by Luke Voogt
Norlane’s Travis John Wills has escaped a murder conviction despite fatally stabbing Waurn Ponds 44-year-old Raichele Galea at Corio in 2017.
A Supreme Court jury on Wednesday instead convicted Wills, 22, of manslaughter after a five-day deliberation following 11 days of evidence.
Wills stabbed Ms Galea after arguing with his mother, Sandra Wills, at the home of aunt Debra Wills on 30 June, 2017, the court heard.
Ms Galea had been a friend to Ms Wills for 15 years but had never met the accused, Crown Prosecutor Justin Lewis told the court.
The accused, his mother and aunt drank alcohol, smoked cannabis and shared a Serepax tablet on the night of the stabbing, Mr Lewis said during his opening address on 28 October.
Wills’ cousin had taken him outside following the argument before Ms Galea arrived at the unit around 9.45pm after her shift as a forklift-operator in South Geelong, the court heard.
Wills returned and attacked her with a knife, stabbing her six times, the court heard.
He had initially intended to rob her, the prosecution alleged.
A stab wound to an artery in Ms Galea’s right leg resulted in her death.
Debra and Sandra Wills were inside the unit but both both told the court they never saw the accused with a knife.
Wills pleaded not guilty, claiming he left the unit before the stabbing.
But swabs from Ms Galea’s left hand fingernails revealed male DNA linking Wills to the stabbing, Mr Lewis said.
During questioning, a forensic witness explained that a certain haplotype, a closely-knit group of genes inherited from one parent, matched Wills’ DNA.
The haplotype was on average found in one of every 461 unrelated Caucasian men, the forensic expert confirmed.
“That piece of evidence is more difficult to explain away,” Mr Lewis said in his closing statement on 11 November.
“You can see her fingernails in the photographs. They are very short fingernails.
“How did that DNA get under those fingernails?”
Mr Lewis suggested that only a “struggle” would result in Wills’s DNA ending up under Ms Galea’s fingernails.
After Ms Galea’s death police installed covert devices at addresses including his aunt’s unit, recording Wills discussing the killing with family and his partner multiple times.
During the recordings Wills voiced his intent to rob Ms Galea.
In police interviews he denied killing Ms Galea, blaming his aunt and mother
Both women denied responsibility for the death in police interviews.
Supreme Court judge Paul Coghlan remanded Wills in custody for sentencing at a date yet to be announced.
He has been in custody since January 2018.
