Timothy Easthope glanced briefly at the public gallery and later smirked as he was led out of the courtroom after receiving his sentence for killing his friend Matthew Hobbs.The 31-year-old, now a father of two children was handed an additional three-year sentence on top of the 21 months he has already served after pleading guilty to manslaughter. Easthope was 20 years old when he shot his 18-year-old friend in the back of the head with a rifle.Outside the court, after hearing the sentence, Hobbs’ sister Deborah broke into tears. She said that although Easthope may have received justice, her family has not.“For everything we had to go through it seems like there should have been more justice than six and a half years,” she said. “I just wish it could have been a little bit more fair.”Deborah was Hobbs’ only direct family member who attended the final day of sentencing. After the 11-year ordeal, she said her parents were too emotional to be in the court room.“My dad has been very upset,” she said. “He hasn’t been able to attend this part; he just can’t face (Easthope).”Hobbs and Easthope were in a remote area outside Falkland, on October 26, 1995, when they got into a dispute over some marijuana plants they had stolen. During the conflict Easthope grabbed a rifle from his truck and shot Hobbs.Easthope hid the body, which laid in a shallow grave until it was discovered by firefighters battling a wildfire in August 2003. An undercover investigation ended in Easthope’s arrest in November 2004.Speaking for Easthope, defence lawyer Paul Danyliu said his client is relieved the court proceedings are over. Despite what the Crown argued in court, Danyliu said his client is remorseful.“He was living with the fear of apprehension on a daily basis, and when you’re worried about getting caught, you’re not going to have a chance to say you’re sorry,” Danyliu said. “He’s sorry . . . he’ll be sorry for the rest of his life.”The defence had asked for a sentence of between four to six years, while the Crown favoured between eight and 10 years.The Crown argued that Easthope had intended to confront Hobbs and that several aggravating factors, including the fact the dispute was over drugs and his use of a firearm, called for a harsher sentence.However, Justice Cole did not agree with the Crown’s arguments stating that the evidence showed that Easthope did not expect to find Hobbes there. Cole said that he did not agree with the arguments that Easthope’s actions were near murder. He said it was a mutual fight and Easthope had no specific intent to kill Hobbs.“Mitigating factors include that Mr. Easthope has no record, was relatively young at the time the offence took place and entered a plea of guilty,” he said. “I’m satisfied because of the lack of a record there seems to be a real possibility . . . he can be rehabilitated.”Easthope was also given a minimum 10-year ban from possessing firearms and a lifetime ban from possessing prohibited weapons.
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