Evie Amati, the transgender woman who was found guilty of attacking several people with an axe in a Sydney 7-Eleven, has been sentenced to nine years in prison.
Amati was found guilty in August 2018 of wounding with intent to murder. Amati entered a 7-Eleven convenience story in the inner-city Sydney suburb of Enmore on January 7th 2017 and struck two people with an axe.
During the trial the jury saw graphic CCTV footage that showed 26 year-old Amati attacking customers Ben Rimmer and Sharon Hacker causing both serious injuries.
A third man, Shane Redwood, avoiding being attacked by Amati outside the store when he fended off her blows with his backpack. All three people were strangers to Amati.
During the trial Amati said she had no recollection of the incident but reported having feelings of ‘homicidal rage’ in the hours leading up to the attach. She expressed remorse for her actions during the high profile trial.
On Friday Amati was sentenced to nine years in prison, but she will be eligible for parole in four and half years. The maximum sentence she could have received for the offence was 25 years.
In delivering the sentence Judge Mark Williams said the attacks were serious and it was only a matter of good fortune that death did not occur. During the trial Amati pleaded not guilty arguing that she was not of sound mind due to a toxic mix of hormone medication, cannabis, amphetamines and alcohol.
The judge said he took into account Amati’s underlying mental health issues, but it did not take away from the trauma that her victims had suffered.
OIP Staff
