A young couple have been spared jail over a hateful neo-Nazi graffiti blaze on a major university campus, despite a magistrate labeling their behavior as abhorrent.
Christopher Carrig, 20, and Taylor Bayly, 20, were convicted on Tuesday of the vandalism at Macquarie University in the early hours of January 25, 2024. The pair were ordered to reimburse the university for the costs of the damage.
Carrig was also convicted over an anti-Semitic incident in which he intimidated a 20-year-old man at a bus stop, whom he targeted because he was Jewish. The encounter was filmed and posted on social media.
During the conversation, Carrig told the man to remove a Jewish yarmulke (or skullcap) he was wearing and ordered him to kiss his shoes, Sydney’s Burwood Local Court heard.
The 20-year-old also told the man: ‘It’s quite low for a Jew to wait for the bus. Can’t you call Uncle Goldstein and ask him to bring you a BMW?’
Carrig’s lawyer Rylie Hahn said in July this year, several months after the vandalism, that her client had suffered significant trauma from the tragic deaths of two family members.
The bodies of Jennifer Carrig, 53, and Ella, 13, were found by police at their home in Marsfield in Sydney’s north, prompting a major forensic investigation.
“His mother and sister tragically passed away recently,” Ms Hahn said, adding that the incident forced the distraught young man to leave his family home.
Christopher Carrig and Taylor Bayly vandalized Macquarie University with graffiti slogans such as ‘Nazi Rule’, ‘F**K 167’, ‘F**K Antifa Scum’ and ‘Hail Hitler’.
Christopher Carrig and Taylor Bayly, who have been dating for about three years, have matching tattoos behind their ears with the numbers “14” and “88,” which have neo-Nazi associations
About a week before the bodies were discovered, a police search of Carrig’s home revealed what a prosecutor described Tuesday as “more or less a shrine to the Third Reich.”
Carrig was given some of the Nazi paraphernalia by his late mother, the court heard.
When Bayly and Carrig were spray-painting Nazi slogans at Macquarie University, they were drunk and acted on a socialist poster they had seen, magistrate Mark Whelan was told.
The pair admitted blackening their faces and entered Sydney’s northern campus before painting offensive symbols, including swastikas, graffiti in 24 locations.
The slogans included ‘f*** Antifa scum’ and ‘Heil Hitler’, as well as references to the Australian neo-Nazi group National Socialist Network.
Carrig and Bayly, who have been dating for about three years, have matching tattoos behind their ears with the numbers ’14’ and ’88’, which have neo-Nazi associations and were clearly visible as they stood before the judge.
According to the Anti-Defamation League, the two numbers are a common code for white supremacists.
Mr Whelan sentenced Bayly to serve a 15-month community corrections order, while Carrig received a two-year intensive corrections order in lieu of a full-time prison sentence.
Jennifer Carrig and her daughter Ella (pictured) were found dead at their home in Marsfield
The bodies of Jennifer Carrig, 53, and Ella, 13, were found by police at their home in Marsfield in Sydney’s north, prompting a major forensic investigation.
The magistrate described the offense as ‘appalling’.
“It has no place in Australian society,” he said.
Carrig was arrested and charged with multiple offenses just a week before Jennifer and his disabled younger sister Ella were believed to have died in the family home.
A family friend told Daily Mail Australia that ‘absolutely lovely’ Jennifer Carrig was having problems with her outspoken son Chris, who attended Epping High School until 2022.
Carrig and Bayly appear to have been living at the house on Menzies Road when the pair were arrested by officers from the Counter Terrorism and Special Tactics Command just after 6am on July 2.
The couple were charged with intentionally or recklessly destroying or damaging property, blackening or disguising the face with intent to commit a criminal offence, possessing graffiti tools and unlawfully entering enclosed areas.
Police allege Mr Carrig and Taylor Bayly blackened their faces and then entered Macquarie Park, which has about 130 statues within Macquarie University, at around 12.17pm on February 25.
Court documents show they used an aerosol can to mark objects on campus with the Nazi swastika symbol and the tag of the National Socialist Network, an Australian neo-Nazi political organization.
Taylor Bayly was given a community corrections order and will have to repay the university for the vandalism
Just eight days after their arrest, the tragic discovery of Jennifer and Ella Carrig’s bodies was made.
Daily Mail Australia does not suggest that Christopher Carrig or his girlfriend Taylor Bayly had any involvement in the deaths of Carrig’s mother Jennifer or sister Ella.
NSW Police have launched a major investigation into the deaths of Ms Carrig and Ella, which is ongoing.
Police initially revealed the couple’s deaths were not being treated as suspicious.
Sources have now revealed that detectives are also investigating whether the deaths may have been the result of a murder-suicide.
It remains unclear how the pair died as Mrs Carrig and her daughter had no apparent injuries.
“The victims had no gunshot or stab wounds,” a police spokesperson said.
Neighbors on the quiet suburban street were ‘absolutely shocked’.
One described the mother-of-three as ‘very friendly and kind’.
He told Daily Mail Australia that Ella had a disability and her mother had recently completed renovations to the house.
Another neighbor said Jennifer babysat for him and that he had known her all his life.
“It’s sad,” he said.
For the vandalism and incident involving the Jewish man, Carrig was sentenced to a two-year intensive corrections order, while also ordered to compensate Macquarie University with $1222.50.
Bayly was sentenced to a 15-month community corrections order and was also ordered to compensate the university in the same amount.