A deadly revenge attack that featured bizarre voice recordings reminiscent of a film by Hollywood director Quentin Tarantino has landed a couple lengthy jail stints.
Duc Nguyen, 45, was found guilty of murder by a Victorian Supreme Court jury in March over the fatal shooting of Brian Laidlaw, 55, in Melbourne’s inner north in July 2022.
His girlfriend Scarlett Curham, 23, pleaded guilty to manslaughter for entering into an agreement with Nguyen to shoot Laidlaw.
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The couple learned their fate on Friday, with Nguyen jailed for 29 years with a non-parole period of 21 years.
Curham, who had a history of drug abuse dating back to her early teens, was handed a 10-year prison term and will be eligible for release after six years.
In a statement to the court Laidlaw’s father lamented the 55-year-old’s four children losing their dad, while his sister said she had fallen into a deep depression and began drinking heavily again after eight years of sobriety.
“It is clear your actions have deeply and disastrously affected a number of lives,” Justice Christopher Beale told the pair on Friday.
In a pre-sentence hearing in July, the court was told Curham texted Laidlaw on the morning of July 12 to arrange a drug deal for her friend.
Nguyen and Curham borrowed an Audi from a friend and attached stolen number plates to it, before driving to Napier Street in Fitzroy.
About 4pm, Laidlaw walked to the car, greeted Curham and got into the front passenger seat.
Nguyen shot him in the back after a few minutes, with Laidlaw getting out of the car and running across the street before collapsing and being left to die on the road.
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Police found eight voice recordings on Nguyen’s phone after he was arrested.
In one recording between the pair, Nguyen said he was “happy just to pop him, just to f—ing make you feel a bit better about what happened … like f—ing a bit of revenge”.
Nguyen’s defence barrister argued the recordings did not prove the shooting was pre-planned but Beale found otherwise.
“Whilst the two of you may have been drug-affected and your conversations were sometimes bizarre and reminiscent of a Tarantino film, it is clear from the recorded conversations that you planned with Curham to shoot Laidlaw,” he said.
Beale said Curham received a two-year discount on her sentence following her guilty plea, though her role in luring Laidlaw to the car was “critical”.
“Even though you did not pull the trigger, you were a major player in the joint criminal enterprise,” he said.
Nguyen was not entitled to a discount due to taking his murder charge to trial, and had a lengthy criminal history, poor prospects for rehabilitation and shown a lack of genuine remorse, Beale said.
The couple have already served more than 800 days in custody.
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