Familys outburst halts murder sentencing

THE father and brother of a Sydney man killed after being run down have erupted with anger during a sentencing hearing of a woman convicted of his murder, disrupting the proceedings.

Last month, Sarah May Ward, 38, of Pymble, was found guilty of murdering Eli Westlake, 21, in the early hours of June 7, 2008, in the northern Sydney suburb of St Leonards by running him down in her car.

Ward was fuelled by drugs and alcohol at the time of the impact but denied stalking and deliberately running down Mr Westlake in revenge for his having thrown cheese balls at the vehicle.

At her sentencing hearing in the NSW Supreme Court today, Mr Westlake's father, Nigel, and brother, Joel, stormed out of the court during her barrister's submissions.

Eugene Wasilenia was telling Justice Roderick Howie the incident should be considered a "chance encounter ... an instantaneous reaction to a series of events" and not a premeditated attack on Mr Westlake.

He said of all the young men present that night Mr Westlake was "not the most deserving or worthy of her anger".

At that point, Nigel Westlake stood up and stormed out of the courtroom.

A few seconds later his son Joel followed, swearing profanities at Mr Wasilenia.

"F*** you. F*** you!" he said, pointing, as he departed.

Justice Howie was forced to adjourn the hearing telling family of Mr Westlake to talk to the pair and reminding them that Ward was entitled to a defence.

If they were not able to sit quietly throughout the rest of the proceedings, they would not be able to return to court, he said.

Earlier, Eli Westlake's mother Janice Westlake had read a victim impact statement to the court talking about her family's devastation at his loss.

"We are consumed by the loss of our darling son," she said. "Our hearts feel quite literally broken...

"Words are totally inadequate in describing Joel's mourning for his dead brother ... (it is) a burden no one should have to bear...

"Each day we awake to the nightmare that we will never see him again."

A statement read on behalf of Mr Westlake's grandfather, Don Westlake, said he had been on a "hero's journey", battling teenage depression to come to "love himself".

"He amazed me," the statement read.

Dozens of family and friends had packed the courtroom for the sentencing hearing, which was continuing.

Ward will be sentenced on a later date.
 

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