An Adelaide man, Cecil Spencer Weetra, has been sentenced to at least 14 years in jail for attempted murder after he doused his partner in petrol and set her alight in March 2021. The victim suffered severe burns to 40 per cent of her body and injuries to her lungs, and requires further operations as part of her rehabilitation.
During the trial, Weetra claimed that the victim caused the injuries to herself, but the jury rejected his version of events. Supreme Court Justice Sandi McDonald, who sentenced Weetra on Tuesday, noted that Weetra’s lies demonstrated a lack of contrition or remorse. Justice McDonald said that the victim was lucky to have survived the attempt on her life, which came during a short but volatile relationship.
After enduring physical violence for some time, the victim had decided to move out of the house where they lived in Adelaide’s north. Weetra did not want her to leave, and an argument ensued, culminating in Weetra retrieving petrol from behind the house and setting his partner on fire.
“The nature and circumstances of the offence that you have committed are such that any sentence that I impose must denounce your conduct and act as a deterrent to both yourself and other members of the community from engaging in such abhorrent behaviour,” Justice McDonald said.
Weetra’s criminal history, which dates back to when he was 14, and his lack of remorse and contrition, led Justice McDonald to conclude that he is a poor candidate for rehabilitation. As a result, the judge imposed a sentence of 18 years with a non-parole period of 14 years.