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. The tragic incident occurred while they were in court for a mediation hearing related to a dispute over their children’s custody and a financial claim Turner had against Ms. Thomas.
Turner unexpectedly brandished a kitchen knife, which he had concealed, and viciously attacked his estranged partner, stabbing her multiple times including a fatal blow to her neck’s carotid artery. The prosecution emphasized that Turner deliberately chose a public setting to carry out the act, aiming to make a statement through his shocking display of violence.
The horrifying event transpired at the Joondalup courthouse in Perth, Australia, with a court officer present. Surveillance footage captured Turner’s actions before and after the attack, revealing his calculated behavior. It was disclosed in court that Turner had received training in lethal knife tactics in the past, indicating a premeditated nature to his actions.
During his trial, Turner claimed memory loss regarding the incident, attributing it to dissociative seizures resulting from a prior head injury. Despite his defense plea of being mentally unsound at the time of the attack, the jury dismissed it and found him guilty of murder. Subsequently, Turner was handed a life sentence with a minimum term of 24 years behind bars.
In a separate incident, Michael James, 45, was arrested after fatally stabbing Bradley Hollis, 35, with a kitchen knife during a confrontation at his residence in March 2025. The altercation stemmed from James’ jealousy towards Hollis, who had started a relationship with James’ ex-girlfriend. James was sentenced to 14 years in prison for manslaughter, possessing a bladed article, and assaulting his ex-partner prior to the fatal attack, while his own children were asleep upstairs.