Life in jail, no parole for double murderer Malcolm Naden
Judge labels crimes of killer who prompted one of the largest man hunts in the state 'extraordinary, cruel and brutal'
Bridie Jabour
The Guardian Friday 14 June 2013 04.39 BST
Malcolm Naden
Malcolm Naden being interviewed by police Photograph: DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS/PR IMAGE
Former bushland fugitive Malcolm Naden has been sentenced to life in prison after murdering two young women and spending close to seven years on the run from police.
Naden's capture last year marked the end of one of the biggest manhunts in NSW and he later pleaded guilty to murdering Kristy Scholes and his cousin Lateesha Nolan in 2005.
In his sentencing remarks NSW Supreme Court judge Derek Price labelled the murders "extraordinary, cruel and brutal" and rejected the arguments Naden suffered from a severe depressive disorder.
He handed down a life sentence for the murder of Kristy Scholes. For the murder of Lateesha Nolan, Naden was sentenced him to a minimum of 21 years.
Naden, 39, fidgeted in the dock, played with his beard, drummed his face with his fingers and at one point seemed to vigorously brush dust from the bench in front of him as Justice Price spent an hour delivering his sentencing remarks, ending with the order that Naden spend life in prison with no chance of parole.
About 40 family members of his victims sat in the public gallery with the crowd spilling out of the court room.
Naden had admitted to murdering and cutting up the body of his 24-year-old cousin Nolan, a mother of four, before burying it near the Macquarie River.
Her body has never been found.
As Justice Price read out the details of his second murder victim, 24-year-old Scholes, her family wept in the public gallery.
When Justice Price announced the sentence of life, cries of "yes" rang out around the court room and some in the public gallery sobbed loudly.
Naden faced a number of other charges, including the indecent assault of a 12-year-old and shooting with attempting to kill a police officer.
After the indecent assault and two murders Naden went on the run for almost seven years, surviving in NSW bush land by stealing supplies from various homes and sheds.
Crown prosecutor Mark Tedeschi QC had previously argued Naden saw the murders as "personal development" that proved he was capable of things others were not.
Justice Price found Naden suffered low-grade depression and a personality disorder.
"The community's need for retribution, protection and deterrence is such that no other sentence is appropriate," he said.
