Queensland
  1. Home
  2. News
  3. Queensland

Lionel Patea sentenced to life for murder of Tara Brown

Amy Mitchell-Whittington

The mother of slain Gold Coast woman Tara Brown could not look at her daughter's killer as she told a packed Brisbane courtroom how her granddaughter still sobbed tears of "heartache and sadness" for her mother, more than a year after the loved woman's brutal death.

Lionel Patea pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison in Brisbane Supreme Court on Monday for the murder of his former partner Tara Brown on the Gold Coast in September 2015.

Up Next

Dad jokes, told by comedians

null
Video duration
01:40

More QLD News Videos

Lawyer Campbell MacCallum
Video duration
00:46

I will be judged by God: Patea
null
Video duration
01:40

Dad jokes, told by comedians
null
Video duration
00:19

Truck fire closes tunnel
null
Video duration
00:47

Tara Brown a 'beautiful girl'
null
Video duration
01:37

Strange yoga: ten of the best
More videos

I will be judged by God: Patea

Lawyer Campbell MacCallum reads a statement by Lionel Patea, who says he will not "ever be forgiven" for murdering Tara Brown. 7 News Queensland

The 24-year-old woman was savagely attacked with a 7.8 kilogram metal fire hydrant cover as she lay trapped in her car after being run off the road by Patea on a Gold Coast suburban street.

Nearby residents who heard the crash originally thought Patea was trying to free Ms Brown and helped him break a window to get to her.

It wasn't until they heard her crying out that they realised what he was doing and tried to stop him, but he fought them off and continued to bludgeon the mother of one who had just dropped their child at daycare.

A 000 phone call made by Ms Brown to police captured the sound of more than a dozen thumping sounds as she screamed for help.

Advertisement

Patea, after more than a dozen strikes, left the hydrant cover over Ms Brown's face and walked away.

She was rushed to hospital with "non-survivable" brain injuries and died the following day.

Ms Brown had been hiding from him at a safe house and friends' homes since taking out a domestic violence order just days earlier.

Ms Brown's mother Natalie Hinton could not look at Patea, who sat emotionless, handcuffed in the dock, as she told the court how her daughter had been sucked into a "domestic violence cycle" that saw "the monster" control her.

"Conflict arose as Tara realised her emotional needs were not being met but of course this narcissist...proceeded to make her life hell," she said.

"From the time that I received a phone call on the morning of the 8th September 2015 I knew, I knew in the pit of my stomach that he had found her and he had hurt her."

Ms Hinton forced back heavy sobs as she described how her daughter had continued to give in the hours before she died.

"She gave as she always did and somehow her huge heart found the strength to grasp onto life for 36 hours and she gave to us all time to say goodbye," she said.

"This misogynist and narcissist had murdered my baby girl."

Witnesses to the incident saw the pair reaching speeds of more than 100km/h and Patea bashing on Ms Brown's driver's side window with both fists when she had to stop at red lights.

Patea ultimately rammed the back of her car, forcing her down an embankment and trapping her inside the overturned vehicle.

Ms Hinton told the court how her granddaughter continued to struggle with the realisation her mother was never coming back.

"At the tender age of three her innocent life was destroyed by his choice," she said.

"I have and continue to cuddle and comfort her through her tears of missing mummy, her sobs full of heartache and sadness, the weight and intensity of her sobs is the saddest thing ever."

In handing down a life sentence to Patea, who will have to spend at least 20 years behind bars before he is eligible for parole, Justice Debra Mullins spoke of the far-reaching impact of his actions.

"Ms brown was the fatal victim of your domestic violence, she lost her life at your hands," she said.

"She will not now have the joy of seeing her daughter grow up or fulfil the promise of the life she would lead because she was killed by you.

"You have to live every day of your life knowing that you deprived Ms Brown of her life and your daughter of her mother."

Gold Coast lawyer Campbell MacCallum read out a statement on behalf of his client Patea outside court.

"I do not wish to cause Tara's family any further pain or delay their need for justice," he said.

"I accept without reservation the punishment proposed upon me by the justice system today, I will also ultimately be judged by God.

"I know Tara will never be forgotten nor will I ever be forgiven."

Outside court, Ms Hinton told media she was oblivious to the full extent of Patea's brutality but was grateful for the life sentence.

"We are grateful for his sentencing today. It doesn't bring back Tara though," she said.

National domestic violence helpline: 1800 737 732 or 1800RESPECT. In an emergency call triple-zero.

With AAP