Sobs have rung out in court as the family of a beloved father learnt his killer could be back in the community within five years.
Paul Grapsas, 40, was returning from a late-night dog walk on September 14, 2023, when he came across Bailey Clifford breaking into his car outside his Geelong home.
When he confronted the 20-year-old, Clifford pulled out a knife and stabbed Mr Grapsas seven times, including a fatal blow to the upper back.
The younger man then fled the scene, leaving Mr Grapsas to die in a gutter.
His body was found hours later by his wife Jessica, who was six months’ pregnant with their third child.
Supreme Court Justice Rita Incerti described the killing as “cowardly and reckless” as she sentenced Clifford to eight years and six months’ jail for the manslaughter.
He will be eligible for parole after five years but has already served more than a year in pre-sentence detention.
“There is nothing I can say or do that will bring back Mr Grapsas,” Justice Incerti said on Wednesday.
“The sentence … is not a reflection on the worth of his life.”
Clifford called his friend after leaving the scene, crying and saying he had “f***ed up” and killed someone.
The friend told him to hand himself in to police but Clifford refused, even trying to flee from officers when they came to arrest him four days later.
Justice Incerti noted Clifford, who was only 18 at the time, had simply panicked and was scared of going back to prison.
But his actions have traumatised and devastated Mr Grapsas’ family, friends and the broader Geelong community, the judge said.
“Mr Grapsas will never know his son,” she said.
“He’ll never know the joy of watching his children grow up.”
Justice Incerti denounced knife crime, saying it instilled a sense of fear in the community and people had a right to feel safe in their neighbourhood.
But she accepted Clifford was a young man with a traumatic brain injury, which he sustained in a car crash when he was 16 years old.
The injury, along with years of persistent drug and alcohol abuse, had reduced his cognitive function and made his time in prison more difficult, the judge said.
She accepted that Clifford’s prospects of rehabilitation were dependent on him abstaining from illicit substances and leaning into the support of his family.
Justice Incerti said punishment was important but given his young age and early guilty plea, Clifford’s rehabilitation was key.
“You will be returning to the community eventually,” she said.
“Therefore, it’s in the community’s interest that your rehabilitation prospects are maximised so the risk of reoffending is as low as it possibly can be.”
Sobs and gasps were heard in the courtroom as she imposed a maximum eight-and-a-half year jail term for Clifford.
He will be eligible for parole at the age of 24.
