Eurydice Dixon‘s rapist and killer Jaymes Todd, 21, has lost his bid to reduce his life sentence, meaning he won’t walk free from prison until he is at least 54 years old.
Todd’s lawyers had argued his young age, dysfunctional upbringing, autism spectrum disorder and the fact that he’d both pled guilty and expressed remorse meant the sentence was “manifestly excessive”.
However, Justices Anne Ferguson, David Beach and Phillip Priest rejected that argument in the Court of Appeal.
“A young woman should be able to walk home alone after a night out without any fear of being harmed, let alone subjected to a vile sexual attack and killed,” they said in their judgement.
Todd’s crimes were described during sentencing as “pure and unmitigated evil” and “unspeakably loathsome and cruel”. He stalked Dixon, 22, for more than an hour after spotting her outside Flinders Street Station in Melbourne on June 12, 2018. After he violently raped and murdered her, he bought himself a pie and coffee, returned to the crime scene, and then went home to Google rape and pornography.
He was diagnosed with sexual sadism disorder while in custody, which Chief Justice Kaye said there was a “poor” likelihood he could overcome.
Todd was jailed for life in 2019, and must serve 35 years before he is eligable for parole.
