A man has been sentenced to 28 years in prison for the brutal murder of his former partner, Hannah McGuire, in a case that has shocked the regional Victorian community.
Brutal Attack and Attempted Cover-Up
Lachlan Young, 23, was sentenced in the Supreme Court in Ballarat on Tuesday after admitting to strangling the 23-year-old victim in the bathroom of their Sebastopol home in the early hours of 5 April 2024.
Justice James Elliott described the killing as brutal and callous as he handed down the sentence, noting that Young had taken deliberate and deceitful steps to conceal his crimes.
After murdering Ms McGuire, Young placed her body in the footwell of her Mitsubishi Triton vehicle and drove to remote bushland in Scarsdale, where he set the vehicle alight.
Deceptive Actions After the Murder
In a particularly cruel act, Young then used Ms McGuire's phone to send messages to her mother, Debbie, pretending to be Hannah and claiming she was going to take her own life.
The court heard that Young also transferred $2000 from Ms McGuire's bank account to her mother and a further $5000 to himself.
Young had initially denied murdering his ex-girlfriend, claiming her death was a spontaneous incident, and took the case to trial. However, after eight days of evidence presented to the jury, he admitted to the murder.
Justice Served
Family and friends of Hannah McGuire stared down her killer in court and gasped "yes" as they learned he would spend at least 22 years and four months in prison before becoming eligible for parole.
Justice Elliott emphasised the calculated nature of Young's actions following the murder, including his attempts to disguise the crime as a suicide and his financial transactions from Ms McGuire's account.
The case has highlighted the devastating consequences of domestic violence and the importance of support services for those at risk.
