Mother of Steven Tougher tells her son's killer to 'rot in hell' during emotional victim impact statement in court

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Loved ones of New South Wales paramedic Steven Tougher have confronted his killer in court, telling him to ‘rot in hell.’ Jordan Fineanganofo was found not criminally responsible for his murder and will now remain at a mental health facility.

Transcript

00:00A family determined to write the final chapter of an unimaginable tragedy.

00:07The story so far is the act, chapter 2 is the verdict and chapter 3 is going to be the

00:15fight for change.

00:16Paramedic Stephen Toger was stabbed more than 50 times by Jordan Finian-Ganafo outside a

00:22McDonalds in Campbelltown while he was on a break.

00:25The accused was found not criminally responsible for his murder due to a mental health impairment.

00:31Today Stephen's loved ones packed into a courtroom hoping to be heard.

00:36What everyone said here today is something he thinks about for the rest of his life.

00:40Stephen's mother Jill Toger looked right at her son's killer saying how dare you do that

00:45to my beautiful son.

00:46You don't have a knife now, I hope you rot in hell.

00:50The 29 year old had just married the love of his life.

00:53His widow giving birth to his daughter only a month after his death.

00:58All in the space of three months I received a marriage certificate, a death certificate

01:03and a birth certificate at the age of 25.

01:07The attack has also rocked the state's ambulance service with many of his colleagues since

01:12deemed psychologically unfit to ever return to work.

01:16The perspective of the workforce has changed since Stephen's death from feeling that the

01:21blue uniform is a form of protection to this being a liability to personal safety.

01:27The judge ordered Finian Gnafo to remain in custody as a forensic patient under the Mental

01:32Health Tribunal with his potential release back into the community to be reviewed every

01:38six months.

01:39For now the family's focus turns to fixing the system they say is broken.

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