Cold-blooded farmer who ran down mother-of-four and left her for dead learns his fate
Mother-of-four Jacqui Purton, 37, was trying to leave a property in rural Tasmania on a night in March 2023 when she was struck by a white Holden Commodore driven by James Kenneth Austin.
The 40-year-old, who was initially charged with murder, was sentenced on Thursday to 13 years' jail after pleading guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter.
He will be eligible for parole after serving eight years.
Ms Purton was walking down the property's 500m gravel driveway after an argument with Austin, who drove after her.
She was struck by the car, which was travelling at 20-30km/h, and dragged underneath, dying rapidly from significant injuries including a broken pelvis.
In sentencing in the Supreme Court of Tasmania, Justice Michael Brett said Austin then went back to the house 'leaving her to die'.
He returned to the car and put Ms Purton on the back seat before driving back to the house and getting his dad to drive the car down to the road to meet an ambulance.
Ms Purton had tried to call police earlier in the evening but couldn't get through because of poor reception in the area.
When police called the house soon after the incident, Austin tried to divert them by saying Ms Purton was not there and had gotten a ride home.
'Your actions were cold-blooded, callous and selfish to an extent which is difficult to describe in words,' Justice Brett said.
Austin had previously threatened to kill Ms Purton and was controlling and violent in their 'on-and-off-again' relationship spanning four years.
There was a family violence order aimed at preventing him from assaulting or abusing her.
Austin had previously driven a car at Ms Purton when she tried to leave the property, but she had always managed to jump out of the way.
Justice Brett said Austin, whose sentence has been backdated to 2023 when he was taken into custody, did not intend to hit her on the night in question but wanted to frighten her.
'(But) she did not (jump out of the way) or could not do so. You did not brake despite seeing her in front of you,' Justice Brett said.
Ms Purton has been remembered as a fun, bold and kind free spirit who was dedicated to her children and immediate family.
Outside court, Ms Purton's mother Leanne Walford and daughter Shakira Robertson pledged to continue to fight for reform to prevent domestic violence.
They said harsher penalties were needed for incidents involving cars being driven by people's current or former partners.
Ms Walford said the full extent of domestic violence experienced by her daughter hadn't been revealed in court.
'She was more than a case file. Laws must be tougher because our numbers are going to keep going up,' she said.
Justice Brett said Ms Purton's death was a very serious example of manslaughter, family violence and breach of an order.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
23 minutes ago
- The Independent
Father guilty of murder for shaking baby and causing ‘catastrophic' injuries
A father who killed his baby daughter by shaking her so hard he caused 'catastrophic' brain injuries that led to her death is facing jail. Thomas Holford, 25, has been found guilty of murdering his daughter Everleigh Stroud, who died aged one after 'excessive and severe' shaking led to brain and bone injuries when she was just five weeks old. Everleigh was rushed to Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Hospital (QEQM) in Margate, Kent, when her grandmother reported she was 'only just' breathing on the morning of April 21 2021. While his baby was rushed to hospital, Holford showed 'little emotion' and continued to download and play games on his phone, jurors heard. He later lied to police about his cannabis use to disguise the fact that he had been smoking the night before when he was looking after Everleigh alone. On Thursday, Holford, of Ramsgate, was found unanimously guilty of murder and actual bodily harm of his daughter by a Canterbury Crown Court jury. Along with brain injuries that left her in a vegetative state, she also had bone fractures, bruising to her face, atrophy to her eyes leading to her going blind and injuries to her anus having spent the night before in her father's care, the court heard. Everleigh, who was born on March 13 2021, spent more than a year in a vegetative state before she died at 14 months on May 27 2022. Prosecuting, Eloise Marshall KC said: 'On the night of April 20 into the early morning of April 21 2021, when Everleigh was just over five weeks old, she suffered catastrophic injuries which caused substantial brain damage, and that resulted in her death just over a year later, 'There is no dispute as to how Everleigh came to suffer those injuries, they were inflicted by her father, Thomas Holford.' She added: 'It is the Crown's case that all those injuries were deliberately caused by Thomas Holford, they were what we call non-accidental, members of the jury.' While giving evidence, Holford told jurors he had at least five joints on April 20 2021, before being left in charge of Everleigh that evening. On that day, he was smoking more than usual because it was '420' which he agreed was a 'big day for cannabis smokers', the court heard. When police arrived at his address in Wallwood Road, Ramsgate, where Holford, then 20, lived with his then 16-year-old girlfriend and her parents, they discovered a cannabis grinder and joint butts next to a milk bottle in his bedroom. Police attending the scene remarked that Holford appeared to be in a 'good mood' as he played games on his phone while his baby was rushed to hospital. 