Andrew Robert Paterson, 59, of Caniambo, pleaded guilty in the Shepparton Supreme Court to murdering Rick Devlin at Mr Devlin’s home in a rural area of Numurkah on August 5 last year.
Paterson drove to Mr Devlin’s home, parked out the front and shot him twice — once in the head and once in the chest — outside the home about 8.30pm.
Mr Devlin’s wife Alison Greenwood came outside to find her husband lying on the ground and unresponsive, performing CPR until ambulance officers arrived 28 minutes later.
All the time she feared she would also be killed.
Paterson then drove home, throwing the unregistered .38 calibre gun in an irrigation channel on the way.
On Friday, 19 family members and friends of Mr Devlin’s packed the courtroom as Judge Jane Dixon sentenced Paterson to 26 years in jail, with a 21-year non-parole period.
Dressed in a grey prison windcheater, Paterson looked impassive as his sentence was handed down.
Mr Devlin’s wife cried and was comforted by family members and friends as she learned the fate of her husband’s killer.
Some of Mr Devlin’s children also cried as the judge read aloud the particulars of the case.
Judge Dixon told the court Mr Devlin was employed as the chief executive operations manager for Moira Shire Council, where his killer also worked.
The pair knew each other through work, but Mr Devlin had “no day-to-day” interactions with his killer and was not his direct supervisor.
The court heard tensions had risen between Paterson and some of his workmates at the shire’s Nathalia depot, and he was stood down over an alleged theft of kerosene in 2019, but was later reinstated after no evidence was found.
Paterson put in a WorkCover claim for bullying in the workplace around the same time — including a threat of violence against him by another employee — and had not worked since.
He had been deemed fit to work and was due to return soon after he murdered Mr Devlin.
Judge Dixon said while Mr Devlin was not Paterson’s direct manager, Paterson believed Mr Devlin was responsible for the trouble he was having at work, telling police “if you’re running the place, the buck stops with you”.
However, she also spoke of the devastating effect Mr Devlin’s death had had on his family, with several family members — including his wife, mother, children and a grandchild — all tendering victim impact statements.
In hers, Ms Greenwood said “her happiness was shattered” the night her husband was murdered and she was “haunted by wondering if you were coming back to kill her”, Judge Dixon said.
The judge said the court also heard from the defence how Paterson had an adjustment disorder and likely had paranoid personality disorder, and had “remained fixated on grievances with his workplace”.
She said he “felt there was a conspiracy to push him out of the workplace” and he had “clung to this delusional belief”.
“To shoot an unarmed man outside his home ... was a ghastly and cowardly act,” Judge Dixon said.
“Rick Devlin lost his life because of a decision made by you.”
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