A MAN who “snapped” and attacked his partner with a sledgehammer handle in a violent rage while she was cutting vegetables for dinner will spend at least 15 years behind bars.
Simon Craig Cornelius, 64, murdered 62-year-old Joanna Corcoran at his Scarborough home in August last year.
He was sentenced in the West Australian Supreme Court on Wednesday to life in prison.
Justice Jeremy Allanson said Cornelius repeatedly struck the victim, and at least one blow was while she was lying on the floor bleeding.
“It’s probable that she was not aware of the attack, losing consciousness from the first blow, which, on the evidence, it appears that you struck from behind,” Justice Allanson said.
He noted Cornelius was suffering from a severe adjustment disorder and had acted impulsively.
“You snapped and attacked Ms Corcoran in a rage immediately triggered by an irrational resentment that you perceived that she was taking over your life and depriving you of your independence,” Justice Allanson said.
He said Cornelius had not been handling stress in his life well and had been suffering from a mental impairment at the time that affected his ability to exercise appropriate judgment.
“You still unleashed a violent rage,” he said.
“In that rage, you killed intending to kill.”
The sentence was backdated to August 2014.
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