'While speaking with Pc Smith, Thomas Holford continued to show little emotion,' said Ms Marshall. He told police that he had not smoked cannabis since 10am the previous morning, which he has now accepted was a lie. Ms Marshall KC asked: 'When the police asked you what you'd smoked, you lied?' 'Yes,' Holford replied. Asked why, he added: 'I'm trying to project an image of something that is better than reality.' Text messages shown to jurors also suggest that he tried to buy weed from a contact known as 'Milo' because he knew he was looking after his daughter. He sent a text which read: 'Could you strap me anything, as I've got the little one on my own tonight. Going to be f****** stressful.' Holford also admitted he had 'manipulated' his girlfriend's family into taking care of his cannabis for him and allowing him to smoke it. While in the witness box, he often answered questions to the effect of being unsure or not remembering what had happened. 'When it suits you, you have a memory – and when it doesn't suit you, you pretend you don't have a memory,' said Ms Marshall. Holford, who admitted manslaughter of Everleigh last year, will be sentenced for murder and actual bodily harm on July 4.
Daily Mail
26 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Albanian accused of two murders who got British citizenship under a false name will NOT be deported home because it 'would be flagrant denial of his human rights'
A man accused of committing a double murder in Albania almost 30 years ago, before acquiring British citizenship under a false name will not be deported because it would be a 'flagrant breach' of his human rights, the High Court has ruled. Ilirian Zeqaj, 52, is accused by authorities in Albania of shooting dead two men in the late 1990s, which he denies, before claiming asylum and being granted citizenship in the UK. He challenged a British judge's decision from May last year that he could be extradited to stand trial for a second time, with his lawyers telling a hearing in London last month that extradition would subject him to a breach of his right to a fair trial and that it would be 'unjust and oppressive'. In a ruling on Wednesday, Lord Justice Popplewell and Mr Justice Saini said that Mr Zeqaj should not be extradited and ordered his discharge, finding that he would face trial as a 'consequence of a fundamentally unfair' court process in Albania, which would 'amount to a flagrant denial' of his human rights. In their judgment, the judges said Mr Zeqaj and another man, believed to be his cousin or brother, are alleged to have carried out what was thought to have been a 'revenge killing' of two men at some point in 1998 or 1999. Mr Zeqaj arrived in the UK in November 1999 and claimed asylum under a false name, but the judges said there was 'no evidence that he was fleeing from justice at this time'. They said: 'The appellant says that he made an asylum claim under an assumed Kosovan Albanian name because he was told this would enhance his chances of obtaining asylum in the UK.' Mr Zeqaj was convicted in his absence of both murders and illegal possession of military weapons by an Albanian court in 2002, but was granted asylum in the UK in 2005 and British citizenship the following year. He was extradited to Albania in 2013, but won an appeal against his conviction and was then acquitted at a retrial, having claimed that he was serving others coffee at the time the gunshots were heard and that there was no forensic evidence linking him to the murders. Mr Zeqaj then returned to the UK in December 2014, but an Albanian court quashed his acquittal and ordered a retrial in 2017, at a hearing at which neither Mr Zeqaj or his lawyer were present. After the Albanian authorities sought Mr Zeqaj's extradition for a second time, in May 2024, a British judge ruled that he could be extradited again, which was approved by the Home Secretary in July last year. But Lord Justice Popplewell and Mr Justice Saini said that all five of the judges who quashed Mr Zeqaj's appeal and ordered a retrial had been dismissed from office. They also said that despite the retrial originally beginning in 2017, the judges were dismissed for allegedly 'failing the vetting process'. While the retrial restarted in 2020, it has still not concluded. In their ruling, the judges said that the fact that the five judges who quashed Mr Zeqaj's acquittal had been dismissed was proof that they were 'plainly not an 'independent and impartial' tribunal, and that Mr Zeqaj not being represented was 'unfair and prejudicial'. They added that there 'still seems no end point' to the retrial, despite the 'enhanced obligation on the Albanian authorities to proceed with expedition'.
