Who killed Jarrad Lovison: Judge’s tears at violent death near Moe

A judge has smothered tears as two killers led a six-foot-tall “gentle giant” at gunpoint to his brutal death.

Victoria High Court Judge Michael Croucher had no choice but to convict Moe man Jarrad Lovison’s killers on a charge of manslaughter after being given a prosecution agreement to avoid a murder trial.

Justice Croucher acknowledged the pain of the victim’s parents and said the sentence did not reflect the value of their son’s life.

“I know there is nothing this court can say or do to ease the grief. It must be terrible,’ he said, fighting back tears.

Jake Brown, 31, and his partner Andrew Price, 50, were convicted on Thursday of the ‘evil’ murder of Lovison, 38, who was administered a toxic overdose of GhB and left in the bush in 2019.

Mr Lovison had been lured to his death by barista Samantha Guillerme, who was given a non-parole of just 15 months last year after also pleading guilty to his manslaughter and making a deal to inform the others.

Judge Croucher sentenced Price to seven and a half years in prison, with a non-parole condition of four and a half, and Price to seven years with a minimum of four.

Brown has already spent 679 days behind bars and Price 586.

Guillerme was labeled “evil” by Mr. Lovison’s father, John for deceiving and luring his beloved son to his death.

The court heard that Mr Lovison had been kidnapped amid rumors that he had slept with his ex-girlfriend Angela O’Brien, who was in a new relationship with Price.

The court heard that Guillerme lured Mr. Lovison with dirty text messages.

When he arrived at a remote location on his bicycle, Price and Brown pulled out guns and put him in the backseat of Guillerme’s car.

The court heard Mr Lovison’s phone was thrown out the window when Guillerme drove it into the bush.

Guillerme was told to stay in the car while the men marched Mr. Lovison into the wilderness.

His remains were found five weeks later in Moondarra State Park, southeastern Victoria, following a public appeal to help find him.

Justice Croucher said that while the men admitted forcing Mr. Lovison to consume a large amount of GHB, prosecutors had accepted that they had no intention of killing him.

“The director makes no allegation that there was any intent to kill Mr. Lovison by administering GHB. When Mr. Price left Mr. Lovison unconscious, the intention was that he would be in the bush with no way to get back to town,” he said.

Price, who kept his silence for years, claimed he simply intended to “teach Mr. Lovison a lesson.”

Brown claimed at worst that Mr Lovison would have been ‘uncomfortable’ by being drugged and abandoned in the bush.

The next day, Guillerme shared a photo on her social media page of her dog on the Lyrebird Forest Walk, about 60km south of Moondarra.

She captioned the photo “today’s adventure.”

Mr. Lovison’s body was found in the same area on May 23 of that year.

Judge Croucher was moved to tears as he recounted the victim impact statements of Mr. Lovison’s devastated parents.

He urged them to accept that his sentence did not reflect the value of their son’s life.

‘Something like that is immeasurable, at least to a stranger. The sentence simply reflects as they have to consider the many different factors required by law, only one of which is the impact on loved ones,” he said.

Justice Croucher claimed that both defendants had a “moot defense” against claims of murder, noting that the death of a key witness further hampered the prosecution against them.

At their pre-sentencing plea hearing, Mr Lovison’s father described the pair as ‘cockless dogs’.

“I don’t think you even care, I don’t think you even think about Jarred,” he said.

“You cannot comprehend the damage you have done to us. We can’t stop thinking about how our boy would have felt. The fear he would have gone through.

“It’s so easy for scum like you to commit a serious crime and claim a hard life, all the excuses under the sun… it’s neither right nor fair.”

In December, Mr. Lovison Sr. Guillerme being questioned from the witness stand during her pre-trial interrogation.

“You planned it all out and he was lured to his death by you in the most evil and sinister way possible,” he told her.

Mr Lovison Snr claimed Guillerme was welcomed into his own home where she would share meals with the Lovison family.

“He trusted you Samantha. He liked you a lot and you liked him,” he said.

“You used to come to our house – to Jay. You would talk to Di (Jarrod’s mom) and me for hours, day in and day out. You were supposed to sleep with Jay at our place. Di and I would pick you up at your house and take you to our house so you could be with Jay and we would always drive you home.”

‘You were supposed to eat with us Samantha. Your betrayal of Jay broke us, it broke our Jay, and he paid for that betrayal with his life. How could you do that? How could you betray him like that without thinking? That’s just pure evil.’

Mr Lovison Sr. further condemned Guillerme for her subsequent cover-up, with Mr Lovison’s body rotting in the bush for nearly six weeks before being found.

“Our baby Jay was dumped like he was a piece of trash and that haunts us and breaks us every day. You knew exactly what you were doing. You drove off after leaving Jay in the bush, covered up and hid what you had done to him. You never thought of our son,’ he said.

Mr. Lovison Snr had begged Judge Croucher to throw the book at his son’s killers.

“We hope your honor sees our extreme pain and loss for what you, such an evil person, have planned and done. Put you in prison for a very, very long time for your reprehensible actions,” he said.