The teenager who killed Ipswich woman Vyleen White has been handed a 16-year-sentence by Queensland’s chief justice. The judge acknowledged the 70-year old's death has destroyed the lives of her loved ones who say no punishment will ever be enough.
00:00She may not be here anymore, but Violene White's softly spoken voice is louder than ever.
00:09Have a lovely day. Bye.
00:11This is how the 70-year-old's family want her to be remembered, kind and caring, and not by her murder, which continues to haunt them.
00:21Our lives are upturned forever. The foundations we knew are broken.
00:27And this follows everywhere you go. There's no escaping it.
00:31In February last year, she was stabbed by a 16-year-old boy at a Redbank Plains shopping centre before he stole her car.
00:39He's offending that day described by Queensland's most senior judge as senseless, selfish, callous and cowardly.
00:48She was an innocent older woman going about her own business at the shops with her young granddaughter in the early evening.
00:56She ought to have been able to feel and be safe.
01:00The terrified young girl tried to help her grandmother. Her violent death now etched in her mind forever.
01:07Now when you look at her, you can see the deep sadness behind those eyes.
01:13The ongoing impact of her grieving loved ones was taken into consideration when the Chief Justice determined the teenager's punishment.
01:21Your actions on that evening, taking the life of another human being, have caused immense, indeed catastrophic pain and suffering.
01:31Ms White's family were pivotal in the push to introduce the state's adult crime, adult time laws, which would see juveniles convicted of murder handed a mandatory life sentence.
01:42But the legislative change wasn't retrospective. Instead, her killer was given 16 years, still a significant sentence.
01:52But the amount of time he will have to spend in actual custody was reduced.
01:57Justice Boeskill determined the teenager had special circumstances, including his young age, his early guilty plea and his prospects of rehabilitation.
02:07So instead of being released after serving the maximum of 70%, he'll be back in the community after completing 60%, which will be in 2033.
02:17Whatever sentence is imposed, it's never ever going to be enough. There's no justice when it comes to murder.
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