A man involved in a Wangaratta murder intends to return to the Victorian country town after being released from jail.
Phillip Dunn, 61, was sentenced on Monday by the Supreme Court of Victoria to two years and two months’ jail followed by an 18-month community corrections order.
He pleaded guilty to assisting an offender in the murder of Nathan Day, a father who was 35 when he was stabbed in the neck during an episode of drunken fighting.
Dunn has already served the majority of the jail sentence after being arrested and put in custody on September 4, 2018.
He will return to the community next Wednesday.
Dunn told police he saw McNamara murder Mr Day in his unit on July 26, 2018.
Judge Michael Croucher said Dunn was seen that evening with blood on him, but it wasn’t until September that he told police what he claimed to have seen.
He pleaded guilty to actions including not reporting the murder, disposing of a knife, and providing McNamara with cleaning products, a spade, and a shovel.
The court heard Mr Day’s body was buried in a shallow grave in McNamara’s garden for six weeks until it was discovered by police.
Parts of his hip and hair were poking out of the soil, covered by objects including broken chairs, pieces of carpet and a tabletop.
Justice Croucher said Dunn would return to Wangaratta where his mother was, but he “understands many people will not welcome his return”.
“Small towns – and big cities – can be harsh places at times for people who have come out of jail,” he said.
The court heard the three men – Dunn, McNamara, and Mr Day – were on-again, off-again friends who each had problems with alcohol and would often fight.
Justice Croucher said Dunn made “callous remarks” about Mr Day after his death.
“Overall, I think Mr Dunn’s behaviour may be described as seriously wrong,” Justice Croucher said.
McNamara, despite pleading guilty to murder, maintains he only assisted Dunn with the stabbing and was sentenced on that basis.
Justice Croucher said it “may seem quite odd, or even inconsistent” that Dunn will leave jail on Wednesday while McNamara faces a maximum of 20 years in jail.
However, he said police did not charge Dunn with murder and he was only facing sentence for assisting in the attempted cover-up afterwards.
Dunn will return to Wangaratta on conditions including that he engage in alcohol treatment programs, mental health assessment and treatment, not contact members of the murder victim’s family and abide by a night-time curfew.
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