention for ages? What kind of upbringing has he had? These are the questions I want answers to. Where the hell have his parents been?
I donl;t know the exact details, other than some times it doesn't matter where the parents are, some people are just rotten - but I hope he changes, otherwise he will just be another oxygen their in Nth Hobart suburbs
He's getting out, so rehabilitating him would be the best idea.
It doesn't matter about what his upbringing was like . It can be a reason for behvaiours but never an excuse . Terribly lenient sentence and for people to truly believe that our jail system is about rehabilitation is just as sad.
This is a terrible situation and I'm glad he's being held to account but he's just a kid himself. Jail is going to make a criminal out of him, not help him get his life together :(
But if he doesn't get anything, then it's broadcasting to other youths that there are no consequences of stealing a car, driving recklessly at high speed and killing someone because of it. Sometimes sentences are there to deter others from doing the same
He's not a kid! I don't know about you but when I was 17 I well & truly knew right from wrong - most people do from about the age of 5 (that's when you're cognitively mature enough to grasp the concept as well as empathy). His testing also proved he was aware of what he did & the seriousness - he just didn't care!
Would he have been "just a kid" if it were your partner?
I agree. What happened to this young bloke to have him, at 15 years old, be out at night, driving around so recklessly he killed a pregnant mother? The whole thing is deeply tragic and I would like to see this guy rehabilitated and become a productive member of society, not just locked up for punishment in a place that makes criminals worse. He's going to be out in a couple of years, what sort of person will he be then, after being locked up with hardened criminals?
I agree and I do not approve of this business of sentencing children as adults.