A man who as a teenager lived through the horror of his sister's murder has intermittently turned to alcohol in the decades since to deal with that trauma.
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Albury Local Court heard has heard the stabbing murder of Kim Meredith, 19, had loomed large over the life of her younger brother.
Graeme Randell Meredith, 44, appeared for sentence before Albury magistrate Sally McLaughlin on Monday, March 6, for driving with a middle-range prescribed concentration of alcohol.
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The Wagga hotel manager's car was pulled over as he drove south on Macauley Street, Albury, on September 17 at 10.45pm.
Asked about his drinking - upon later providing a blood alcohol reading of 0.105 - Meredith said he had downed five 425-millilitre glasses of full-strength beer between 9pm and 10.35pm.
On opening his sentencing submission, defence lawyer Mark Cronin focused on what he said was the terrible incident the people of Albury woke to on March 23, 1996.
Mr Cronin said the murder of Kim Meredith "shook this community" to its core.
"It was a horrendous crime," he said.
Mr Cronin said his client turned to alcohol over the years "as a means of self-medicating" away the horror of what he and his family experienced.
Ms McLaughlin had ordered a sentence assessment report in light of Meredith's history of drink-driving - he had seven offences on his West Australian record.
Mr Cronin said Meredith was now a single man who remained close to his son, 16, who remained in Western Australia.
"He generally works seven days a week, he doesn't have time for anything else."
Ms McLaughlin noted it was Meredith's first offence "in the last five years".
"At that reading, sir, you would have known you were not in a position to drive," she said.
"I accept that very sadly your sister was the victim of a crime when you were still a very young man."
Meredith was convicted, placed on a 14-month community corrections order under which he must complete 80 hours of work and lost his licence for six months.
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