Man who set partner alight jailed for life

October 19th, 2011

FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda

A man acted with depraved indifference in murdering his partner by setting her alight and telling her to “burn, bitch … hurry up and burn”, a judge has told a Victorian court.

David Warwick Hopkins’ crime was the “worst kind of viciousness and sadistic behaviour that this court is ever likely to see”, Victorian Supreme Court judge Betty King said in handing down a life sentence.

Hopkins, 42, had a history of violence towards Nicole Joy Millar before he drenched her in petrol while she sat in the couple’s car at a Bayswater service station in Melbourne’s northeast on June 1, 2010.

Hopkins stabbed Ms Miller, 42, in the neck, then ignited the fuel.

The court had been told Ms Millar managed to crawl from the car and collapsed, but the many witnesses who tried to run to her aid were prevented from getting close by the knife-wielding Hopkins.

As Ms Millar sat screaming, her body engulfed in flames, Hopkins knelt down close to her and said: “Burn bitch, I hope you die” and “Burn, hurry up and burn”.

He paced angrily around the scene and told anyone who tried to approach to “f**k off, I’m going to kill you”.

Hopkins was finally forced out of the way when a motorist drove a car at him.

He was later arrested by police covered in blood after stabbing himself.

Ms Millar suffered burns to over 90 per cent of her body and died later that day in hospital after pleading with an anaesthetist, “please don’t let me die”.

Justice King sentenced Hopkins, who had pleaded guilty to Ms Miller’s murder, to a minimum 30-years’ jail.

Outside court, Ms Millar’s daughter Ashlea Read said she was happy with the sentence.

“I hope he has a lot of time to think about what he did,” she told reporters.

“Hopefully we can just get (on) with our lives and put Dave behind us now and concentrate on important things.”

Justice King said many people had been left traumatised by Hopkins’ actions.

Witnesses painfully recalled the smell of charred flesh, unbearable screams and the victim’s helpless eyes.

“For some unknown reason you set this young woman on fire, you immolated her and then proceeded to prevent anyone coming to her assistance while she was burnt alive in front of many people and CCTV cameras.

“You approaching close to her and stating what you did to make sure she could hear you was an indication of your depraved indifference to the feelings and suffering of this woman.”

Justice King said Hopkins had a history of abusing Ms Millar, a delivery driver, including the week before the attack when he threatened to kill her and tried to force her car off the road.

She said at the time of the attack he had a cocktail of drugs in his system, including hash, speed, ice, Viagra, testosterone and alcohol, but was not in a drug-induced psychosis.

Hopkins, a father-of-three, came from a loving family with seven siblings who struggled to reconcile the murderous man with the caring son and brother they grew up with, Justice King said.

She said she did not believe Hopkins was remorseful for what he did to Ms Millar, rather he was sorry for the circumstances he now found himself in.

But she said she imposed a minimum sentence because he pleaded guilty and had some prospects of rehabilitation now he had ceased using drugs.