An attempted murderer who repeatedly stabbed and used a makeshift "blowtorch" to mercilessly attack his victim has received a nearly three-decade-long prison sentence.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
When police found Daryl Allan Robertson, 53, on the night of September 28, 2022, he had already stabbed his victim 11 times with a large metal carving knife.
The woman had also been burned repeatedly to the body and face by multiple flame-propelling aerosol cans.
On Tuesday, Chief Justice Lucy McCallum sentenced the man to 27 years in prison, with a non-parole period of 20 years.
Robertson won't leave the Alexander Maconochie Centre until he's at least 72 after admitting earlier this year to one count of attempted murder.
It's understood this could be the longest sentence ever handed down for the crime of attempted murder in the ACT.
In written submissions made to the court, prosecutor Beth Morrisroe described the offending as a "sustained and torturous attack".
"It was callous and vicious," she said.
"If the offender's endeavour to murder the victim had not been frustrated by police, the victim would have died a terrifying and horrific death."
MORE COURT AND CRIME NEWS:
Agreed facts previously tendered to the ACT Supreme Court detail the offender's protracted and gruesome crime.
The documents state Robertson entered the woman's home on the night in question and grabbed a knife with an approximately 20cm-long blade from her kitchen.
He found her in the bedroom and stabbed her 11 times in the body, face and neck.
The victim managed to pull herself up and run towards the back door while screaming for help, waking her neighbour.
"Call police, call an ambulance," the neighbour heard the victim say words to the effect of.
Robertson began burning the victim by using a flammable spray and a lit piece of newspaper, with the neighbour witnessing the fire assault.
"The flames generated by the offender were large enough to be visible over fence height by neighbours," agreed facts state.
Called by the neighbour, officers eventually arrived at the home.
But by then, Robertson had already used up multiple cans of the spray and began burning the victim by using a lit rag.
"Where's the blowtorch, mate?" an officer asked Robertson after arresting the man.
The cuffed offender responded: "It's just an aerosol can, chief."
The victim was rushed to hospital in a critical condition, where she was treated for a multitude of life-threatening injuries.
She remains in hospital.
With his sentence factoring time already spent behind bars for the attempted murder charge, Robertson will be eligible for release from prison in December 2042 and his sentence is set to end in 2049.
- Support is available for those who may be distressed. Phone Lifeline 13 11 14; MensLine 1300 789 978; beyondblue 1300 224 636.
Tim Piccione
Tim is a journalist with the Canberra Times covering the ACT courts. He came to the nation's capital via the Daily Advertiser in Wagga. Contact: tim.piccione@canberratimes.com.au.
Tim is a journalist with the Canberra Times covering the ACT courts. He came to the nation's capital via the Daily Advertiser in Wagga. Contact: tim.piccione@canberratimes.com.au.
