A man who called himself the ‘Hand of Death’ and aspired to be one of Australia’s most prolific serial killers told police ‘I love killing’ after the brutal murder of a homeless man.
Kevin James Pettiford was sentenced to 39 years in prison in the NSW Supreme Court on Wednesday after being found guilty of murder and attempted murder.
The jury found he murdered homeless man Andrew Whyte Murray, 56, by beating him to death with stones in a park in Tweed Heads in far north NSW on November 22, 2019. Four days later he was arrested on a bus in Tweed Heads.
On Wednesday, Judge Hament Dhanji dismissed the killing as a “senseless, brutal killing” that betrayed a “complete lack of humanity.”
“The perpetrator acted on the distorted and deeply abhorrent belief that Mr Murray’s life was somehow less valuable as a result of his circumstances,” he said.
Kevin James Pettiford (photo) will remain behind bars until November 2045
Pettiford was sleeping rough when he came across Mr Murray’s makeshift camp in a park and decided to kill him.
The man was ‘completely defenceless’ when the so-called ‘Hand of Death’ grabbed three stones from a nearby sea wall and smashed them repeatedly into his skull.
Five weeks later the jury found he had slit the throat of fellow inmate Nathan Mellows while in custody at Shortland Correctional Centre.
The court heard he used a homemade shiv made from wire ties and razor blades to sever the man’s carotid artery during the ‘unprovoked attack’.
Pettiford had heard the victim tell “a sob story” about “having nowhere to go” and thought it was “wonderful”, Judge Dhanji said.
He told police that he had killed with a “code” and hunted men he thought were “less alive” and that no one cared about them.
“I like killing,” the court heard when he told police.
Pettiford called himself “the Hand of Death” and told police he was a “calculated and controlled evil.”
He told police he felt “relieved and euphoric” after Murray’s murder, but felt it was a “waste of life.”
Judge Dhanji said he had admitted he had “a long-held desire to kill” and that his violent actions showed “contempt for human life.”
“He has shown nothing that could be described as remorse,” he said.
Pettiford said the murders could have been prevented because he had revealed to a hospital years earlier that he had homicidal tendencies.
He claimed he was mentally disabled at the time of the brutal acts, but the jury found him criminally responsible.
Police arrested Kevin James Pettiford (pictured) on a bus four days after he beat a homeless man to death
Kevin James Pettiford killed homeless man Andrew Murray who was sleeping in the Jack Evans Boat Harbor (pictured) in Tweed Heads in 2019
“Based on the jury’s verdicts, it is clear that the perpetrator knew his act was wrong,” Judge Dhanji said.
“He could reason at least with a moderate degree of feeling and calmness.”
However, he concluded that the killer “suffered and continues to suffer from bipolar disorder,” which “materially contributed to the commission of both crimes.”
Judge Dhanji sentenced Pettiford to a maximum of 39 years behind bars with a non-parole period of 26 years.
Taking into account the time the killer has already served, he will be eligible for parole in November 2045.
Pettiford sat slumped with his head down, twirling his beard in his fingers as the High Court judge described his brutal crimes.
Wearing a green prison tracksuit, he had a blank face as he learned he would spend at least the next 21 years in prison.
Kevin James Pettford was convicted in the NSW Supreme Court on Wednesday
