Killer Plotted Against Others

Illawarra Mercury

Thursday August 21, 2008

By VERONICA APAP

BEFORE killing Nowra Hill couple Greg Hosa and Kathryn McKay, Kim Leanne Snibson had spoken to friends about killing two other people at different times, the NSW Supreme Court heard yesterday.

Crown prosecutor Paul Leask said that seven of her friends and associates had given evidence that Snibson had made allegations about people sexually assaulting her or her relatives; asked for their help in exacting revenge against the perpetrators; and in one instance asked for help to kill her neighbour.

Snibson denied those conversations ever happened.

The revelations came during sentencing proceedings after Snibson pleaded guilty in May to murdering Ms McKay and Mr Hosa.

The couple's bodies were found badly burnt in drums in the Tomerong State Forest on January 29, 2006.

Despite her plea, Snibson has used her submissions to Justice Terrence Buddin to argue that she did not actually kill Ms McKay and Mr Hosa.

She claimed Stacey Lea-Caton, 29, killed the couple and threatened her to ensure she did not go to police.

Lea-Caton, of Nowra Hill, pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting in the murders in December and is serving a 22-year sentence.

Andrew Wayne Flentjar, 33, of East Nowra, pleaded guilty to kidnapping the couple and is serving a 10-year sentence.

Mr Leask said one of Snibson's friends gave evidence that in 1997, when Snibson lived in Sydney, she planned to murder her elderly neighbour.

After she moved to Calymea St, Nowra Hill, in 2001 Mr Leask said Snibson offered another friend $30,000 to help her ensure an elderly woman who lived across the road died.

The woman was Judith Palinkas, a dog breeder who died less than two years later of bowel cancer, leaving her house and animals to Snibson despite her having surviving family members.

Snibson denied the allegations and said she did not know why Ms Palinkas left the house to her.

"I didn't ask her to do it," she said.

Mr Leask said Snibson had promised to look after Ms Palinkas' beloved dogs, but Snibson said she made no such promise.

"I said I would look after the older ones but the younger ones would be moved on," she said.

Of the 20 dogs she was left to care for, Snibson said she kept four, put two down and sold the rest for $4000.

Mr Leask accused Snibson of telling five people various stories that involved either herself or a relative being sexually assaulted.

She either sought the assistance of those five people or vowed to get revenge herself.

He said in one case she had said she wanted the alleged perpetrator to sign over the deeds to their house during an assault and on another occasion she offered a friend $50,000 to "punish" a person she was accusing of sexual assault.

Snibson denied any of those conversations took place.

During cross-examination she detailed an affair she claimed to have had with Mr Hosa in 2001, while she was agisting her horses on his farm.

She claimed she revealed their affair to Ms McKay during an argument she and Mr Hosa were having on the day of the murders.

She said it resulted in Ms McKay, Mr Hosa and herself arguing at her Calymea St home, which led to Lea-Caton bashing Mr Hosa with a piece of wood and Flentjar tackling Ms McKay and knocking her unconscious.

Snibson said Lea-Caton killed the couple and forced her to help him put the bodies into the drums, transport them to Tomerong State Forest and set them alight.

This contradicted the evidence given by Lea-Caton and Flentjar who had not met until the day of the killings and had no contact afterwards.

As she recounted the events of that day, Snibson appeared to be crying yet shed no tears throughout the day.

Mr Leask read from Snibson's pre-sentence report which said: "During the interviews for this report, Ms Snibson has not demonstrated any level of remorse for the victims."

However Snibson apologised to Mr Hosa and Ms McKay's family in court yesterday saying the crime made her "sick to my stomach" and there was no reason she wanted her victims dead.

"I think about it every day," she said.

"I wish it had've been me.

"I didn't kill them."

© 2008 Illawarra Mercury

Back to News Index | Back to Home