ABC Gippsland / By Bec Symons Posted Thu 22 Jun 2023 at 3:54pm
The men who were once accused of murdering 37-year-old Jarrad Lovison in bushland north of Moe will be eligible for parole in less than three years, after they were sentenced this afternoon for taking him to bushland at gunpoint and giving him a lethal dose of the drug GHB.
In an updated indictment issued in April, the charges against Jake Brown, 31, and Andrew Price, 50, were downgraded to manslaughter and they pleaded guilty after a sentence indication.
Price was sentenced in the Melbourne Supreme Court to seven and a half years’ prison with a non-parole period of four and a half years.
He has already served 586 days of that sentence in remand and will be eligible for parole in two years and 11 months.
Brown’s involvement was deemed to be of a lesser extent and he was sentenced to seven years’ jail with a four-year non-parole period.
He has served 679 days of his sentence and will be eligible for parole in two years and one month.
The murder charge was downgraded after a key witness died and prosecutors conceded they could not prove beyond reasonable doubt the pair meant for Mr Lovison to die when they gave him a lethal dose of the drug GHB and “left him for dead”.
“Jarrad Lovison must have been terrified in his last waking moments,” Justice Michael Croucher said.
“After being lured by a young woman to a remote location … ambushed by two men armed with rifles, marched into the bush, and forced to take large quantities of the drug GHB, rendered unconscious and left for dead in the bush, and die he did.”
Mr Lovison was first reported missing on April 22, 2020 and his body was not found until May 23 that year.
The men were accused alongside Samantha Guillerme, who had been having an affair with Brown and agreed to lure Mr Lovison to the remote location on the Moe-Walhalla Road.
She struck a deal to give evidence against the men last year, was sentenced for her downgraded manslaughter charge in February, and is now eligible for parole. (She was sentenced to just 15 months)
Supreme Court Justice fought back tears
Justice Michael Croucher fought back tears as he led to the sentencing of the men.
He spoke of the heartache Mr Lovison’s family felt, expressed so vividly in his father John Lovison’s victim impact statement read at the pre-sentence hearing a few weeks ago.
“I wish to add this, I know there’s nothing this court can say or do to lessen the grief suffered by Mr Lovison’s loved ones. It must be awful,” Justice Croucher said.
“The sentences to be imposed are not a reflection of his life or what it might have been. It can’t be, such a precious thing is immeasurable.”
Long road to justice
It was not until October 2020 that Price and Brown’s houses were searched and they were arrested.
The court heard Mr Lovison’s death was ultimately caused by Price’s jealousy and an ongoing feud the pair had because Price was in a relationship with Mr Lovison’s former girlfriend.
Justice Croucher said Lovison had spread rumours around town that he was still having a sexual relationship with Ms O’Brien, fuelling Price’s anger.
Brown agreed to help Price teach Mr Lovison “a lesson” and the pair conspired, recruiting Guillerme, to lure the 2.1-metre-tall man to a remote location, where they could catch him off-guard.
In an initial interview with police, Brown said he had only heard of Mr Lovison’s disappearance from a post on Facebook and, at the time of his death, Brown was home in bed with his fiancée.
Price gave a “no comment interview” and, alongside Brown, only conceded they killed Mr Lovison after a deal was struck for a manslaughter plea.
In a witness statement, Brown’s friend Paul Ruddell said when early news reports were televised in his presence, Brown appeared “stressed and angry”.
According to Mr Ruddell, Brown said he “got rid of a nuisance … Lovo, we got rid of him … Me and Pricey got rid of him”.
“The big prick jumped on me and Pricey surprised me and stepped up to the plate,” Brown had said.
Justice Croucher told the court he believed Price and Brown’s rehabilitation prospects were good and took into account their guilty plea, abstinence from drugs, and rehabilitation progress made since their arrests.