Killer Michael Cardamone has once again been told he will never be a free man, after he failed in his attempt to appeal his sentence of life in jail without parole, for the brutal murder of Karen Chetcuti (nee Verbunt).
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The Court of Appeal in Melbourne on Tuesday rejected his leave to appeal.
The original sentence handed down by Justice Lex Lasry in Wangaratta Supreme Court in August 2017 was a landmark decision in Victoria.
Never before had a murderer, who pleaded guilty and did not have prior convictions for murder, been denied hope for eventual release on parole.
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"To refuse the fixed minimum term is an exceptional step and is a dreadful punishment, but this was a dreadful crime ... Sometimes a crime is so horrific, so cruel and so callous, that a step towards mercy becomes too difficult to take," Justice Lasry said.
"Your conduct in regards to Ms Chetcuti was extraordinarily vicious, callous and thoroughly unprovoked.
"The crime you committed was quite simply horrifying, depraved and disgusting."
He doused her with petrol and burned her alive near Lake Buffalo, after he had injected her with an animal tranquilizer and fractured her skull.
Cardamone's lawyer Dermot Dann QC challenged the sentence last month, saying Justice Lasry failed to mention he was considering an indefinite prison term and did not give enough weight was to the guilty plea, questioning the incentive for people to confess when there was no jail-time discount for doing so.
More to come
