A trail of grief, despair and ongoing trauma left by the shooting murder of one man and kidnapping of two innocent people has been laid bare in court.
Christopher Hillman pleaded guilty to the murder of Jake Williams whom he shot in the neck after an argument.
The pair had been at a house in Frankston in Melbourne’s southeast on September 18, 2021, often used as a “drop-in” for drug use.
They were in a bedroom with others smoking meth when an argument broke out over comments Mr. Williams made about another friend.
The row escalated and the other occupants left the room when Hillman grabbed a shotgun, pointing the barrel at Mr. Williams’ legs and threatened to shoot.
As Mr. Williams turned his back to exit the room, Hillman fired the gun and hit him in the neck, killing him.
Hillman then left the house with one person recounting how he had blood on his face and was apologising for shooting the victim.
Police found Mr. Williams’ body during a welfare check, sparking a week-long manhunt for the killer.
Mr. Williams’ sister Jasmine Lenders on Thursday sobbed as she delivered a victim impact statement to the Supreme Court telling of the mental grief and physical pain of learning about her brother’s death.
“It broke something in me that I’m not sure will ever be fixed,” Ms. Lenders said.
The impact has included Ms. Lenders’ children, aged six and 10, who walk on eggshells as their mother could tip over the edge emotionally at any moment.
“My oldest said to me once, ‘It worries, Mum. I don’t want to do anything that makes you upset like when Uncle Jake died’.”
The grief has led to physical injury as a result of intense emotional stress, which her osteopath has described as a kind of injury expected from a football player being hip-and-shouldered.
“It was the result of shock, and then the ongoing grief of being curled up in the foetal position ... for months,” she said.
On Thursday Hillman entered additional guilty pleas to two charges of kidnapping, one charge of assault and possessing a firearm.
Day three on the run, Hillman visited the home of Kane Allardyce, who was at the house on the night of the shooting.
An “on-edge” Hillman held Mr. Allardyce at gunpoint forcing him to drive the fugitive and another person to a Frankston home where he demanded they left which they did.
Six days after the murder, high on ice and in a state of paranoia, Hillman kidnapped 65-year-old Gina Titos and her 76-year-old friend Vasilios ‘Bill’ Georgopoulos from Ms. Titos’ home and held them at gunpoint, demanding to be driven to Seaford.
The ordeal lasted 14 minutes but Mr. Georgopoulos no longer feels safe living at home and is constantly anxious.
“When I do go walking, I’m always looking behind me,” he said in a victim impact statement read.
“The world doesn’t seem safe.”
Ms. Titos said she will never forget the shotgun Hillman produced and “those freaky eyes” which she had recognised from the news but was too late as he barged into her home.
“I don’t feel safe anywhere anymore, even in my own place,” her statement read.
“When I get in my car, I have to check the backseat in case he is there.
“This fear will be with me forever.”
Hillman was eventually captured after calling police from the home of an ex-partner where he admitted shooting Mr. Williams.
Officers found him unconscious in the roof space in the home after consuming drugs.
Hillman will be sentenced in 2024.
