A man who killed a drug dealer in an attempt to rob him of his supply will spend at least 17 years and six months behind bars.
Handing down the sentence on Monday, July 27, Supreme Court Justice Nicholas Chen said the killing of Queensland man George Kirk was not a "spontaneous scuffle" but rather came after the planned confrontation with a man who was "unarmed and most likely asleep".
"The taking of Mr Kirk's life is a tragedy which has caused profound grief and sorrow to those close to him," Justice Chen said.
The sentence decision came after a trial in Orange, where Newcastle man Mark Peckham, 41, argued his involvement in the attack on Mr Kirk was in "self-defence" and that it was not him who delivered the fatal blow.
The court heard, on August 15, 2023, Mr Kirk, 39, was at his girlfriend's home in Dubbo.
At some time after Mr Kirk's girlfriend went to bed, she was awoken by a knock at the window. It was Peckham and his friend Daniel Fitton, looking for drugs.
Mr Kirk's partner told Peckham that there were no drugs in the house but said there was a woman nearby who could supply some to him.
Fitton and Peckham left the home and Mr Kirk's partner went back to sleep.
Shortly later, in the early hours of August 16, Mr Kirk's partner was woken up by a commotion in the bedroom. She said she saw Peckham and Fitton at the foot of the bed, shouting at Mr Kirk saying he was treating them "like gronks".
After a brief scuffle between Fitton and Mr Kirk, Fitton left the house but Peckham remained inside. It was at this point Peckham stabbed Mr Kirk, the court heard.
"I saw him with a blade ... stabbed him twice," Mr Kirk's partner told the jury.
"[George Kirk] said 'what are you trying to do bro ... are you trying to kill me?'."
Peckham then grabbed a towel and threw it to Mr Kirk and told him to put pressure on his wounds, before he too left the home, saying "sorry" on his way out.
A housemate of Mr Kirk's partner called police and they hurried to the scene, rendering first aid on Mr Kirk.
He couldn't be saved and by the time an ambulance arrived, Mr Kirk was already dead.
In the weeks following the murder, Peckham was overheard by witnesses saying, "I got treated like a gronk, so I took him out".
Although Mr Kirk was known to police for his involvement in drug supply, Mr Kirk's parents remember him as a "loving son" with a "good nature".
"George was not a drug dealer. He was a good person with a good heart who respected others," they said in an impact statement to the court during a sentence hearing on Monday, July 13.
"We believe this loss will stay with us for the rest of our lives ... we try to support each other but our hearts are broken."
After investigations, Peckham was arrested on September 19, 2023, at a correctional facility in Grafton.
At the time, he was being held without bail for a number of violence offences, including an assault at a nightclub in Dubbo and a carjacking and home invasion in Newcastle.
Later on the day of Mr Kirk's murder, Peckham drove Mr Fitton's car to Newcastle and abandoned it before walking into someone's home, demanding their keys, threatening them with a screwdriver and driving away in their car.
Mr Fitton was also arrested on October 17, 2023, when police intercepted his vehicle on the Hume Highway in Liverpool.
He pleaded guilty to hindering arrest and hindering a police investigation on February 23, 2026. On May 7, 2026, he was convicted and sentenced to one-year and three months in prison with a non-parole period of 11 months and seven days.
Fitton's girlfriend Stevie-Lee Jordan was also charged over the events following the murder, pleading guilty to hindering a police investigation. She is yet to be sentenced.
Handing down Peckham's sentence, Justice Chen said Peckham showed a lack of remorse.
Even after being found guilty, Peckham maintains it wasn't him who fatally stabbed Mr Kirk.
"I did not kill him and never wanted him dead," he said in a letter to the court on sentence.
He said Peckham's "long and extensive" criminal history which includes violent offences like assaulting a police officer and armed robbery meant he could be afforded no leniency.
Peckham was convicted of the murder and sentenced to 24 years in prison with a non-parole period of 17 years and six months.
Taking into account time served referable to the offence, he'll be eligible for release on July 15, 2043 and the sentence will expire on January 15, 2050.
