A man who fatally shot his elderly mother an hour after fatally shooting his brother in another state has been sentenced to 30 years in prison.
Paul Cohrs shot dead his brother in NSW and then his 81-year-old mother in Victoria in October 2018, after years of family conflict.
He was today jailed for a minimum of 23 years in the Supreme Court of Victoria for the murder of his mother Bette Schulz Cohrs.
Cohrs’ act was premeditated and planned, motivated by anger and spite, Judge Lesley Taylor said in her sentencing.
“You targeted an elderly lady who had a right to feel safe in her own home,” Judge Taylor said today.
“She was afraid you would shoot her.
‘In her final moments she would have realized that her fears had come true.’
The relationship between Cohrs and his brother Raymond became strained in 2012 as they had conflicting ideas about properties related to the family business.
Paul Cohrs was sentenced to 30 years in prison with a non-parole period of 23 years for fatally shooting his brother and 81-year-old mother in October 2018
Raymond, who had the support of his mother, decided to have the properties valued, including one on the NSW border where Cohrs and his wife lived.
After showing up at the gate of the property for an appraisal with a real estate agent, the brothers exchanged heated words.
All three men drove to a shearing station where Cohrs shot his brother multiple times in the head and chest before handcuffing the officer in the shed.
He then traveled 120km to his mother’s home at Red Cliffs in north-west Victoria and shot her in the chest an hour later.
Paul Cohrs shot his brother in NSW before driving 120km to his mother’s home in Red Cliffs, Victoria, and shot her an hour later
Cohrs drove away, leaving his four-year-old grandson behind. Cohrs’ body lay covered in blood on the kitchen floor.
He drove back to Lake Victoria Station, freed the broker and attempted suicide.
Cohrs claimed he was not guilty of murdering his mother because he was mentally disabled, but that was rejected by a Supreme Court jury, which found him guilty at his trial in May.
He was not tried for his brother’s death in NSW as it occurred in a different jurisdiction.
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