Pensioner who killed neighbours over garden house dispute jailed

ABC NEWS (Australia)

A Melbourne man who gunned down two of his neighbours in a "senseless and brutally violent" dispute over a garden hose is likely to die in jail, after he is sentenced to 30 years' prison.

Transcript

00:00 The residents of this suburban unit block will never forget the night Rodney John Lee

00:07 unleashed a reign of terror. Armed with a shotgun, the 74-year-old took the lives of

00:12 two neighbours, Salmotu Gassio and Tibor Laszlo.

00:16 They were two beautiful men. They were delightful. They were kind.

00:21 Tensions between Lee and other residents had been building for months. Things reached a

00:25 deadly crescendo when Lee left a garden hose running, but his neighbours shut it off.

00:31 The Supreme Court heard Lee said, "You turn that hose off again, you bastards. I'll f***ing

00:36 kill you."

00:37 He was a complete coward. He was ruthless. He was heartless.

00:41 Later that night, Lee grabbed a gun and came after his neighbours. He shot Mr Gassio, who

00:46 was sitting on a bench, and then aimed at Janice Bateman's grandson, who was in another

00:51 unit. But he missed and hit Mr Laszlo instead.

00:55 It's just part of our life that's missing that can never be replaced.

01:00 Today, Salmotu Gassio's son was in court. As Lee was sentenced to 30 years in prison,

01:05 he'll have to serve a minimum of 24.

01:08 24 years sucks. No number's going to do justice.

01:13 Rodney Lee wasn't in the Supreme Court today, instead appearing via video link from custody.

01:19 He sat slumped in his wheelchair and appeared to fall asleep. At one point, the judge jolted

01:24 him awake.

01:26 Justice James Elliott described Lee's actions as disproportionate, senseless and brutally

01:31 violent. The 74-year-old is likely to die in prison. The earliest he could be released

01:36 is 2046.

01:38 [BLANK_AUDIO]

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended