Girlfriend who didn’t ‘intend’ to kill jailed

A GOLD Coast woman who intentionally shot her boyfriend in the back – but didn’t mean to kill him – has been jailed and likely faces deportation upon her release.

The Supreme Court of Queensland heard Paanice Frauline Lawrence, then 39, shot and killed her partner, 46-year-old demolition worker Scott Morrison, in the early hours of January 3, 2018 after a tetchy evening of drinking.

Following a series of “belittling”, “niggling” and “smartarse” remarks from a “smug” Mr Morrison in her Southport home, Ms Lawrence went to her adult son’s room for help.

Her son and a his pregnant n partner were asleep, but Ms Lawrence found a shotgun and returned to the loungeroom. Mr Morrison continued to verbally abuse her from another room.

Ms Lawrence (pictured) – who had asked Mr Morrison to leave – sat with the gun for some time. When he made a move to retrieve more beer from the kitchen, she fired the weapon at his back, killing him.

Ms Lawrence told police she was unfamiliar with firearms, that it was dark and she was intoxicated. She also believed that if she aimed low enough, the blow to Mr Morrison’s back would not be fatal.

The court was told of domestic violence abuse during their six-month relationship.

“It’s my house, he just hit me all the time, I didn’t mean to,” she told authorities at the time of the shooting.

On Friday, Justice Paul Freeburn accepted that while Ms Lawrence had knowingly armed herself and shot a defenceless Mr Morrison, she had not intended to kill him.

He also noted that Ms Lawrence called triple-0, did not deny she had shot Mr Morrison, stayed with him until paramedics arrived, and had been extremely cooperative with police.

Also working in her favour was a guilty plea to the manslaughter charge, which had been downgraded from murder, as well as a “constellation” of mitigating factors that included mental health issues and extensive exposure to violent relationships in the past.

Ms Lawrence – who appeared in the Brisbane court via videolink – was sentenced to nine years’ prison.

Given she has already served four years, this means she is eligible for parole in four to five months.

That said, the court acknowledged the 43-year-old New Zealander likely faces the cancellation of her Australian visa when she is released, due to failing the character test.

Her children and grandchildren all live in Australia.

In a victim impact statement, Morrison family friend Nicole Mccrae lamented the fact that the flurry of media coverage of the incident had not reflected Mr Morrison as a human being.

“He was kind and easygoing, and didn’t like to make too much fuss about anything,” she said.

“He wasn’t perfect, but who is?”