Prosecutors want a life sentence for a man who bashed a rough sleeper to death simply because he was in “the wrong place at the wrong time”.
Kevin James Pettiford said he went back and forth in his mind about whether he should kill 56-year-old Andrew Murray, who in November 2019 was sleeping rough in Tweed Heads, in far-north NSW.
The 38-year-old was arrested soon after intentionally bashing Murray to death with several large rocks, making a full confession to investigators.
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A jury rejected a plea of not guilty on the grounds of mental impairment in December, finding Pettiford guilty of one count of murder and another count of attempted murder over a separate incident.
Crown prosecutor Brendan Campbell told a NSW Supreme Court hearing in Sydney on Thursday that a term of life imprisonment was the only suitable punishment given the circumstances of the crime.
“It was a brutal, callous killing, falling in my submission in the worst category,” he said.
“It represented a denial of Murray’s humanity.”
Pettiford sat hunched in the dock wearing prison greens as the court weighed his fate
Murray’s daughter Kate told the court she suffered greatly from the loss of her father, made worse by the circumstances of his death.
“Our family suffer from profound sorrow and anger,” she said.
“From one choice — one evil choice.
“We can only ask that the person responsible for such a disgusting and pathetic act be held responsible.”
Pettiford said he had the impulse to kill from a young age, telling police it got “worse” as he got older and he did not know why.
“All I know is I’ve always just wanted to f****** kill someone,” he said.
Pettiford told investigators he hesitated multiple times from killing Murray before something inside him just went “go”.
He said he struck Murray five or six times in the temple with three large rocks and after the first blow knew his victim was likely brain dead.
Pettiford described himself as “emotionless” during the attack, but he said he didn’t intend for his victim to suffer.
“He was at the wrong place at the wrong time. That was it,” he told police.
