A hitman was sentenced to 32 years in prison for the premeditated assassination of Stacey Klimovitch, a grandmother, at her home, as ordered by his drug dealer boss.
Newcastle Supreme Court Justice Peter Hamill described the crime as callous, brutal, and incomprehensible, emphasizing the senseless nature of the murder.
The hitman, Jason Hawkins, a father of nine, was convicted of murder, while the getaway driver, Stephen Garland, a former member of the Nomads bikie gang, received an eight-and-a-half-year sentence for manslaughter.
The orchestrator behind the murder, Stuart Campbell, who had a personal vendetta against Klimovitch, the mother of his ex-partner, committed suicide in prison before facing trial.
The crime, fueled by Campbell’s animosity and his exclusion from his son’s life, led to a tragic and violent act that Justice Hamill highlighted as ‘intolerable in a civilised society.’
