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A mother described as “true evil” may serve less than six-and-a-half years behind bars for trying to burn her two young children to death in Canberra’s south. The 48-year-old former federal public servant, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was sentenced in the ACT Supreme Court on Friday to nine years and five months in jail. But she could be released as soon as November 2025, with her non-parole period of six years and four months backdated in recognition of the time she has already spent in custody on remand. The woman pleaded guilty earlier this year to two counts of attempted murder, admitting she set her suburban Tuggeranong home alight in a failed July 2019 murder-suicide effort. Justice David Mossop on Friday characterised the mother’s crimes were “the most extreme breach of parental obligations”. He said the offending was premeditated, with the woman having disconnected the smoke alarms and poured brandy and olive oil around the house, before igniting a couch and items in a linen cupboard early on the morning in question. She then went into the children’s bedroom and told them “this is what happens” when they woke and became distressed as smoke filled the house. As a neighbour desperately yelled from outside and urged them to come to the window to be rescued, the offender told her children to “just stay on the bed”. Justice Mossop said this manipulation of the primary school-aged victims was an abuse of trust and exploitation of the offender’s authority as a mother. Firefighters ultimately rescued the mother and children in the nick of time, finding them all unconscious from smoke inhalation as flames leapt as high as three metres and spread through the property. Justice Mossop said the fire was “a serious attempt” at a murder-suicide, and one that would have been successful if not for the timely actions of emergency services and the neighbour who called them. The children had been “on the cusp of death” and experienced the same trauma they would have if the blaze had killed them, the judge said, given they had already fallen unconscious as the fire drew closer to their room. Justice Mossop said while the offender needed to be punished and her actions denounced, he accepted her mental health had been in serious decline for a long time before the incident. He said the woman’s offending had followed struggles with the breakdown of her “tumultuous” marriage, conflict with her former husband over custody of the children and “acrimonious” divorce proceedings in the Family Court. The judge ultimately accepted the mother’s claims she was genuinely remorseful for what she did to her children, and noted she had been assessed as a low risk of reoffending. In sentencing, Justice Mossop also addressed victim impact statements that were provided to the court on Thursday. He said he had placed “no weight” on one from the children because it was unclear how it had been produced and whether it reflected the true feelings of the young boy and girl. The children’s comments included that they were “very sad and angry” about their mother’s behaviour, and that “mummy gave up on us being a family”. Justice Mossop said some information provided by the offender’s former partner was useful, including his description of how hard it was to comfort two small children and try to explain to them why their mother would do something so horrific. But he said other aspects of the statement, in which the man described his ex-wife as “true evil”, went beyond what was relevant to the sentencing exercise. The offender rubbed her eyes, but did not show a great deal of emotion as Justice Mossop pronounced her sentence. She then walked silently from the dock in the custody of correctional officers to begin the journey back to the Alexander Maconochie Centre to serve what remains of her sentence.
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A mother described as “true evil” may serve less than six-and-a-half years behind bars for trying to burn her two young children to death in Canberra’s south.
The 48-year-old former federal public servant, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was sentenced in the ACT Supreme Court on Friday to nine years and five months in jail.
But she could be released as soon as November 2025, with her non-parole period of six years and four months backdated in recognition of the time she has already spent in custody on remand.
Justice David Mossop on Friday characterised the mother’s crimes were “the most extreme breach of parental obligations”.
He said the offending was premeditated, with the woman having disconnected the smoke alarms and poured brandy and olive oil around the house, before igniting a couch and items in a linen cupboard early on the morning in question.
She then went into the children’s bedroom and told them “this is what happens” when they woke and became distressed as smoke filled the house.
As a neighbour desperately yelled from outside and urged them to come to the window to be rescued, the offender told her children to “just stay on the bed”.
Justice Mossop said this manipulation of the primary school-aged victims was an abuse of trust and exploitation of the offender’s authority as a mother.
Firefighters ultimately rescued the mother and children in the nick of time, finding them all unconscious from smoke inhalation as flames leapt as high as three metres and spread through the property.
Justice Mossop said the fire was “a serious attempt” at a murder-suicide, and one that would have been successful if not for the timely actions of emergency services and the neighbour who called them.
The children had been “on the cusp of death” and experienced the same trauma they would have if the blaze had killed them, the judge said, given they had already fallen unconscious as the fire drew closer to their room.
Justice Mossop said while the offender needed to be punished and her actions denounced, he accepted her mental health had been in serious decline for a long time before the incident.
He said the woman’s offending had followed struggles with the breakdown of her “tumultuous” marriage, conflict with her former husband over custody of the children and “acrimonious” divorce proceedings in the Family Court.
The judge ultimately accepted the mother’s claims she was genuinely remorseful for what she did to her children, and noted she had been assessed as a low risk of reoffending.
In sentencing, Justice Mossop also addressed victim impact statements that were provided to the court on Thursday.
He said he had placed “no weight” on one from the children because it was unclear how it had been produced and whether it reflected the true feelings of the young boy and girl.
Justice Mossop said some information provided by the offender’s former partner was useful, including his description of how hard it was to comfort two small children and try to explain to them why their mother would do something so horrific.
But he said other aspects of the statement, in which the man described his ex-wife as “true evil”, went beyond what was relevant to the sentencing exercise.
The offender rubbed her eyes, but did not show a great deal of emotion as Justice Mossop pronounced her sentence.
She then walked silently from the dock in the custody of correctional officers to begin the journey back to the Alexander Maconochie Centre to serve what remains of her sentence.
