The Case of R v Arthur Freeman

Running Head: R v Arthur Freeman 1
The Case of R v Arthur Freeman
Name of Student
Institutional Affiliation

R v Arthur Freeman 2
Summary of the Offence
The case of R v Arthur Freeman was a murder case. Freeman (37) murdered his daughter
Darcey by throwing her over the edge of the Westgate Bridge on January 29 2009 a day after the
decision regarding the custody of the children between him and his wife Peta Barnes had been
made. Even though Freeman had consented to the decision of shared custody of the children, he
was outwardly unhappy with it and that lead to him threatening his former wife Barnes in a
phone call not to see her children again.
Upon trial, Freeman raised the defense of mental incapacitation but that was turned down
by the court as he accepted to be personally liable to the killing of her daughter despite not
remembering it. The judge, Mr. Brustman, passed a life sentence to Mr. Freeman with a non-
parole period after 32 years in prison showing the criminal justice system in Australia with
regard to sentencing.
The Crime
 The state was Victoria as the decision was made at Melbourne in the Supreme Court of
Victoria.
 The Act where this crime falls is the Sentencing Act (1991) and the Crimes Act (1958)
 The relevant section is section 11 of the Sentencing Act- whether or not a non-parole
period should be fixed; Section 464ZF (2) of the Crimes Act 1958- Forensic procedure The elements of the Crime
(i) Mens rea

R v Arthur Freeman 3
Intention to kill all the children (Freeman tells Barnes to say goodbye to all her children
and never to see her children again).
Revenge against Barnes on the decision of the Family Court (In a call with Elizabeth
Lam, Freeman said that the determination of the case lead to losing his children).
(ii) Actus Reus
The emotionless act of pulling Darcey from the front driver’s seat and lifting her up the
highest point of the Westgate Bridge and throwing her over the edge causing her death from
injuries suffered.
 The accused did not plead guilty although he accepted to be the one liable for Darcey’s
death. He raised the defense of mental impairment at the time of the offence, According
to evidence submitted, the accused was said to be suffering from severe depression which
lead to a state of dissociation. That way, the actions of the accused was not in any way
done with thoughtful intention. The defence was rejected because the jury was not
convinced that the impairment of depressive illness did not amount to mental
incapacitation. There was no evidence showing psychotic illness.
Investigative Stage
 The function of the investigative stage in any criminal justice system is to guide the
criminal investigation to establish evidence that can either lead to the conviction or
quittance of the accused. During this stage, evidence is gathered to identify and support