Christ almighty this is sad. 19-year-old Victorian man Patrick Cronin died after being punched in the side of the head during a brawl he was trying to stop at the Windy Mile Hotel in Diamond Creek on April 16th last year.
His assailant, 34-year-old Andrew Lee, pleaded guilty to manslaughter, after a previous charge of murder was withdrawn by prosecutors earlier this year. On Tuesday, Lee faced the Supreme Court in Melbourne for a pre-sentencing hearing, which involved hearing statements from Cronin’s family.
At young Patrick’s funeral, he was remembered as a devout fan of the Richmond Football Club; it’s a devotion the entire family shares.
But for Patrick’s Dad, Matt, and his brother Lucas, this past weekend’s AFL Grand Final provided more bittersweet emotions than joyous ones.
The duo told the court they both attended Saturday’s successful Grand Final – Richmond’s first premiership win in 37 years – and left an empty seat between them for Patrick in the stands of the MCG.
Matt Cronin read a statement to the court written from Patrick’s perspective, fighting through tears as he read with his Richmond club member lanyard dangling around his neck.
I still don’t know why I was hit because I wasn’t a threat to anyone. I just weigh 72 kilos and I look about 15. My name’s Pat. I am 19 years old and I always will be.
Cronin’s siblings and mother both read victim impact statements to the court, and a further 89 written statements were submitted to the judge for consideration prior to sentencing.
Prosecutors had originally pushed for Lee to be handed the mandatory ten-year minimum jail sentence imposed under Victoria’s toughened coward punch laws, but that attempt failed after they could not prove Lee had intended to punch Cronin, and the charge laid against him was subsequently downgraded from murder to manslaughter.
Lee was remanded in custody following the hearing, and is due to be sentenced in November.
