Twisted killer who beat homeless man to death boasted of his desire to become Australia’s most prolific serial killer

A man who beat a rough sleeper to death with a rock because he ‘always wanted to kill someone’ is facing the possibility of life behind bars.

Prosecutors are seeking a life sentence for a man who beat a rough sleeper to death simply because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Kevin James Pettiford said he went back and forth in his thoughts over whether to kill 56-year-old Andrew Murray, who was sleeping rough in Tweed Heads, far north NSW, in November 2019.

The 38-year-old was arrested shortly afterwards after deliberately beating Murray to death with several large rocks, making a full confession to investigators.

A jury rejected a plea of ​​not guilty on grounds of intellectual disability in December, finding Pettiford guilty of one count of murder and another of attempted murder over a later incident in which he attacked a fellow inmate.

Pettiford told police he wanted to become Australia’s most prolific serial killer.

Crown prosecutor Brendan Campbell told the court life imprisonment was the only appropriate sentence

Crown prosecutor Brendan Campbell told a NSW Supreme Court hearing on Thursday that a life sentence was the only appropriate sentence given the circumstances of the crime.

“It was a brutal, callous murder, which I think fell into the worst category,” he said.

“It was a denial of Mr. Murray’s humanity.”

Pettiford huddled in the dock, dressed in prison greens, as the court considered his fate.

Mr Campbell urged the court to reject the defence’s claim. Pettiford had a form of bipolar disorder and was in a manic state at the time.

He pointed out that Pettiford had considered whether to commit the murder as evidence that the attack was premeditated and that the killer was not in the grip of a manic episode.

The 38-year-old also twice delayed attacking a prisoner, Nathan Mellows, one because he wanted to watch Test cricket on television and another to watch a Star Wars film, the court heard.

Defense attorney Jason Watts said there were varying degrees of manic episodes and Pettiford’s presentation had been different since he started his current regimen of psychiatric medication.

Murray’s daughter Kate made a victim impact statement in the NSW Supreme Court on Thursday

Murray’s daughter Kate told the court that Pettiford had robbed her of a future with her father, who had a “wicked sense of humour” and was often too smart for his own good.

“My father didn’t get the chance to walk me down the aisle at my wedding or do a father-daughter dance that I’ve seen so many of my friends enjoy,” she said in a victim impact statement.

“He won’t be here to witness the birth of his first granddaughter.”

Mrs Murray said the loss of her father was compounded by the circumstances of his death.

“Our family is suffering deep sadness and anger… because of one choice – one bad choice,” she said.

Pettiford said he had a tendency to kill from a young age. He told police it got “worse” as he got older and he didn’t know why.

He described himself as ’emotionless’ during the attack and hit Mr Murray in the temple five or six times with three large stones.

‘He was in the wrong place at the wrong time. That was it,” he told police.

The case will be heard on March 27.

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