Today, the man who raped and murdered Eurydice Dixon was sentenced to life in prison. Outside the court, Eurydice’s dad said that he wanted her remembered “for her wit and her courage and for her kindness, not for her death.”
On June 13th 2018, Eurydice had been walking home from a comedy gig through Melbourne’s Princes Park when she was attacked by Jaymes Todd. Her body was found in the park in the early hours of the morning. She was only 22 years old.
While the sentence was handed down today, the Supreme Court of Victoria has been hearing the case of Jaymes Todd for a while now, and it’s heard some straight up awful stuff. During a plea hearing last month, the court was told that Todd had a “significant” chance of reoffending because he had been diagnosed with sexual sadism disorder. That’s exactly what it sounds like – being turned on by the extreme pain and suffering of others.
Todd had an obsession with super violent sex, rape fantasies, and watched a lot of violent porn and snuff films. Ultimately, his attack on Eurydice was him acting on those fantasies.
Jaymes Todd was given a minimum non-parole period of 35 years. For comparison, this is the same sentence given to Adrian Bayley for the murder of Jill Meagher, Christopher Hudson for the shooting of three people in the Melbourne CBD, and Lindsay Beckett for his role in the Bega schoolgirl murders. It’s not a sentence given out lightly.
The difference is that Jaymes Todd is a lot younger than those other people I just. Seeing as he’s only 20 now, he’ll be 55 years old when he can apply for parole. Realistically, 55 isn’t that old.
Robert Lowe was 57 when he was sentenced for the kidnapping, rape, and murder of six-year-old Sheree Beasley in Melbourne. John Glover, nicknamed Sydney’s “Granny Killer”, was 56 when he killed his first victim. He went on to kill five other women over the next 14 months. Robert Parsons was 55 – the exact same age Jaymes Todd will be when he can apply for bail – when he was sentenced for stabbing his ex-girlfriend 41 times. Eight of those times were through the heart.
And those are just some Australian examples.
Jaymes Todd could absolutely have the potential to offend again once he’s back on the streets, which is a pretty scary thought. We know he stalked Eurydice for over 4km from Flinders Street Station to Carlton North, never dropping back more than 20 seconds behind her. We know he intended to kill her. We know that after the murder, he bought a pie and a coffee and went home to Google rape porn and read articles about Eurydice. We know what he’s capable of.
Jaymes Todd is a clear example of some of the worst humanity has to offer, but back outside the courthouse, Eurydice’s dad showed us some of the best of humanity.
“What I wish for Jaymes Todd, and what I believe Eurydice would wish, is that he gets better and comes to a full realisation of what he has done.” Jeremy Dixon said.
“I extend my sincere sympathies to those who love him. It’s a terrible tragedy all around.”