Gavin Perry, 27, was high on the synthetic drug dubbed ‘ice’ when he entered the jewelry store ‘Jewell Shed’ owned by Irish couple Dermot and Bridget O’Toole, armed with a large carving knife that he had stolen just minutes earlier.
In a frenzied attack during the botched robbery attempt, he stabbed both Mr. and Mrs. O’Toole. Mr. O’Toole died at the scene.
Perry had over 200 convictions at the time of the incident, which took place in High Street, Hastings, on the Mornington Peninsula, Victoria, Australia, in July 2013.
He was also on parole at the time.
The judge imposed a 27-year-old sentence, 23 of which are non-paroled.
In a statement outside the court, Ms. O’Toole said that ‘they had been failed by the parole system,’ and they called for such system to be changed.