Boy on scene of Wodonga murder turned into a criminal himself

The Supreme Court heard Ian Schaeffer's life changed when his dad, Peter, killed a man outside a Brockley Street home on June 21, 2003.

His father hit Nathan Hanley in the head with a baseball bat and stabbed him twice, causing him to die from blood loss.

Ian was inside the home but saw his dad moments after the attack, covered in blood.

His father received a lengthy jail term which caused issues with his family, and Ian eventually began using marijuana, ecstasy, speed and ice.

Ian turned to crime at a young age.

He was jailed for attacking Larry Haifa as he lay unconscious in Albury's main street in 2009.

Schaeffer was also arrested outside a Wodonga bottleshop with a stocking over his head while armed with a gun in September 2012, and received a lengthy term.

In his most recent serious offence, the 30-year-old targeted a 75-year-old woman as she slept during a home invasion.

Schaeffer and two others wore black balaclavas and forced entry to the Westmeadows home on December 9, 2019.

He drove off in her BMW.

"They awoke me from a deep sleep, shone torches in my face and dragged me from my bed, screaming and swearing at me," the occupant said in her victim impact statement.

"I was terrified.

"I was helpless and felt that my life was in the three intruders' hands."

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Schaeffer was later arrested and was found with a hydroponic setup with mature cannabis plants, other drugs, an imitation assault rifle, ammunition, and a stolen car worth $276,000.

His partner Jessica Middleton, whom he knew from Wodonga, was also arrested.

A check of her phone found a video of Schaeffer pointing a handgun out of a window and other footage of him shooting the gun.

Schaeffer was on bail in Wodonga for steroid possession at the time of the offending.

He was sentenced to a minimum five-year jail term for the home invasion with a maximum of seven-years-and-three-months.

The 30-year-old appealed the sentence which was recently dismissed by three judges after reviewing the case.

He will be able to apply for parole in December 2024.

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