A Ballarat man has been sentenced to 28 years in prison for the brutal murder of his former partner, beloved teacher's aide Hannah McGuire, in a case that has highlighted the devastating consequences of domestic violence.
A relationship marked by control and abuse
Lachlan Young, 23, received his sentence at the Supreme Court of Victoria in Ballarat on Tuesday, with Justice James Elliott ordering he must serve at least 22 years and four months before becoming eligible for parole. The sentence includes 590 days Young has already spent in custody awaiting justice.
The court heard audible gasps from Ms McGuire's friends and family when the sentence was delivered, with the courtroom packed with those mourning the 23-year-old victim.
Ms McGuire had been desperate to escape her estranged partner when he strangled her in the bathroom of their Sebastopol home during a fit of rage last April. Young then torched her body in an attempt to make her death appear to be a suicide.
The cruel deception and mounting evidence
Young maintained his cruel lie for more than a year, continuing his deception right up until his murder trial. The court heard how Ms McGuire had obtained an intervention order against him in February the previous year, yet Young continued to torment her with endless calls, stalking behaviour and performing burnouts outside a house she had moved into for safety.
Justice Elliott revealed that Ms McGuire had expressed her fears about Young to police in a statement made before her murder. 'The last two words of her statement ... were, "I'm terrified"', he told the court.
The day before he killed Ms McGuire, Young had expressed his contempt for her to his boss's wife, writing: 'F**k women, they just want to hurt you and milk you dry and ... say it was your fault.'
A pattern of abusive behaviour
The court heard extensive evidence of Young's abusive behaviour throughout their relationship, which began towards the end of 2021. Witnesses described how he regularly intimidated and humiliated Ms McGuire in front of friends and family.
On one occasion, observed by friends at a hotel, Young grabbed her arm, shook her and shouted in her face, leaving Ms McGuire so distressed she called a friend to collect her.
In June 2023, one of Ms McGuire's friends overheard Young calling her a 'fat whale' during a Facetime call. He also regularly referred to her as a 'fat slut' and demanded she 'work faster and cook me dinner.'
Despite his behaviour, Ms McGuire continued an on-again-off-again relationship with her abuser, whose conduct became increasingly erratic. In the month before her murder, she had moved back in with her parents and was forced to climb through a window of their former home to retrieve personal items.
The final betrayal and forensic challenges
The court heard how Young lured Ms McGuire to their King Drive home in Sebastopol under the guise of ending their relationship in a civilised manner. He had texted her: 'I don't want to fight or be angry or anything... I'm not going to get angry. I'm over being angry. I just want everything finalised and planned out.'
Unknown to Ms McGuire, Young had already asked a friend to help him drug her. On the night of April 5 last year, she told her parents she was attending going-away drinks for a friend in Ballarat - a ruse to visit Young without their knowledge.
By 1.50am, a friend received a disturbing image showing Ms McGuire in a state of distress, lying on a bed. At approximately 2.30am, she fled to the bathroom where Young assaulted and strangled her.
Young then jammed her body into the footwell of her own car, picked up his friend and drove to nearby bushland where he torched the vehicle with her remains inside.
The destruction was so complete that forensic experts had little to work with - just 13kg of bone and dust remained of Ms McGuire's body, making it impossible to ascertain the exact cause of death.
Justice delivered amid ongoing grief
Justice Elliott condemned Young's behaviour as a 'gross breach of trust' and addressed the broader context of domestic violence in his sentencing remarks.
'In sentencing you, the scourge of domestic violence resulting in the death of innocent and defenceless female partners is again to be addressed by the court,' he said. 'This case is yet another example of a male using violence and his superior strength to murder a vulnerable woman who trusted him.'
Young eventually pleaded guilty eight days into his murder trial after seeing the evidence against him. He had attempted to negotiate a plea deal for manslaughter, but Crown prosecutor Kristie Churchill outright rejected any reduction from murder charges.
The case has left a community in mourning for a young woman described as a beloved teacher's aide, daughter and friend, whose life was brutally cut short by domestic violence.
