Court finally hears Jason Downie own up-Kapunda Triple Murders UPDATE sentenced to life min 35 YEARS

35 friggin BLOODY YEARS. A BIG DISCOUNT NO DOUBT TO HIS PATHETIC LATE GUILTY PLEA (WHICH IS ONLY A WORD TO THE SHIT HEAD)

Finally this bastard admits his guilt in open court and surviving members get to read their victim impact statements. What a filthy gutless person he is.Devoid of any manhood that could allow anyone to not return his affections and not respond in a fury of despicable outrage and savagery. The fact he committed the devastating crime of the century in his community was never beyond doubt, as is often the way in a small community where there are few secrets. But Downey spend months and months hiding behind all sorts of legal manoeuvres and applications to do nothing but extend the time that the poor family would find justice!

Many long time members to this site came here for the very fact they had NOWHERE else to turn to discuss and vent their anger at Downey and their sorrow for the family. Pathetic SA Laws letting pricks like him hide behind ancient suppression orders was never going to stop us here.. This case is probably the very reason I feel most satisfied in starting the site. I want to thank each and every person that has even decided to put finger to keyboard (Used to be pen to paper, gee when was the last time you “Wrote to a paper?”)

Having their say without being cut off, ignored, refused or censored on their view. Both supporters and Jason and the Rowe family have done it tough, but all I care for is that we were here for the victims at the end of the day!

Thank-you to you all, and may the Rowe family and friends, as well as the small tight knot community of Kaunda feel a sense of closure and satisfaction in the system.

Folks here have dedicated many many hours, days and months to this crime and you are to be commended. Especially those from the town, who have stood by what their town was telling them in the early days when the do gooders were saying what about innocent until proven guilty….etc etc…(We still await a final sentence of this snake-belly, but he will not leave jail dead or alive….) Searching this site you will find hundreds and hundreds of comments based on the case that will never see the day of light in any book or movie, but the folks from Kapunda are probably pretty happy with that.

FINALLY THE SENTENCE WAS HANDED DOWN TODAY TUE 17TH APRIL 2012

THE murders of Andrew, Rose and Chantelle Rowe were calculated, cold-blooded, merciless and deserving of no less than 35 years’ jail, the Supreme Court has ruled.

Justice John Sulan this morning jailed Jason Alexander Downie for life, with a 35-year non-parole period, for the November 2010 murders in Kapunda.

More than 100 friends and family of Rowes listened, wept and shouted abuse at Downie as Justice Sulan said words could not adequately describe the murders and their impact.

They were caught off-guard, however, when his sentencing remarks went into further graphic detail about the murders.

“Andrew Rowe was either awake or somehow became aware of an intruder … when you (Downie) made a noise, he was alerted to your presence,” Justice Sulan said.

He said Downie grabbed a knife from the family’s kitchen, confronted Mr Rowe and stabbed him 10 to 15 times, then once more in the back as he turned away.

Horror in Kapunda
Christopher Rowe’s statement
TRIPLE MURDERER JAILED: Jealous killer gets 35 years for slaughter Adelaide Now, 1 hour ago
Killer Downie sentence today Adelaide Now, 1 hour ago
‘I deserve everything that happens to me’ Perth Now, 28 Mar 2012
Evil of a jealous monster Herald Sun, 27 Mar 2012
All issues to be considered Adelaide Now, 26 Mar 2012

Rose Rowe, he said, was the next to die.

“You killed (her) simply because she witnessed your attack on her husband,” he said.

After stabbing Mrs Rowe 50 times, Downie followed Chantelle into her bedroom – she was hiding under her bed.

“You stabbed her two or three times, pulled her out from under the bed … she must have been terrified by what she had seen,” he said.

Thinking she was dead, Downie removed her clothes and, when she regained consciousness, he ran to the kitchen to get another knife.

Justice Sulan said Downie then resumed stabbing Chantelle and, when she “became weak”, raped her.

His recounting of those events sparked outrage in the courtroom, with Chantelle’s family members yelling “you will die” and “they are going to have you” at Downie.

Two women ran from the court in tears, while a third had to use an asthma puffer.