The Guardian
27 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Childcare centres must put child protection above profits and fears of appearing biased against men
Australians are reeling from the news that Victorian childcare worker Joshua Dale Brown has been charged with more than 70 alleged offences against children, including rape. As 1,200 children await results for sexually transmitted infections, a horror no parent should ever face, media commentary has begun to focus on how this case might have implications for male childcare workers. Early childhood education is a heavily female-dominated field, and past inquiries into child sexual abuse by male educators have found that, in efforts to avoid appearing discriminatory, male workers are often subject to less scrutiny. This dynamic is compounded by efforts for gender balance in childcare, particularly for the perceived benefits of male role models. Ironically, this fear of seeming biased can create the very conditions that offenders exploit – grooming colleagues, parents and children to commit abuse while hidden in plain sight. While it is an uncomfortable fact to confront, research shows men with a sexual interest in children are disproportionately more likely to work with children, including in early education and care. Recent data shows that one in 20 men in the Australian community are motivated offenders (individuals who reported both sexual interest in and offending against children). However, they are almost three times more likely to work with children compared with other men. Unfortunately, systematic data on child sexual abuse in childcare is limited. However, existing findings align with the only comprehensive study conducted on this issue, which followed the highly publicised McMartin Preschool trial in the US. This study examined cases from 1983 to 1985, and identified 270 daycare centres where 1,639 children were found to have experienced substantiated sexual abuse. Although men made up only about 5% of childcare staff, they were responsible for 60% of the offences. The abuse was often severe, with 93% of victims subjected to some form of penetrative sexual violence. Those who deliberately pursue employment with children to abuse them are often referred to as 'professional perpetrators'. These individuals typically have multiple victims and pose a high risk of repeated harm. In our current research on serial child sex offenders in childcare in Australia and internationally, we identified six cases involving between seven and 87 confirmed victims under the age of five. Five of the offenders were male and one was female. Together, they sexually abused at least 245 children. There were striking similarities across these cases. Offenders primarily targeted pre-verbal children, evaded detection for long periods, and were only exposed through external investigations, most often related to the possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material. Much like the details emerging from the case of Joshua Dale Brown in Victoria, none of these offenders was uncovered through internal safeguarding systems. As is also alleged in the case of Brown, the perpetrators in our case studies were not isolated offenders. They were operating within online communities that normalise and reinforce abusive behaviour and the sharing of child sex abuse material of children who were in their care. If, as some suggest, male workers are subject to close and sometimes unfair scrutiny, these cases highlight a troubling contradiction. Despite this purported scrutiny, child sexual abuse by male staff can and does occur over extended periods without detection in childcare settings. In fact, evidence from another case suggests staff are often hesitant to raise concerns about male colleagues for fear of being perceived as discriminatory. It is important to highlight that although women comprise a small minority of child sexual abuse offenders, the reluctance to view women, particularly mothers, as potential perpetrators can also contribute to such abuse going undetected. There also needs to be greater awareness of how these offenders infiltrate and groom institutions. In the case studies we analysed, offenders were seen as kind and competent workers. They were often friendly with management or held senior positions themselves, and would socialise outside of work with families whose children they cared for. Even when whistleblowers raised an alarm about the offenders, these concerns were often dismissed, with some offenders even being promoted. While most child sexual abuse occurs within families, institutional abuse is no less serious. Unlike families, institutions that work with children can be effectively regulated, making such abuse entirely preventable through robust and consistently enforced safeguarding measures. Since children under five may not be developmentally capable of reporting abuse, safeguards must be proactive and preventative. Childcare centres should implement surveillance measures in most areas and observe the 'four eyes' rule, requiring at least two adults to be present during nappy changes and other care tasks. A strict no-phone policy could also reduce the risk of image-based offending. Moreover, we must confront the uncomfortable truth that some men are drawn to work with children because of a sexual interest in them. Truly centring child protection in early education means prioritising children's safety above profit, reputational concerns, and fears of appearing biased against men. Preventing child sexual abuse in childcare is not only possible, it is a collective responsibility we must all uphold. In Australia, children, young adults, parents and teachers can contact the Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800, or Bravehearts on 1800 272 831, and adult survivors can contact Blue Knot Foundation on 1300 657 380. In the UK, the NSPCC offers support to children on 0800 1111, and adults concerned about a child on 0808 800 5000. In the US, call or text the Childhelp abuse hotline on 800-422-4453. Other sources of help can be found at Child Helplines International
