A man has been sentenced to a minimum of 24 years in prison for fatally stabbing his former partner during a court proceeding characterized by extreme violence. Paul Gary Turner, aged 43, was convicted by a Supreme Court jury for the murder of Sarah Thomas, the 33-year-old mother of their two children, in December 2016 during a mediation session.
The couple was engaged in a custody dispute over their seven-year-old and four-year-old children. On the day of the tragic incident, they were attending a hearing unrelated to custody, focusing on a financial claim by Turner against Ms. Thomas for approximately £1,500. Suddenly, Turner brandished a kitchen knife, which he had concealed in a lever arch file, and viciously attacked his estranged partner, inflicting six stab wounds, one of which fatally severed her carotid artery.
Prosecutor James Mactaggart emphasized that Turner deliberately chose a public setting to execute the violent act, stating to the jury: “It was a shocking display of violence in a public place by an individual who sought to make a public statement.” The gruesome event transpired at the Joondalup courthouse in Perth, Australia, with a court officer present.
Surveillance footage captured Turner waiting to enter the meeting, then exiting and collapsing to the floor afterwards. Testimony revealed that years prior, Turner had received training in “commando knife skills,” including instruction on targeting major arteries to cause fatal injuries.
During his trial three years post the incident, Turner claimed to have no recollection of the attack, with his memory only recalling being at the Joondalup Police Station with blood on his hands. He attributed his actions to frequent dissociative seizures stemming from a head injury sustained in 2015 while working as a truck driver.
Despite the jury being given the option to consider Turner’s mental state at the time of the attack, they dismissed his defense plea and convicted him of murder. Turner was handed a life sentence with a minimum term of 24 years.
In a separate incident, Michael James, aged 45, fatally stabbed Bradley Hollis, aged 35, with a kitchen knife during a confrontation at his residence in March 2025. James, who shared the home with his ex-girlfriend Zara Tolley, with whom he had a decade-long relationship, attacked Hollis in a fit of jealousy as the latter had begun dating Tolley following their breakup. The attack occurred while James’ two children were asleep upstairs.
James was sentenced to 14 years in prison after being found guilty of manslaughter and possessing a bladed article in a public place. He also admitted to assaulting Ms. Tolley before the fatal attack on Mr. Hollis.