Murderer ditches appeal

themercury.com.au

Court Reporter

CONVICTED murderer Mark Rodney Jones, who waterboarded and suffocated his victim with a plastic bag before dumping him in a lake, has withdrawn his bid for a shorter stint in prison.

The news comes with the lifting of a gag order over the case of terrified eyewitness Cody James Lee, who failed to report the killing of his 22year-old friend Bradley Bre

SUBSCRIPTIONS 1300 696 397 ward. Jones, a 44-year-old former body builder and convicted rapist, is serving a 22year jail sentence, with a nonparole period of 13 years, after murdering Mr Breward in Launceston on New Year’s Day 2017.

In December last year, the Supreme Court of Tasmania heard Jones wanted to appeal his “manifestly excessive” sentence, but couldn’t afford the legal fees. This week, the court heard Jones’ appeal bid would not proceed, meaning the murderer must now wait until February 2030 before becoming eligible for parole.

With Jones’ appeal bid abandoned, the Mercury can now reveal Lee had his jail term heavily slashed in 2018 after a judge found the teen was terrified of retribution — and after he finally came on board as a key Crown witness.

Lee, then 19, was jailed in September 2017 for three-anda-half years, with a non-parole period of two-and-a-half, for failing to report a killing. But according to a March 2018 Court of Criminal Appeal judgment, which has until now remained under wraps, Lee had that term slashed to 15 months with a non-parole period of seven-and-a-half months.

Chief Justice Alan Blow said Lee was at his Newnham home and Mr Breward was asleep on his couch, when Jones and Ricky John Izard — who was later jailed for manslaughter — walked in.

Mr Breward was brutally beaten, had his hands tied, and was unable to breathe with water poured over his face.

Jones then put a supermarket bag over his head and counted to 40, with Mr Breward losing consciousness.

The trio unsuccessfully tried to revive Mr Breward with CPR, before Jones and Izard took his body away and dumped it in Lake Eugenana.

Chief Justice Blow said Lee didn’t take part in the attack, but didn’t tell police what had happened when he was interviewed four times over the coming month. On February 2, he finally told the truth, and Mr Breward’s badly decomposed body was retrieved from the water the following day.

Chief Justice Blow, in allowing Lee’s appeal, noted his youth, the fact he tried to revive Mr Breward, his fear of retribution, his terror and his early plea of guilty.

He also said his willingness to give evidence against Jones and Izard as the only eyewitness was a significant mitigating factor in re-sentencing.