imprisonment for 44 years, with a non-parole period of 33 years, for murder. ... submitted for Ms Droudis that the Court
Judgment Summary Supreme Court New South Wales
R v Droudis (No. 16) [2017] NSWSC 20 Johnson J The Supreme Court has sentenced Amirah Droudis, now aged 37 years, to a term of imprisonment for 44 years, with a non-parole period of 33 years, for murder. The victim of the crime was the former wife of Man Haron Monis (“Monis”) and the mother of their two sons (then aged eight and five years). For reasons explained in R v Droudis (No. 14) [2016] NSWSC 1550 (which related to the protection of children from identification), the victim was referred to as Helen Lee (which is not her real name). On 21 April 2013, Helen Lee was murdered on a stairway of an apartment block in Werrington. Ms Droudis inflicted 18 stab wounds to the upper torso, back and arms, doused Helen Lee with petrol and proceeded to set her alight. Ms Droudis was convicted of murder following a trial by judge alone. At the time of the murder, Ms Droudis was the partner of Monis, who died in the Lindt Café Siege on 16 December 2014. Ms Droudis met Monis in about 2003 and from then formed a very close bond persisting for years, intensifying between 2012 and 2014. The Court found Monis planned the murder of Helen Lee, although he was not prepared to carry out the killing himself. Monis had a great impact upon Ms Droudis which was evident by her actions throughout their relationship. This included Ms Droudis and her daughter from a previous relationship converting to Islam and Ms Droudis appearing in 11 extremist videos communicated through the Sheikh Haron website, supporting Monis in public protests and assisting Monis in highly offensive activities directed towards the families of deceased Australian servicemen and a deceased Australian Trade Commissioner. Ms Droudis was subsequently charged with Commonwealth offences in July 2010. In June 2011, Helen Lee separated from Monis. In August 2011, Monis commenced custody proceedings with respect to the two boys. However, on 5 July 2012, Monis abandoned his custody application by means of an extraordinary letter directed to the Presiding Federal Magistrate, with Monis indicating his intention to file an application “in God’s court”. The Court was satisfied Monis took this course because he well knew by that time that Helen Lee would be granted custody of the children by the Court. Monis had planned for some months before 21 April 2013 to murder Helen Lee in order to secure custody of his two sons so they could live in a family unit, which also included the Ms Droudis and her daughter. The Court found Ms Droudis to be a critical player in Monis’ plan to murder Helen Lee, agreeing to commit the crime at the Werrington apartment block on 21 April 2013. There This summary has been prepared for general information only. It is not intended to be a substitute for the judgment of the Court or to be used in any later consideration of the Court’s judgment.
was ample opportunity for Ms Droudis to withdraw from the plan in the days preceding and on the day of the murder. Although Monis had devised the plan, he placed himself intentionally at a location distant from the murder, so that it fell to Ms Droudis to carry out the crime. In sentencing Ms Droudis, one of the main issues was the level of her culpability. The Crown submitted to the Court that a life sentence was open but that, if a life sentence was not imposed, then a very substantial determinate sentence was appropriate. It was submitted for Ms Droudis that the Court should not impose a life sentence as she was not the orchestrator of the crime and had minor criminal antecedents and in light of her age and life expectancy, her real prospects of rehabilitation, concordant relevance to future dangerousness and specific deterrence. The Court found that Ms Droudis’ crime of murder involved a very high degree of culpability: there was an intention to kill, in what was a brutal and callous attack upon a defenceless woman; setting fire to the victim was a gratuitous act of defilement of the victim’s body; starting a fire in an apartment block involved a total disregard for public safety; there was a significant level of planning; Ms Droudis’ motive included a desire to substitute herself for the mother of the two boys; the offence involved a flagrant attempt to circumvent a custody order by use of an extra-curial criminal measure; and Ms Droudis was on bail at the time of the murder so that she acted in a breach of conditional liberty. The Court considered submissions made by reference to the role of Monis, the relationship between Ms Droudis and Monis and the relevance of the fact that Monis was dead. It was argued for Ms Droudis that these matters bore upon her prospects of rehabilitation, future dangerousness and specific deterrence. The Court was not satisfied to the criminal standard that a life sentence of imprisonment was warranted in the circumstances; however a very lengthy determinate sentence was appropriate. The Court sentenced Ms Droudis to imprisonment for a term of 44 years, comprising a nonparole period of 33 years commencing on 22 December 2014 and expiring on 21 December 2047 with a balance of term of 11 years commencing on 22 December 2047 and expiring on 21 December 2058. The earliest date upon which The Offender will be eligible for release on parole is 22 December 2047.
This summary has been prepared for general information only. It is not intended to be a substitute for the judgment of the Court or to be used in any later consideration of the Court’s judgment.
