For the horrifying murder of a woman whose body was discovered burned and beaten in a bushland 15 days after she passed away, a man faces a maximum sentence of 31 years in prison.
On July 14, 2020, Benjamin Troy Parkes and another co-accused were found guilty of killing Namja Carroll and setting her ablaze in a secluded area of Sandy Point in southwest Sydney.
In a Supreme Court sentencing hearing today, he was given a non-parole period of 21 years and six months.
Robert Sloan, a co-accused who already entered a guilty plea to Carroll’s murder, is scheduled to be sentenced next week.
Although the identity of the man who killed Carroll cannot be established beyond a reasonable doubt, Justice Natalie Adams expressed her satisfaction that Parkes was the one who had the notion to do so.
Justice Adams declared, “Ms. Carroll was beaten to death and her body was set ablaze.”
“Although she was probably killed with a baseball bat, there is no direct evidence of that.”
Carroll’s back had a tattoo, which one of the guys had removed, the court was also informed.
Justice Adams stated, “It demonstrates the measures taken to conceal the murder.”
Carroll met Parkes and Sloan when they were drug dealers in Liverpool, southwest of the city, the jury was told during the trial.
Carroll “invested” $8,500 she had taken out of her superannuation into their illicit drug company.
The prosecution claimed that Parkes agreed with Sloan to assassinate Carroll because he started to worry that Carroll “knew too much” about his drug operation.
According to Parkes’ version of events, he merely intended to destroy her car because he was afraid it may be connected to their drug use.
He denied ever intending to kill her. Upon arriving at Sandy Point, the former Rebels biker claimed to have witnessed Sloan hitting Carroll with a baseball bat.
The jury rejected this argument, and although though defense attorney Nathan Steel denied that his client caused the fatal wounds, Parkes was convicted guilty of murder.
After seeing Parkes’ “excessive” usage of ice on CCTV, Justice Adams also took into account Parkes’ psychologist’s assessment, which diagnosed him with ADHD and social personality disorder.
However, he questioned if these mental health conditions might be connected to the crime.
The same court will sentence Sloan on Friday of next week.
