The man who killed one of the co-founders of the Men’s Shed organisation as he sat in a friend’s front yard in Williamstown has been jailed for seven years.
Stanley Lynch, 71, died after being stabbed once in the stomach by neighbour David Rathbone at a block of Department of Human Services apartments for the elderly and disabled on April 2 last year. He died eight days later.
Rathbone, 77, had pleaded guilty to one count of manslaughter.
Supreme Court Justice Paul Coghlan said Rathbone’s behaviour was largely unexplained.
‘‘Your crime, which was unprovoked, was carried out with an element of surprise,’’ Justice Coghlan told Rathbone on Wednesday when jailing him for seven years with a non-parole period of five years.
‘‘Although apparently not pre-meditated, there was some planning in the sense you took the knife with you.’’
A psychiatric report revealed Rathbone claimed there had been ‘‘a little gang of people who had developed animosity towards him’’ at the block of units.
Rathbone described how there had been a 38-year-old woman who had slept with a number of the residents, but he denied being jealous.
Rathbone also claimed someone had written a letter about him that was circulated around the units, and that Mr Lynch had been tampering with his car, tried to remove the number plates and put water under the bonnet.
Justice Coghlan said there was no evidence of any wrongdoing by Mr Lynch, and Rathbone’s grievances were more perception than fact.
Rathbone claimed the stabbing had been a spur-of-the-moment thing as he only planned to threaten Mr Lynch.
‘‘Your crime is a serious one and it’s led to the death of a wholly innocent man,’’ the judge said.
Mr Lynch had been visiting his friend and neighbour, Michael Noonan, when Rathbone approached the pair and stabbed Mr Lynch with a large carving knife, saying ‘‘That’s for you’’.
Rathbone then returned to his apartment and waited for police.
When police arrived, Rathbone said, ‘‘Yeah, I did it. The knife’s in there.’’
Rathbone could not explain the stabbing and claimed to have no idea why he did what he did. He had not been threatened, intimidated or provoked by Mr Lynch.
The judge said there was no clear indication Rathbone was suffering from any mental illness or delusional beliefs at the time, and he accepted he was remorseful.
In his victim impact statement read to the court, Mr Noonan said Mr Lynch had been a quiet, gentle man who loved reading books and watching British comedies.
He co-founded the Men’s Shed organisation, which offers meeting places and social support for men.
