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Byron Bay woman Sara Connor 'lost all hope' of seeing children grow up

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Byron Bay woman Sara Connor has revealed she has lost all hope of seeing her children grow up after prosecutors called for her to be jailed for eight years for the alleged fatal group assault of a Bali police officer.

The sentencing request came as a bitter shock given Ms Connor and her boyfriend David Taylor had insisted she played no role in the death of Bali police officer Wayan Sudarsa and her lawyer had previously said she expected to be freed.

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Sara Connor's emotional final appeal

Byron Bay mother of two Sara Connor wept as she read her last statement to the court before a verdict in mid-march.

"I am so shocked. I have lost all hope to see my children grow up," Ms Connor said before her trial began in the Denpasar District Court on Tuesday.

"I am expecting the worst," Ms Connor, who appeared shattered, reiterated after the trial was over. "I have lost all hope."

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A distraught Ms Connor wept as she read a statement in court, twice describing herself as the "sole carer" of her two young sons. She broke down, struggling to get out the words, when she said she loved her children "more than anything", and they missed her and were waiting for her.

"If this is what God has planned for my life, to punish me so harshly and deprive my children of their mother, I hope he will give my children the strength to cope."

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The court was presented with a booklet featuring 78 testimonials from friends, colleagues and family that spoke of her generosity, her love for her children and her hard work at the Arts Factory backpackers lodge in Byron Bay.

"In the three years I have spent in Australia, no-one has helped me like Sara did," wrote Cyprien Clerc, a native of France, in one of the testimonials. "She is my second mum, my big sister. And she is this way not just with me but with many people."

The battered and bloodied corpse of Mr Sudarsa was found on the beach in front of the Pullman Hotel in Legian on August 17 last year.

Mr Taylor admitted to bashing the officer with a Bintang beer bottle, binoculars, a mobile phone and his bare fists after accusing him of being a fake cop and stealing Ms Connor's handbag.

However he insisted he was acting in self defence because Mr Sudarsa had attacked him after he searched his pockets.

Ms Connor and Mr Taylor both testified that her only role had been to try to separate the two men as they fought in the sand.

She said she did try to go to the police station after the fight but the ojek (motorcycle taxi) driver had refused to take her because she didn't have any money.

"How different my life would have been now if my bag was never stolen and and the taxi driver had taken me to the police station that night," Ms Connor lamented. "I had good intentions."

She also said that if she had wanted to flee she could have done so at any stage using her Italian passport which had a different surname.

The prosecution criticised Ms Connor for giving convoluted evidence to the court and not admitting to what she had done while they said Mr Taylor had felt remorse, apologised to the victim's family and was honest before the court.

They were also sceptical that Ms Connor had cut up the victim's cards to protect him from identity theft, saying this was "irrational" and she was trying to hide something.

And they said she should have reported directly to the police instead of going to the Australian Consulate.

Ms Connor said if she had wanted to destroy evidence she would have destroyed the whole wallet as well as the cards.

She said she had let Mr Taylor burn the clothes the couple had worn that night because she was "confused and in shock" after learning the police were looking for her.

"I apologise for the action I took then," Ms Connor told the court. "I went to the consulate because that is what people do when they are in a foreign country. Once there I willingly went to the police station to co-operate with the investigation."

"Please bear in mind that I am in another country. I do not understand your laws. I was scared of what would happen. I was thinking about my children. I was thinking about the victim."

Ms Connor's lawyer, Robert Khuana, told the court the sentencing request was based on an illusion and the prosecutors' imagination of what had occurred.

He said the charge of fatal group attack was appropriate for group fights - such as those between Laskar Bali and other gangs - and not what occurred on the night of August 17.

Mr Khuana said it was Mr Taylor who had admitted hitting the victim and Ms Connor had only tried to separate the men as they lay fighting in the sand.

"No witness saw Sara actually physically assault the victim," Mr Khuana said.

"We are not denying that Wayan Sudarsa's death was caused by violence. What we deny is the death was caused by Sara and David. It was David alone who committed the violence that led to the victim's death."

He pleaded with the judges to rely on the evidence when deciding if the prosecutors had proven their case against Ms Connor.

Mr Khuana also asked they consider mitigating factors including that Ms Connor had never committed a crime before, had two young children and felt sympathy for the victim's family.

Ms Connor and Mr Taylor are both facing alternative charges of murder, fatal group assault or assault leading to death.

However the prosecutors are not seeking the murder charge, saying they accept the couple did not intend to kill the police officer.

Although judges can choose to impose a greater or lesser sentence they generally agree with the charge requested by the prosecutors.

Mr Khuana asked the judges to find her convincingly not guilty of all three charges and to set her free. He also asked that they restore her good name.

"May God guide your honour in reaching the last decision," Mr Khuana said.

The prosecution will respond to the defence's submissions on March 2.

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