‘Terrifying’ Bibbulmun Track attack on hiking tourists sees ute driver jailed for eight years
Updated
A Perth man has been jailed for more than eight years for attacking two Finnish tourists who were hiking the Bibbulmun Track.
Key points:
- Whittaker threatened to kill the hikers after running them down with his car
- The pair managed to overpower Whittaker after hitting them with his shovel
- The judge said Whittaker showed no remorse and continued to blame the victims
Matt Whittaker attacked the 33-year-old hikers in July last year at Paulls Valley, east of Perth, where the 1,000-kilometre track begins.
He pleaded guilty in February to two charges of doing an act likely to endanger their safety or lives.
The District Court in Perth heard the Finnish couple, Queralt Tobarra and Tuomas Tani, were walking along the track when Whittaker ran them down with his ute at a speed of between 60 and 70 kilometres per hour.
‘Your victims believed you were going to kill them’
Whittaker then got out of his vehicle, took a shovel from his ute and said, “I’m going to f***ing kill you”.
He then turned to Mr Tani, climbed on top of him, hit him with the shovel and choked him until he struggled to breathe.
The couple eventually managed to overpower Whittaker after Ms Tobarra hit him over the head with the shovel.
“You caused serious injury to two innocent people,” Judge Belinda Londsdale said in her sentencing remarks.
“Both of your victims were terrified and believed you were going to kill them.”
‘You have no remorse’, judge says
Justice Londsdale said there were aggravating factors to Whittaker’s offending, including that he had methylamphetamine in his system, and had shown “a complete lack of concern” for his victims.
“You have no remorse for your conduct, and continue to blame your victims,” Justice Londsdale said.
Whittaker’s victims, who had been visiting and working in Australia at the time of the attack, watched the sentencing hearing via video link from Helsinki.
The 37-year-old was also sentenced for drug and firearms offences and was made to serve an earlier suspended sentence for indecent assault.
He will serve a total maximum term of eight years and nine months in prison, backdated to July last year.
With time already served his earliest release date is 2025.
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