After calling for quiet – and threatening to remove people from court – Justice Sulan resumed sentencing.

He said he rejected Downie’s claims he had gone to the Rowe house to confront Chantelle’s boyfriend, of whom he was jealous.

“I am satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that it was your intention to make sexual advances toward Chantelle Rowe and to have sexual intercourse with her,” he said.

“I am satisfied you held an attraction toward her (but) any relationship (between you) other than that of a friend was a figment of your desire and imagination, rather than fact.

“I am satisfied Chantelle Rowe did not encourage you, nor did she at any time become engaged in a relationship with you.”

He said Downie’s personal history did not exhibit “any of the criminological characteristics” of typical defendants.

“The murders of three innocent victims must carry with it a severe sentence,” he said.

“I do not accept that your conduct was of someone who was not thinking rationally.

“The cold-blooded, merciless attack on Chantelle, who had hidden under the bed in fear, was a chilling act.”

Justice Sulan said Downie’s non-parole period would have been 42 years, if not for his guilty pleas and prospects of rehabilitation.

As Downie was led to the cells, the Rowe family’s supporters yelled “enjoy life in hell, you dog bastard” and “you will not get out anyway, you f..king scumbag”.

Outside court, Andrew and Rose’s son, Christopher, was too distraught to speak.

His cousin, Kylie Duffield, read a statement on his behalf.

“Whilst many feel my family and I have reached some form of justice today, I find it hard to agree,” it said.

“The meaning of justice is the quality of being just and fair, or the punishment being proportionate to the offence.

“The lives of my dad, mum and sister (being) viciously taken by someone of sound mind qualified this bastard, Jason Downie, to 35 years non-parole, whilst my family and I continue to serve life.

“Please explain to me the ‘justice’ in this.”

Christopher said he was thankful only that he and his supporters had been spared a trial.

“This is not a justifiable offence, he cannot return my family to me, so why should he have the right to any definition of life?” he said.

“We can close this chapter and now we can start to focus our strength on keeping mum, dad and Channy’s memories alive.

“I can slowly try to find my own way to survive this.”

Director of Public Prosecutions Stephen Pallaras, QC, said the family had a new challenge ahead of it.

“I think today was the beginning of a long road for the family that has been so cruelly visited by these crimes, the beginning of a long road of adjustment, the beginning of a long road of mourning and hopefully of healing,” he said.

“For the community of Kapunda, one would hope that it’s the beginning of recovery.

“The 35-year sentence will certainly give Mr Downie a long time to contemplate the sanctity of human life.”

Major Crime Investigations Branch Detective Superintendant Grant Moyle said no sentence could adequately account for Downie’s crimes.

“But nonetheless, 35 years is a long time and the reality he’s facing now is his 21st, his 30th, his 40th and his 50th birthday in prison,” he said.

“That’s a lot of life he’s not going to live in the community like the rest of us.

“We hope that is of some comfort to the family. It will never bring back the three Rowe members but nevertheless it’s closure for the family at this time.”

ONE OF THE STATE’S MOST NOTORIOUS KILLERS

Jason Downie’s horrific crime and lengthy sentence means he has entered the pantheon of South Australia’s most notorious killers.

The state’s longest non-parole period is 39-and-a-half years, imposed upon Michael Barry Fyfe.

Fyfe’s record is the result of multiple crimes – he killed another prisoner while awaiting sentence for attempted murder.

He has spent more than 15 years of that time in solitary confinement in the maximum-security G Division.

Snowtown “bodies-in-the-barrels” serial killers John Justin Bunting and Robert Joe Wagner were jailed for life, and the Supreme Court declined to set non-parole periods.

Killers Angelika Gavare, Michelle Burgess and Edward Yost each received non-parole periods in excess of 30 years.

Downie, 20, had previously pleaded guilty to three counts of murder.

In the early hours of November 8, 2010, he gained access to the Rowe’s home – on Harriet St, Kapunda – before killing them.

Downie sexually assaulted Chantelle, 16, as he stabbed her at least 33 times.

He then stripped the girl of her bloody, torn clothes and redressed her.

The body of Chantelle’s father, Andrew, was found at the end of the kitchen bench – he had been stabbed, slashed and cut 29 times.

