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'No sentence too harsh' for key killer (AAP)

                   
yahoo.com
Jun 27, 2008
        
Story Timeline:  107 days

The daughter of a man strangled after a set of house keys were forced down his throat says there is no sentence great enough for his killer. Michael Barbetta, 44, has pleaded guilty to the murder of 65-year-old David Smedley, who was found dead in his unit in the NSW south coast city of Wollongong in March last year. During an autopsy, a medical examiner removed six house keys on a metal key ring from Mr Smedley's throat. A victim impact statement written by Mr Smedley's New Zealand-based daughter, Fiona Elwin, was read to the NSW Supreme Court in Sydney on Friday during sentencing submissions for Barbetta. "No sentence ever given out will ever let our family think that justice has been done," Ms Elwin wrote in her statement, read by a member of the Homicide Victims Support Group. The hearing is continuing, with Justice... [read full story]                    

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Latest article on this story:

Barbetta has 'no memory' of key murder

 drugpolicycentral.com Jun 27, 2008
First article on this story:

'No sentence too harsh' for house key killer

 news.com.au Jun 27, 2008
Selected publications with coverage of this story:
smh.com.au brisbanetimes.com.au yahoo.com news.com.au drugpolicycentral.com
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Barbetta has 'no memory' of key murder

drugpolicycentral.com
Jun 27, 2008
        

The court was told that the night before the killing Barbetta had taken the tranquillising drug benzodiazepine and on the day of the killing he had consumed up to three pre-mixed vodka drinks, the drug speed and a dose of...

                   

Family address keys-in-throat killer

brisbanetimes.com.au
Jun 27, 2008
        

A man who strangled his neighbour before forcing him to swallow a set of keys had taken a cocktail of drugs in the lead up to the murder. Michael Barbetta, 44, pleaded guilty to murdering David Smedley, 65, who was found dead...

                   

Barbetta has 'no memory' of key murder (AAP)

yahoo.com
Jun 27, 2008
        

Michael Barbetta was affected by a mixture of speed, sleeping pills and alcohol and has little memory of a racial argument during which he forced a set of house keys down the throat of his neighbour before strangling him....

                   

No sentence enough for key 'strangler'

news.com.au
Jun 27, 2008
        

THE daughter of a man strangled after a set of house keys were forced down his throat says there is no sentence great enough for his killer. Michael Barbetta, 44, has pleaded guilty to the murder of 65-year-old David Smedley,...

                   

Family address keys-in-throat killer

smh.com.au
Jun 27, 2008
        

The family of a man who was strangled after being forced to swallow a set of keys say they will never forgive the man who killed him, a court has heard. Michael Barbetta, 44, pleaded guilty to murdering his neighbour David...

                   

'No sentence too harsh' for house key killer

news.com.au
Jun 27, 2008
        

THE daughter of a man strangled after a set of house keys were forced down his throat says there is no sentence great enough for his killer. Michael Barbetta, 44, has pleaded guilty to the murder of 65-year-old David Smedley,...

                   

'No sentence harsh' for house key killer

news.com.au
Jun 27, 2008
        

THE daughter of a man strangled after a set of house keys were forced down his throat says there is no sentence great enough for his killer. Michael Barbetta, 44, has pleaded guilty to the murder of 65-year-old David Smedley,...