Australia: Caught in Web of Evil (murder of Philip Quayle)

[Jack Ryan]

"Caught in Web of Evil" is the headline spashed over the front page of today's copy of the Cairns Post newspaper (Thursday, September 7, 2017) in Queensland, Australia

The online version appears to be the same, apart from the headline


Unlikely backgrounds of pair revealed after being sentenced for their part in Cairns murder

The Cairns Post / Herald Sun, Wednesday, September 6, 2017

She was a top student as a child, he finished as school dux and was studying medicine at university.

How Samantha French and Alexander Hansen became caught up in one of the most chilling recent murders in Cairns defies belief.

But yesterday they faced court, charged with their parts in helping Jake Livingstone cover his tracks after he beat chef Philip Quayle to death in a cruel, random attack on Spence St.

The Cairns District Court heard how, in the hours after they watched 21-year-old Livingstone attack the 27-year-old hospitality worker in February 2015, the trio drove around the city, dumping and burning clothes in White Rock, retrieving evidence from a CBD bin and disposing of it in mangroves near the Cairns Airport.

Later that night the horror of what unfolded became too much for French. She got her then boyfriend to drive her to the police station where she told detectives a sordid and tragic tale.

It was the moment the 25-year-oldÂ’s life, which had been on a downhill slide for eight years, finally took a turn for the better.

A Gold Coast girl, she excelled in school and had all the makings of a success when, as a young teenager her mum was diagnosed with epilepsy.

She quit school to get a job and help her family, but two years later rebelled against her strict Jehovah's Witness upbringing and left home.

As the cliche goes, she fell in with the wrong crowd and a few years later found herself drinking and smoking cannabis with Livingstone and Hansen one fateful night.

...

While French came to the police station willingly, it was her that dobbed in Hansen and led police to both him, Livingstone and the evidence.

...

The court heard, through her barrister Stephanie Williams, that French’s life is back on track.

After the murder she returned to live with her parents under the condition of sobriety, got back custody of her two young children who were removed from her care several years before, and has rejoined the church.

She parted ways with partner Glen Liam Cetinich — who she also dobbed in for trafficking ice and ecstasy, despite it also revealing her involvement.

He was jailed earlier this year.

French began a chef apprenticeship, although took leave during the court cases, but expects to return and qualify.

“She has very good prospects of becoming a positive contributor to society,” Ms Williams said.
...
French received a nine-month jail term but was granted immediate parole, while Hansen got 12-months jail fully suspended for 18 months

READ MORE: http://www.cairnspost.com.au/news/cairns/unlikely-backgrounds-of-pair-revealed-after-being-sentenced-for-their-part-in-cairns-murder/news-story/139341abb7e9f3a532aab16984ebf747

READ MORE: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/national/unlikely-backgrounds-of-pair-revealed-after-being-sentenced-for-their-part-in-cairns-murder/news-story/139341abb7e9f3a532aab16984ebf747

FYI - some background including a timeline

https://www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au/news/random-street-attack-turned-murder/3172243/