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August 21st, 2013 
Steven James Hunter arrives at the Supreme Court for his sentencing for the murder of Sarah Cafferkey. Picture: Stuart Walmsley
Source: HeraldSun
THE evil killer who murdered Sarah Cafferkey just days after his parole ended will die in jail.
Steven James Hunter was today sentenced to life imprisonment with no parole over Ms Cafferkey’s brutal killing.
He joins a small list of Victoria’s most notorious prisoners who will never be released. They include Russell St bomber Stanley Taylor, sex killer Raymond Edmunds and serial killers Leslie Coombes and Peter Dupas.
What do you think of the sentence? Have your say below
But a woman who described herself as a close friend of Hunter says she will make sure he fights to be freed from jail.
Diane, who did not want to reveal her surname, said she had known Hunter his entire life and described him as “a very nice man”.
She sat alongside Hunter’s dad, Murray, as he was today sentenced to die in prison.
Outside court Diane said she would make sure Hunter appealed against the sentence.
“He’ll be appealing because I’ll make sure he does,” she said.
“He’s not a monster, the judge said he’s not a monster.”
Diane compared the sentence to that handed to Jill Meagher’s killer, Adrian Bayley, who was sentenced to life with a minimum term of 35 years.
“Adrian Bayley got 35 years and he did horrendous, he was worse, he is an animal.
“Justice hasn’t been done today, justice has been taken from a man who is a very nice man, when you know him”.
Diane and Mr Hunter blamed drugs on the killing.
“I’m not saying he needs to have a chance, but he does need to live his elderly life as a human being not a caged animal,” she said.
“When he’s 80 years old isn’t he going to be rehabilitated?”
Ms Cafferkey’s parents applauded what they described as a “courageous” decision and said justice had been served.
Sentencing Hunter, Justice Kevin Bell said he was “likely to remain powerful enough to represent an ongoing threat to the community even in old age”.
“Your murder of Sarah shows you have a propensity for violence from which the community, and especially young women, need protection,” he said.
Sarah Cafferkey’s mother Noelle Dickson and other family members arrive at court today. Picture: Stuart Walmsley
“The crime which you committed was in the worst category of the most serious crime of murder.
“In my view your case, is therefore, exceptional.”
Sarah’s final words to her mum
Justice Bell said that while Hunter’s crime was monstrous, he was not a monster.
He also said Hunter was not a psychopath but had only very slight chance of rehabilitation.
The 47-year-old, dressed in a black shirt and jeans, remained emotionless as Justice Bell delivered his sentence.
Outside court Noelle Dickson, Sarah’s mum, said she had faith in the justice system.
“Sarah was a beautiful young woman who had so much to live for. Bright, funny and caring,” she said.
“Sarah was loved by everyone she crossed paths with and will be missed by us all.
“Today I stand before you in the knowledge that justice has been served for our beautiful daughter, niece, cousin and friend.”
Ms Dickson said she would continue to fight for change in the adult parole system.
The girl you’ll never get to know
Adrian Cafferkey, Sarah’s dad, applauded Premier Denis Napthine’s pledge to overhaul the system in the wake of a parole report by former High Court Judge Ian Callinan.
“But he needs to rest assured, us along with all the other families, will be watching the timeline for implementation very keenly,” Mr Cafferkey said.
Justice Bell described Ms Cafferkey’s unprovoked murder as callous, calculating and brutal.
He said Hunter’s criminal career spanned 30 years, he had murdered for the first time aged 21, and had spent most of his life in jail.
Dozens of Ms Cafferkey’s family and friends were in court to watch the sentence hearing.
Read Steven Hunter’s disturbing rap sheet
Steven James Hunter is arrested over Sarah Cafferkey’s murder. Picture: Jake Nowakowski
Hunter’s estranged father, Murray, was one of just two people supporting him in court.
They sat together close to the prisoner’s dock and turned to look at him several times through the hearing.
The court heard Hunter did not know if his dad was still alive after becoming estranged from him in 2002.
Before that their relationship had been only sporadic.
Justice Bell said Hunter had endured a “highly deprived upbringing, characterised by physical abuse, neglect, substance abuse and exposure to family violence”.
“As a child, you were burnt with an iron and degraded for bed-wetting. In one terrible incident when you were aged only eight years, your father locked the three children into a room while he tied your mother to a chair.
“You managed to get out of the room. Seeing your father put a shotgun into your mother’s mouth, you called your grandparents for help.”
Hunter’s stepfather was also violent towards him.
Outside court Murray Hunter said told reporters his son’s sentence was excessive and said he had been failed by the justice system.
Victorians were shocked by the brutal murder of popular Bacchus Marsh woman Sarah Cafferkey. Picture: Jon Hargest
Mr Hunter said his son had not been properly rehabilitated while serving his first prison sentence for murder.
Prosecutors had called for Hunter to be sentenced to a term of life without parole, saying he had lost his right to ever be released.
But lawyers for Hunter had urged the court to impose a non-parole period, accepting that Hunter shouldn’t be eligible for release until he is an old man.
They say he had a right to a non-parole period.
Ms Cafferkey was bashed in the head with a hammer and stabbed up to 17 times on the night she died.
An argument had erupted between the 22-year-old and Hunter, a friend, at his Bacchus Marsh unit on November 20 last year.
“The stabbing was shocking in its ferocity, especially given that Sarah was entirely defenceless,” Justice Bell said.
Hunter told police Ms Cafferkey became angry after mistakenly thinking he called her a “junkie”.
He said during the argument he “snapped” after Ms Cafferkey struck him on the back. .
Steven James Hunter is taken into custody by police over the murder of Sarah Cafferkey. Picture: Herald Sun
Hunter – who once escaped from Pentridge Prison – had completed his parole just nine days before murdering Ms Cafferkey.
It was his second frenzied stabbing slaying in a criminal career spanning more than two decades.
Hunter served a 13-year term for stabbing 18-year-old Moonee Ponds woman Jacqueline Mathews in 1986 after she rejected his advances.
The court heard Hunter and Ms Cafferkey’s relationship had a strong drug connection and that Hunter saw himself as a “father figure” to her.
They had met less than three months before Ms Cafferkey’s killing through friends and while she was aware of his criminal history the court heard it was not known if she knew he was a killer.
Justice Bell said Ms Cafferkey accepted Hunter as he was and the pair enjoyed partying together.
After killing Ms Cafferkey Hunter embarked on a cruel plan to coverup the crime.
He sent text messages to Ms Cafferkey’s mobile phone, moved her body in his car and entombed her in a wheelie bin filled with concrete and lime.
He had asked a friend to help hide Ms Cafferkey and had gone to Bunnings and bought products to help dispose of her body.
Mother tells of grief for lost Sarah
Ms Cafferkey’s emotional parents looked directly at Hunter at a pre-sentence hearing last week as they told the court of the pain he had caused them.
Ms Dickson broke down as she told Hunter that Sarah was not a piece of rubbish to be put in a wheelie bin.
Mr Cafferkey pointed directly at Hunter and said he wanted to know “how and why” Hunter was allowed to kill for a second time.
“My spirits are crushed. There are no lights at the end of our tunnel,” he said.
“We have a life sentence. Our beautiful baby girl is gone”.
During a record of interview following his arrest Hunter told police he remembered hitting Ms Cafferkey with a hammer but couldn’t remember stabbing her.
He said he couldn’t explain why he had killed her.
“I don’t understand why, I really don’t understand why,” he told police.
“I am nothing.”
Hunter said he hoped to die in jail.
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