Jail for 'war club' killer
A man who battered a 62-year-old woman to death with an Aboriginal war club has been jailed for more than seven years.
Shannon Bert Thomas, 42, pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of the mother of three, who cannot be named for cultural reasons, during the violent confrontation in Mirrabooka in December 2012.
Thomas and the woman, and their respective partners, had been drinking heavily together for two days, when an argument broke out in the house following accusations of infidelity.
WA's Supreme Court was told Thomas walked out of the house, but was followed by the woman who was brandishing the metre-long stick, known as a waddy.
She struck Thomas twice, leaving him with a fractured arm and a deep cut to the head.
Thomas then grabbed the stick off the woman and bashed her twice over the head, knocking her unconscious, and twice more to the body as she lay defenceless.
She died in hospital later, having suffered "life destroying" blows to the head and a fractured rib which punctured an artery.
Commissioner Kevin Sleight said while Thomas was acting in self-defence, his reaction was over the top.
"You bludgeoned her to death with your repeated blows," Commissioner Sleight said.
Thomas was handed a jail term of seven and a half years, with parole available after five and a half. His earliest release will be June 2018.