His wife, Rose, was found just metres away.

Experts concluded she had been stabbed at least 50 times in two separate attacks, and likely while she was crawling on her hands and knees.

Pieces of the knife or knives used in the attacks were found lodged in Andrew’s and Rose’s bodies.

Experts further concluded Downie had fled the scene in his socks after trying unsuccessfully to clean up the blood.

The only witness account of the murders came from the family’s neighbour, who heard Rose scream “help” three times just after 1am.

He reported hearing the sound of “someone falling to the floor”, followed by Andrew’s screams, and then silence.

The only surviving member of the family was Chantelle’s older brother, Christopher.

At the time of the murders, he had been on a Queensland holiday with his fiancee, and learned of the deaths through Facebook.

He chose to honour his family’s memory through tattoos on both his arms.

“In loving memory of Chantelle Marie Rowe, gone but not forgotten,” read the markings on his left arm.

“In loving memory of Andrew Peter Rowe (and) Rosemary Joy Rowe, forever in my heart,” read the other.

Downie returned to work the day after the murders, blaming scratches up and down his arms on a cycling accident.

Five days later, a TV camera crew filmed him visiting a memorial for the family and pausing to look at the flowers and cards.

He was arrested on November 16, 2010, after voluntarily attending Kapunda Police Station at the request of Major Crime detectives.

A suppression order was immediately placed on his name and image but proved useless – Downie’s identity was published throughout the internet.

A search of his personal websites revealed a basketball-obsessed, horror-movie-loving teenager who referred to the regional town as “Krapunda”.

He showed no emotion in his initial court appearances, be they in person or via video-link.

Finally, the day before the one-year anniversary of the murders, Downie’s cool facade broke.

Asked to enter pleas to the charges, he swallowed hard before replying “guilty”.

Though relieved by the confession, Major Crime detectives took the unusual step of commenting on the case prior to sentencing.

“His guilty pleas should not be seen as any sign of remorse, on his part, for three murders which I think were of a truly savage nature,” Detective Superintendent Grant Moyle said on December 13.

“(They do) mean many people will not have to recount the nature of the crime scene (and) for the relatives and police officers involved, that’s a relief.

“The family members are suffering, and they will suffer more.”

Director of Public Prosecutions Stephen Pallaras, QC, took an even more unusual step and asked the Supreme Court to order Downie to re-enter his guilty pleas.

This was, he said, because of conversations – intercepted by police – the killer had with his mother and brother.

Mr Pallaras said that, from jail, Downie wrote to his mother claiming he had pleaded guilty only because police would not believe the truth.

He said he had driven by Chantelle’s home and noticed blood on the walls, and had then run inside to find Andrew and Rose both dead.

“I saw Chantelle’s feet under the bed … she was alive, I put her in bed,” he wrote.

“She had cuts everywhere … she said ‘help’ and she died in my arms.

“I f..ked up, mum, I’m sorry, I should have rung the police.”

Mr Pallaras said Downie had repeated those lies to his brother even after pleading guilty.

He identified the “real killer” as a man dressed in “dark clothing with a green shopping bag”, whom he’d claimed to have seen in the area.

“He lied to police, he lied to his mother, he lied to his brother, he lied to his psychologist – he has lied to everyone who has spoken to him about this case,” Mr Pallaras said last month.

“Your Honour will be waiting for an explanation that might begin to make sense of these killings … I regret that you will be waiting in vain.

“We have a vicious killing, followed by a vicious killing, followed by a vicious killing … there is only one man who knows why he wreaked such vengeance on this family and, to this day, he has not given those details to police.”

Mr Pallaras said that, as far as could be determined, Downie was motivated by sexual obsession.

He said Chantelle had been dating a teenager named Dylan Pratt, who was friends with Downie.

Downie pestered Chantelle on her Facebook page and repeatedly drove past her house – unwanted attention she endured for Dylan’s sake.

“Downie was, it seems, fantasising over the true nature of their relationship,” Mr Pallaras said.

“He was becoming increasingly sexually infatuated by Chantelle.

