A man has been sentenced to a minimum of 24 years in prison for fatally stabbing his former partner during a court session characterized by extreme violence. Paul Gary Turner, aged 43, was convicted by a Supreme Court jury of murdering Sarah Thomas, a 33-year-old mother of their two children, in December 2016 while they were at a mediation hearing.
The couple was in a legal dispute over custody of their seven-year-old and four-year-old children. On the day of the tragic incident, they were at a hearing related to a claim by Turner that Thomas owed him approximately £1,500. Suddenly, Turner brandished a kitchen knife, concealed in a lever arch file, and launched a brutal attack on Thomas, stabbing her six times. One of the stab wounds cut her carotid artery, leading to her death.
During the trial, the prosecutor, James Mactaggart, emphasized that Turner deliberately chose a public setting to commit the violent act, aiming to make a public statement through his outrageous actions. The disturbing event took place at the Joondalup courthouse in Perth, Australia, during a mediation session attended by a court officer.
Turner was captured on CCTV footage waiting to enter the meeting and later seen collapsing after the attack. It was revealed in court that Turner had previously received training in “commando knife skills,” which involved learning techniques to target major arteries to cause fatal injuries.
Despite claiming memory loss of the incident and citing dissociative seizures from a head injury sustained in 2015, Turner’s plea of not being of sound mind during the attack was rejected by the jury. Consequently, he was convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 24 years.
In a separate case, Michael James, aged 45, fatally stabbed Bradley Hollis, aged 35, during a confrontation at James’ residence in March 2025. James, who shared the house with his ex-girlfriend Zara Tolley, had been in a relationship with her for a decade. Hollis, who started dating Tolley after James, was attacked by James in a jealous rage while James’ own children were asleep upstairs.
James was sentenced to 14 years in prison for manslaughter and possessing a bladed article in public. He also pleaded guilty to assaulting Tolley before the fatal stabbing of Hollis.
