Murderer gets 32 years
THE killer of beloved nurse Gayle Woodford will spend at least 32 years behind bars over her abduction, rape and murder in outback South Australia last year.
Supreme Court judge Ann Vanstone said Dudley David Davey’s prior criminal record of attacks on women made him a danger to the community and ruled he must serve at least 32 years in prison before being eligible for parole.
Davey, who had attacked numerous women including another outback nurse in 1998, was found to have an anti-social personality disorder and an “abnormal desire to rape women”.
Despite Davey’s claims he initially intended to just steal the ambulance used by Ms Woodford, Justice Vanstone ruled he was motivated by the urge to rape a “vulnerable” target from the outset.
“She was plainly chosen by you as an easy target,” she said. “You targeted a vulnerable woman who worked with skill and compassion in your community.”
Davey, 35, initially denied killing Ms Woodford but pleaded guilty in the face of overwhelming forensic evidence.
An autopsy revealed he had subjected Ms Woodford to a violent sexual assault before killing her. She had numerous blunt force trauma injuries on her body.
Davey was on a three-day methamphetamine bender in the Aboriginal community of Fregon when he lured Ms Woodford with the ruse his grandmother needed Panadol.