Qld: Nine-year sentence for man who killed girlfriend

AAP General News (Australia)
04-07-2010
Qld: Nine-year sentence for man who killed girlfriend

By Kym Agius

BRISBANE, April 7 AAP - A man killed his girlfriend just a month after a magistrate
imposing a domestic violence order warned his alcohol abuse would lead to trouble, a court
has been told.

Zanen Jordan, 32, was sentenced in the Supreme Court in Brisbane on Tuesday to nine
years' jail after pleading guilty to the manslaughter of Danee Louise Morrison, 34, at
their Stafford home, in Brisbane's north, in September 2008.

Ms Morrison's body was found on September 8, with more than 20 bruises to her body,
marks around her neck, and up to eight blows to her head.

Jordan also had scratches and bruises.

The court was told the couple fought after Jordan returned home from a drinking session
that had lasted several hours.

The coroner's report found Ms Morrison could have died a number of ways, including
from strangulation, head injuries, or heart attack.

Ms Morrison and Jordan had not been aware of her pre-existing heart condition.

Jordan's defence barrister Andrew Boe called on Justice James Douglas to take into
account the heart condition during sentencing.

He also told the court the killing was not premeditated, saying a fight had got out of control.

"He came home drunk and angry, and he violently assaulted her. It was a short episode,
he sustained injuries. There was no intention to do serious harm," Mr Boe told the court.

Jordan was originally charged with murder, but the Crown accepted a plea of manslaughter
in February 2010.

The couple was known to police before the killing.

Officers had been called to the house twice in the months leading up to Ms Morrison's
death, but she never filed a complaint.

Police took matters into their own hands and sought a domestic violence order, which
was granted by a magistrate only a month before Ms Morrison's death.

During sentencing on Tuesday, Justice Douglas said the magistrate had warned Jordan
about problems associated with alcohol abuse, and offered advice on how to address the
issue.

"It should have been a wake-up call ... but it is very unfortunate that it was not,"

Justice Douglas said.

"This is a tragic result of a lifestyle associated with the abuse of alcohol and a
willingness to engage in violence ... apparently from both sides.

"It just can't be permitted that men attack women in a fashion like this, even if there
is a history of mutual violence.

"It is just completely unacceptable behaviour."

Jordan will be eligible for parole in three years.

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KEYWORD: JORDAN

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