“Everything (in the evidence) suggests he was unrequitedly sexually attracted to Chantelle, which may form the beginning of an explanation.”

Greg Mead, SC, for Downie, said the case was simple.

“The explanation is as old as humanity itself – ordinary, unremarkable, common jealousy,” he said.

“Faced with resistance from Andrew and Rose Rowe, he seems to have lost total control … he obviously went completely berserk that night.”

Mr Mead said his client was remorseful about his actions and had suffered “post-traumatic amnesia” after the murders.

He also insisted the crimes were not premeditated.

Downie, he said, believed Dylan was in the house and had gone there seeking a confrontation over Chantelle’s affections.

“(Downie) did not go there armed and did not intend to use knives against them,” he said.

“He did not intend a sexual assault, though he may well have been intending to further a relationship with Chantelle.”

Downie was once again emotionless during the sentencing submissions.

He did not react to Christopher Rowe’s victim impact statement, in which the grieving man detailed how much he missed his family.

“In the future, getting married will be hard, having children will be hard … my mum and dad will not be there to be the grandparents they wanted to be,” his statement read.

Christopher also paid tribute to his sister, Chantelle, who “couldn’t wait to be 18”.

“I planned to teach her to drive when I got back from my Queensland holiday,” he wrote. “Now I will not get the chance to do that.

“Chantelle took (lots) of photos of our family and, now, that’s all I have … I feel empty. No matter what anyone does, it’s not going to bring them back or change it.”

Downie’s expression changed, however, when Andrew’s sister, Sue Mahoney, confronted him across the court room.

She had just one question for the young man who killed her beloved brother: “Why?”

“It consumes my every waking moment … (medication) doesn’t help or lessen my hatred,” Mrs Mahoney said.

“I feel so much anger, hate and dislike toward Jason Downie and I will never forgive him. We have to live with this loss for the rest of our lives … it’s only fair he serves the rest of his (in jail).”

Mrs Mahoney’s words struck home – Downie glared at her, then leaned forward and scowled, as she bemoaned his “right” to go on living.

Rose Rowe’s brother, Ray Maurici, also struck home when he called Downie “an animal”.

The killer scowled as Mr Maurici dubbed him a remorseless killer “all because you couldn’t have my niece”.

The day after sentencing submissions, the Supreme Court released a copy of Downie’s hand-written apology to The Advertiser.

“First of all I would like to apologise for my recent actions on November 8th 2010,” the letter, written in January 2011, reads.

“I have caused so much pain not only in my own family but many others … this whole situation is eating me alive.

“I had a career, car, friends and most important I had my family … now due to my actions I have nothing.

“I have hurt a lot of people for what I’ve done … I know that no matter what my sentence I may get (sic) it will never be enough.

“As much as I hate to say it but (sic) I deserve anything and everything that is going to happen to me.

“I want you to know that if I could turn back time and fix my wrongdoings (sic) I would do it in an instant, but unfortunately I can’t.

“So once again I sincerely apologise for my actions from the bottom of my I’m (sic) truly sorry.”

In court, Mr Pallaras rejected the letter as another lie, saying it pre-dated Downie’s claims of innocence to his mother and brother.

Downie confirms Kapunda triple-murder guilt; public told details of Rowe family killings

FOR the first time, an Adelaide court has heard the circumstances and motive behind the massacre of Kapunda’s Rowe family.

Jason Downie murdered Andrew, Rose and Chantelle Rowe because of his sexual obsession with 16-year-old Chantelle.

Details of what occurred inside the Harriet St home in November 2010 were revealed in the Supreme Court this morning.

Prosecutors told the court that Downie had an unwanted and unreturned sexual infatuation with Chantelle in the months leading up to the triple murder.

They said she put up with his unwanted attitude because he was friends with her boyfriend.

However, prosecutors stressed that at no time was Chantelle in a relationship with Downie.

Prosecutors also described new details about the murder scene, saying it would “not be an exaggeration” to call it blood-soaked.

‘We are living through hell every day’

Town refuses to become a victim

Horror in Kapunda

They said Downie stabbed Andrew 29 times, and Chantelle at least 33 times.

Prosecutors said that while murdering Chantelle, Downie also sexually assaulted her.

