Murderer of Sydney nurse jailed for life

Updated: 10:30, Saturday March 10, 2012

Walter Ciaran Marsh has been sentenced to life in prison for killing Sydney nurse Michelle Beets.

Walter Ciaran Marsh, 51, was sentenced in the Supreme Court on Friday for the murder of Sydney nurse Michelle Beets.

He was convicted by a jury in November of cutting the throat of Ms Beets, a popular and respected nursing unit manager, outside her Sydney home in April last year.

Marsh had developed a deep hatred and resentment of the 57-year-old after she gave him a bad work reference.

Upon hearing the sentence, many within the court erupted into cheers and applause.

Outside court, Ms Beets’ family and friends were visibly relieved, hugging each other and comforting those who were upset.

Marsh, a US citizen who wanted permanent residency in Australia, worked as a nurse at Sydney’s Royal North Shore Hospital.

His one-year contract was not renewed in February 2010.

He made 21 applications for other jobs but soon came to the view he was being rejected because of bad references from Ms Beets.

Marsh had staked out Ms Beets’ home, had a knife specially sharpened for the brutal attack, and disposed of his clothes afterwards.

In his sentencing, Justice Derek Price said the murder had been planned ‘in a meticulous way’.

‘This is a terrible crime at the top of the range of the offence of murder,’ he told the court.

‘The last moments of her life must have been horrifying.’

Outside court, Ms Beets’ long-term partner David Grant said he was pleased with the sentence.

‘I am just happy that he is off the streets and can’t cause any more harm to anyone else,’ he told reporters.

‘Myself and friends and family, we miss her terribly and that will always be the case.’

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