JAIL OVER CARPARK KILLING
Victim’s sister makes plea to young man
THE sister of a man killed on Geelong’s waterfront says she hopes the teenager responsible for the death can still make something of his life.
Setefano Tupou, 19, was yesterday sentenced at the Supreme Court to four years in a youth jail over the death of Colac man Timothy Williams.
The father of two was killed after Tupou drove a car at him following a late-night confrontation at Eastern Beach on October 28 last year.
The victim’s sister, Jessica Williams, said while she was “shocked”, she hoped Tupou would use his time in custody to rehabilitate himself.
Ms Williams said her brother valued positivity, love and forgiveness, adding that his one wish was for others to find the same in their lives.
“This has destroyed enough lives,” she said.
“Even though there is nothing that will ever make up for what he (Tupou) has done, the best thing he can do is use this to drive himself to make better decisions and do something with his life, not waste it.
“I want him to use this as an opportunity of how he can better himself as a person, in honour of Tim’s memory and our family.”
Mr Williams, 41, and Tupou did not know each other before crossing paths in the Ritchie Blvd carpark about 11.30pm on the night of the incident.
Tupou, then 18, was sitting in a car with his thengirlfriend, celebrating her high school graduation when they noticed Mr Williams punch a nearby street sign.
According to Tupou, the pair laughed at Mr Williams, who then turned his attention to them and screamed as he approached their vehicle.
Tupou told the victim to “f--- off” before Mr Williams punched and kicked the car, the court heard.
The teen reversed his vehicle before accelerating towards Mr Williams, who was knocked backwards on to the road. The victim sustained a severe head wound and was treated at the scene by Tupou before emergency services arrived.
He was taken to hospital in a critical condition but died two days later.
Tupou, of Tarneit, was initially charged with murder but instead pleaded guilty earlier this year to manslaughter.
Justice Paul Coghlan said he accepted he had been driving slowly and did not set out to seriously injure the victim.
However, he said the teen’s “instantaneous” response to the situation had resulted in tragedy.
“There is no doubt that Timothy Williams was much loved by his family and he will be greatly missed,” Justice Coghlan said.
“This is another example of the wide-ranging consequences of the unnecessary and . . . unintended death of a family member.
“The family would wish that I had the power to restore their brother, partner and father to them. Of course, that is the one thing that cannot happen.”
The court heard Tupou’s visa had been cancelled and he faced deportation to New Zealand at the end of his sentence.
The teenager bowed his head throughout the hearing and showed little emotion as the sentence was delivered.
He hugged crying relatives before being led away by custody officers.
Ms Williams said she was relieved the court case had finalised.
“I feel like we’ve been dragged through so much and stuck in our grief over the last eight months and it’s finally over. Now we have to work out how to start moving forward,” she said.