Following the attack, he removed her damaged clothing and re-dressed her in clean clothes.

Chantelle’s mother, Rose, was stabbed at least 50 times, including while she was crawling on her hands and knees.

Prosecutors told the court that pieces of the murder weapon – a kitchen knife – were found lodged in the bodies of Andrew and Rose.

The court has also heard highly emotional victim impact statements from relatives and friends of the Rowe family.

Downie, who confessed to the killings, showed little reaction during many of those statements.

However, he glared at Andrew’s sister when she confronted him across the courtroom and asked what right he had to “take away three angels”.

At the start of today’s hearing, Downie again pleaded guilty to three counts of murder committed on November 8, 2010 .

His pleas were confirmed at the insistence of Director of Public Prosecutions Stephen Pallaras, QC.

In an unusual move, Mr Pallaras had last month asked Justice John Sulan to “re-arraign” Downie before sentencing submissions were heard.

“We are aware of a conversation had by the accused, with his brother, in which he expressed an attitude inconsistent with his plea,” Mr Pallaras told the court on February 7.

“That attitude is also found in a letter he wrote, to his mother, on an earlier date.

“We are concerned that his pleas of guilty be seen to be unequivocal… the last thing we want is a reversal of plea.

“We urge Your Honour to confirm that he has consciously pleaded guilty and that those are unequivocal pleas of guilty to these charges.”

Justice Sulan is now hearing sentencing submissions – including an expected 26 victim impact statements written by the family’s surviving son, Christopher, and their friends and family.

Five days after the murders, a TV crew recorded Downie visiting a memorial for the Rowe family.

He was seen walking along their property’s rear fence and pausing to look at flowers and cards before walking off.

Downie was arrested on November 16, 2010, after voluntarily attending the Kapunda police station.

Just hours before, detectives had contacted one of his workmates and asked that he “bring Downie in” for questioning.

Downie’s outsider status was backed up by his profiles on social networking websites.

They revealed his hatred for Kapunda – which he dubbed “Krapunda” – but also claimed he was popular.

It listed him as being “in a relationship” and said he enjoyed “partying and hanging out with my friends”.

“I love my sport, I am very active on and off the basketball court if you know what I mean,” he wrote.

The sites also detailed his love of basketball and the Saw horror movies, as well as his devotion to his mother, despite their occasional clashes.

Both of Downie’s pages listed Chantelle as a friend.

The “best thing” to ever happen to Downie, he wrote on one site, was “leaving school”, while his worst fear was “not seeing my family”.

“Love my family in Scotland, haven’t seen them for six years,” he wrote.

“I grew up without a dad since I was two months old, so I have been raised up by my mum all my life … I respect and love her to death, even though we have our bad moments.”

AdelaideNow understands Downie’s birth certificate does not list the identity of his father.

His brother, Jamie, was living in Kapunda at the time of the murders.

His half-sister, Jodie, lives in Kilmarnock, Scotland, and was in regular correspondence with her brother prior to his arrest.

From the ABC

Testimony sheds light on frenzied triple murder

By Loukas Founten and Candice Marcus

Updated March 27, 2012 07:51:48

Family and friends of three people killed in a frenzied stabbing attack in mid-north South Australia have spoken of their hatred and anger toward the murderer.

Teenager Chantelle Rowe and her parents Andrew and Rose were killed at the family’s home in Kapunda in November 2010.

Jason Alexander Downie, 20, has confirmed his guilty pleas to three counts of murder in the Supreme Court in Adelaide.

Downie listened as the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Stephen Pallaras, described the injuries suffered by each of the victims.

He said 16-year-old Chantelle was stabbed at least 33 times, her father at least 29 times and her mother at least 50 times.

Mr Pallaras described the grisly scene in the Harriet Street home.

“It is no exaggeration to say the hallway and floors throughout the house were covered in blood,” he said.

“It appears from the position of the bodies of Andrew and Rose Rowe and the positioning of their blood that, even after he had stabbed them and attempted to clean up their blood, he went back to them and stabbed them again.”

Mr Pallaras told the court Downie gave a number of contradictory statements to police and lied about cuts on his hands and forearms.

Many of the family and friends of the Rowes who had packed the courtroom left as the extent of the crime was revealed.

Infatuation

Defence lawyer Greg Mead QC told the hearing Downie was jealous Chantelle Rowe was dating his friend.

He said Downie’s infatuation with the teenager had turned to resentment and anger and ultimately homicidal rage.

Mr Mead said many would think his “weedy” client (at 52 kilograms) would not be capable of a such a crime.

“He unleashed an attack which will not seem possible from someone of his stature,” he said.

“Obviously he went completely beserk that night. He seems to have lost all control.

“[He was an] immature young man who could not have been aware that he was capable of such violence.”

Mr Mead told the court a sexual attack on Chantelle Rowe happened shortly after the stabbing, and family members in the courtroom yelled out “gutless bastard”.

The defence lawyer said Downie originally told police “stupid, childish lies” but that had “simply emphasised his lack of maturity”.

He told the court Downie eventually cooperated with police, taking them to the site where he had dumped the clothing and shoes he wore during the attack.

Mr Mead said Downie also took police where he said the murder weapons had been dumped, but no weapon was found.

Apology letter

He told the hearing Downie could not remember much of the attack, but was beginning to understand the enormity of his crime and deserved credit for his admission of guilt.

“He has written a letter of apology to the family of the victims but admits no words will restore the Rowes to their family,” the court was told.

He has written a letter of apology to the family of the victims but admits no words will restore the Rowes to their family

Greg Mead QC

Mr Mead told the court Downie’s own family had been shocked by the nature of the crimes.

“His family must’ve found it unbelievable that this skinny young man, who never answered back to his mother or been in a fight, had committed this crime,” he said.

Mr Mead said his client experienced a mental “numbing” after the attacks.

“It was a self-protection reflex action he had to get past in order to fully face up to what he has done,” he said.

Downie sat stony-faced while more than 20 victim impact statements were read to the court.

Surviving son and brother, Christopher Rowe, told Downie he was struggling to deal with his grief at losing his family.

He said he felt empty as he thought daily about those he had lost.

Others told the court of their hate and anger towards Downie and questioned why and how he could commit what they described as an evil and heinous crime.

Downie confirmed his guilty pleas at the latest hearing after questions were raised by prosecutors last month about the legitimacy of his admissions.

Downie will automatically be jailed for life and Justice John Sulan will set a non-parole term next month.

The DPP said Downie was entitled to credit for his guilty pleas but the non-parole period needed to be significant.

JASON Alexander Downie says he deserves “anything and everything that is going to happen to me” for the murders of Andrew, Rose and Chantelle Rowe.

SA triple killer was jealous, court told

A court has been told jealousy was the reason a man went ‘beserk’ and killed three people in Kapunda.

26 March 2012

Watch More Video

The Supreme Court yesterday released Downie’s written apology – branded inadequate even by his own lawyer

In it, the triple killer takes full responsibility for his crimes, which he says are “eating me alive”.

“From the bottom of my heart I’m deeply sorry for my actions,” he says. “I have hurt a lot of people for what I’ve done … I know that no matter what my sentence I may get (sic) it will never be enough.

“As much as I hate to say it but (sic) I deserve anything and everything that is going to happen to me.”

Prosecutors have challenged Downie’s claims of remorse.

They say that after writing the letter in January 2011, he told his family he was innocent – and tried to blame a mystery man with a shopping bag.

Downie, 20, has confessed to murdering the Rowes.

The murders took place in their Harriet St, Kapunda, home in November 2010. He was sexually obsessed with Chantelle, 16, who did not return his affections.

In a frenzied attack, Downie stabbed, slashed and cut each member of the family more than 20 times, and sexually assaulted Chantelle while murdering her.

In court on Monday, defence barrister Greg Mead, SC, said Downie had written a letter of apology, in custody, to the Rowes’ extended family. “It expresses, to the best of his abilities, his sorrow over what he has done,” he said.

“It’s inadequate, but the importance of the letter is that he did write it.”

The one-page, hand-written letter is dated January 20, 2011 – two months after the murders.

“First of all I would like to apologise for my recent actions on November 8th 2010,” he says. “I have caused so much pain not only in my own family but many others.”

Downie admits his words “may not mean a lot” to people, but he feels he must apologise.

“This whole situation is eating me alive,” he says. “I had a career, car, friends and most important I had my family … now due to my recent actions I have nothing.”

Downie singles out the Rowes’ surviving son, Christopher, for a personal apology.

“I can’t imagine what he would be feeling as he lost the most important people in his life,” he says.

“I want you to know that if I could turn back time and fix my wrongdoings (sic) I would do it in an instant, but unfortunately I can’t. So once again I sincerely apologise for my actions from the bottom of my I’m (sic) truly sorry.”

On February 3, 2011, a suppression order on Downie’s identity was lifted.

Soon after, he wrote a second letter – this one to his mother. After promising to “take responsibility” for his actions, Downie insists he is innocent.

“On the night Chantelle was murdered I was there, but I had nothing to do with it,” he says in that letter, which was read to the court on Monday. Downie claims Chantelle “died in my arms” after he entered her blood-soaked house and found her parents dead. He tries to blame the crime on a dark-clothed man who was carrying a green shopping bag.

“I f…ed up, mum, I’m sorry, I should have rung the police,” he says. On November 9, 2011, Downie pleaded guilty to the murders in the Elizabeth Magistrates Court. Five days later, he rang his brother Jamie from the Adelaide Remand Centre and again protested his innocence.

“F…, if I plead not guilty and I’m found guilty, which my lawyer reckons would happen, I would never be released,” he said in the call, which was relayed in court on Monday.

Asked to respond to that evidence, Mr Mead said people showed contrition differently to one another. A lack of “tears and emotion”, he said, should “not be confused” with a lack of remorse.

“If it be said against him that he has shown no remorse, I ask Your Honour to note his guilty pleas (and) the letter of apology.” Downie will be sentenced next month.

We are living through hell every day, Rowe family relatives tell in victim impact statements

THE family and friends of Jason Downie’s victims have vowed never to forgive him for taking away “three angels”.

She had just one question for the young man who killed her beloved brother, Andrew: “Why?”

“It consumes my every waking moment … (medication) doesn’t help or lessen my hatred,” Mrs Mahoney said.

Mrs Mahoney’s words struck home – her’s was the victim impact statement that provoked the biggest reaction from Downie. He glared at her, then leaned forward and scowled, as she bemoaned his “right” to go on living.

Rose Rowe’s brother, Ray Maurici, also struck home when he called Downie “an animal”.

The killer scowled as Mr Maurici dubbed him a remorseless killer “all because you couldn’t have my niece”.

More than 60 members of the Rowe and Maurici families held hands and cried during the hearing. Tears flowed when a statement written by Andrew and Rose’s son, Christopher, was read by court staff.

Christopher, sitting in the front row, tore his gaze from Downie as the court heard of his struggle to cope with loss.

His statement said “everything” was different – “every Christmas, every birthday, every special day”.

“In the future, getting married will be hard, having children will be hard … my mum and dad will not be there to be the grandparents they wanted to be,” it read.

He also paid tribute to his sister, Chantelle, who “couldn’t wait to be 18”.

“I planned to teach her to drive when I got back from my Queensland holiday,” he wrote. “Now I will not get the chance to do that.

“Chantelle took (lots) of photos of our family and, now, that’s all I have … I feel empty. No matter what anyone does, it’s not going to bring them back or change it.”

Christopher’s fiancee, Coralie-Anne Glanville-Smith, attacked Downie in her statement.

“You Jason, still have your family – how could you take away someone else’s like that?” she said.

“Do you care, do you have feelings? No, you are stone cold and don’t have feelings, in my eyes.”

She said she was “engaged to the strongest man in the world”, but her heart broke because of Christopher’s pain.

“He is angry with the world, lost and doesn’t know where he belongs,” she said.

“We are living through this nightmare and hell every day of our lives.”

How Jason Downie became a frenzied killer

FRIENDS have described him as weak and eager to please, workmates say he was slow and his brother refers to him as “a shy mummy’s boy”.

Yet, somehow Jason Alexander Downie, weighing just 52kg, managed to sexually assault and murder a teenage girl before overpowering and killing her father and mother.

Yesterday, lawyers struggled to explain how a boy with no criminal history, no substance abuse problems and a normal home life had committed one of the state’s most gruesome crimes.

“It’s clear that he unleashed a ferocious attack that would not seem to be possible from a person of his physical attributes,” Greg Mead, SC, for Downie, said.

“He was transformed by some inner passion into a frenzied killer in a way no one – including him – could have foreseen or expected.

“This immature young man would have no idea … he was capable of such violence.”

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But Director of Public Prosecutions Stephen Pallaras QC said that Downie was not immature – rather, he was deceitful.

Last month, Mr Pallaras made the unusual request that Downie re-enter his guilty pleas after police intercepted conversations with his mother and brother.

Yesterday, he revealed why he had been concerned.

He said Downie had first told police he barely knew Chantelle Rowe, then claimed they were close friends.

Downie had blamed cuts on his arm, inflicted during the murders, first on a bike-riding crash and then on a motorcycle accident.

In jail, he wrote a letter to his mother claiming he had pleaded guilty only because police would not believe the truth.

He said he had driven by Chantelle’s home and noticed blood on the walls, and had then run inside to find Andrew and Rose both dead.

“I saw Chantelle’s feet under the bed … she was alive, I put her in bed,” he wrote.

“She had cuts everywhere … she said ‘help’ and she died in my arms.

“I f..ked up, mum, I’m sorry, I should have rung the police.”

Mr Pallaras said Downie had repeated those lies to his brother even after pleading guilty.

He identified the “real killer” as a man dressed in “dark clothing with a green shopping bag”, who he’d claimed to have seen in the area.

“He lied to police, he lied to his mother, he lied to his brother, he lied to his psychologist – he has lied to everyone who has spoken to him about this case,” Mr Pallaras said.

“Your Honour will be waiting for an explanation that might begin to make sense of these killings … I regret that you will be waiting in vain.”

Rowe Family angry at killer Jason Downie’s letter of apology

JASON Downie’s letter to the family of his murder victims means nothing to those it is addressed to and they say they will never accept an apology.

Clinical psychologists say the letter shows “a child-like reaction to a horrendous crime” and was most likely never intended to reach the victims’ family. Even though it shows “signs of remorse and a capacity to empathise with the victims’ family members”, the experts say it is hard to know if that remorse is genuine, reported AdelaideNow.

The Rowe family said they were “disgusted” they did not know earlier than Monday’s Supreme Court hearing that the teenager who murdered their loved ones in November, 2010, had written an apology.

“My family will never forgive Jason Downie for what he has done,” cousin Tanya Dawson said. “He’s never shown any remorse to family and friends in the courtroom … his letter means nothing to us.”

Andrew Rowe’s sister, Sue Mahoney, said the letter was self-centred and painted Downie as a victim, and Rose’s brother Ray Maurici said the family wanted to know why Christopher Rowe – who is referred to in the letter – was not made aware of the killer’s apology before Monday.

“We don’t want an apology from him. He is not the victim … our family is the victim,” Mrs Mahoney said.

“He had a choice that night and he made that choice. No one put a knife in his hand.”

Mr Maurici said there were lots of answers the family wanted but an apology from the killer would not be accepted.

One Adelaide expert said the apology letter was child-like, while clinical and forensic psychologist Professor Andrew Day, of Deakin University, said the letter may never have been intended to reach those to whom it’s addressed. It was likely written to assess Downie’s ability to empathise with the victims and as an introduction to a violence intervention program.

“It would seem he has written the letter when he’s in the very early stages of understanding what he has done,” Professor Day said.

“It is very self-centred and that’s often the case for violent offenders … what it means for them and what he’s lost.”

Kapunda murderer Jason Downie apologises for his frenzied killing of Chantelle Rowe’s family

by: By Sean Fewster

March 28, 2012

JASON Alexander Downie says he deserves “anything and everything that is going to happen to me” for the murders of Andrew, Rose and Chantelle Rowe.

SA triple killer was jealous, court told

RED CAR — Chantelle Rowe with Jason Downie.