Paul Charlton sentenced to 24 years in jail for murdering Joanne Howell
The man responsible for the brutal murder of former countdown singer Joanne Howell sixteen years ago has finally faced justice. At a sentencing hearing in Melbourne, a supreme court judge said Paul Charlton tried to cover up his crime and will likely spend the rest of his life in jail.
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00:00 It's unusual to see such jubilation outside the Supreme Court.
00:07 For the family of Joanne Howell, it's a momentous day. After 16 years, finally, justice has
00:14 been served.
00:15 We always had that hope, you know, that little bit of hope and then when we got the phone
00:19 call from the detective to say, "Hey, hey, we've got something."
00:24 For more than a decade, Ms Howell's murder was an unsolved mystery. In 2007, the 51-year-old
00:30 mother and singer was found bashed and strangled to death in her Hughesdale home.
00:35 There's no closure, right? You know, she's missed out on so, so much.
00:40 The prime suspect was her boyfriend, Paul Charlton. Prosecutors said Charlton killed
00:44 Ms Howell because she wanted to leave him. For years, Charlton claimed he was innocent
00:49 and that he'd been out walking the dog when the murder took place.
00:52 New information came to light after police made an appeal in 2020. Charlton was arrested
00:58 days later. Four months ago, he collapsed in court as a jury found him guilty of murder.
01:04 Today, Charlton was jailed for 24 years with a non-parole period of 19 years. Justice James
01:11 Elliott telling him, "You brutally murdered Ms Howell in her own home when she was entitled
01:16 to feel safe."
01:17 Paul Charlton was supposed to be in court today but told authorities this morning that
01:21 he was sick. He learned his fate via video link and shut his eyes as the judge condemned
01:27 his violent crime.
01:28 He was a coward.
01:30 Charlton is likely to die in prison. He'll be 88 years old before he's eligible for parole.
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