Warning: This article contains mentions of violence against trans women.
NSW MP Alex Greenwich has added his voice to the campaign to have the sentence of the man who killed Mhelody Bruno reviewed.
Bruno, who was a transgender woman, was visiting the NSW town of Wagga Wagga from The Philippines in 2019 when she was killed.
Earlier this year, Rian Ross Toyer, a former RAAF corporal, was sentenced to 22 months in prison for manslaughter in relation to the 25 year old Filipino woman’s death.
The pair had met on the dating app Grindr and had known each other for around three weeks at the time of her death. Toyer told police he had accidentally killed Bruno during a consensual sexual strangulation.
The judge in the case initially sentenced Toyer to Intensive Order to be served in the community, but was later forced to change the punishment to imprisonment after realising that manslaughter legally required a prison sentence.
New South wales independent MP Alex Greenwich said he was concerned that “for such a violent crime, that such a short sentence was issued”.
“It’s my understanding that the Attorney-General does have powers of appeal with relation to sentencing,” Greenwich told the ABC.
“And it does seem that the sentence handed down in this case was extremely low for what was such a violent crime against a trans woman.”
“And we do know that there are already increased levels of both domestic violence and violent assault against the trans community and it’s time we started to take this a lot more seriously.”
Greenwich has written to NSW Attorney-General Mark Speakman asking his to look into the case.
The call follows concern raised by a wide range of groups who were alarmed at the apparently light sentence that was handed out.
ABC’s Background Briefing reveals information about the death of Mhelody Bruno not heard in the court case
The growing calls for the NSW government to take action follow the ABC radio program Background Briefing airing information about the case that was not heard in court.
The broadcast included that Bruno had been found fully dressed when ambulance officers arrived at the scene, and accounts from those close to her her who alleged that Toyer had threatened to rape her.
As Toyer pleaded guilty to the crime, his case moved straight to sentencing without the need for trial. Whether the information uncovered by the ABC would have made a difference to the sentencing is not known.
Mhelody Bruno transitioned gender as a teenager, and came to Australia for six weeks after having a long distance relationship with another man. The couple spent sometime together on his property outside Wagga Wagga but the relationship did not work out and he dropped her off at Sydney Airport for her return trip to The Philippines.
Bruno however, stayed in Australia, friends say she visited Sydney and Queensland before making her way back to Wagga Wagga. Here she hooked up with Toyer with whom she began a relationship, three weeks before her death.
In the hours leading up to her death friends have reported receiving unusual texts and video calls from Bruno and questions have been raised about potentially inconsistencies in reports from ambulance officers, doctors and statements made by Toyer.
Listen to the audio report Her Name Was Mhelody Bruno
New South Attorney-General says appeals against sentences are rare
“Mhelody Bruno’s death is a tragedy and I appreciate the terrible impact this has had on her family, friends and community, and the concerns they’ve recently raised,” Attorney-General Mark Speakman said in a statement.
“Crown appeals against any sentence imposed in a trial court are rare, and must meet a narrow set of circumstances to proceed.”
OIP Staff
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