A father-of-two who stabbed Richard ‘Mikey’ Mills out of jealousy over an affair with his partner has been sentenced to 18 years in prison.
Ricky Duke Doolan, 33, appeared in the New South Wales Supreme Court in Tamworth this week where he was sentenced for the senseless murder of Mr Mills in September 2022.
Doolan pleaded guilty to murdering Mr Mills at a vigil in the northern New South Wales border town of Boggabilla, surrounded by grieving family and loved ones.
Mikey Mills is the brother of Getaway and Channel 9 presenter Matty Mills.
Mr Mills previously told Daily Mail Australia that his brother’s death left him in a state of despair and he hit rock bottom before healing himself through mental and physical training.
“Behind the scenes I was struggling with a lot of mental health issues. The cameras didn’t capture that,” he explained.
The tragedy began in mid-2021 when Mikey Mills began an affair with Doolan’s long-term partner.
“He was initially angry with his partner but expressed his forgiveness to her,” Judge Richard Button said in his sentencing speech on Friday.
Mr Mills was fatally stabbed in the northern New South Wales border town of Boggabilla in September 2022
“The deceased and his own love partner have also reconciled,” the judge said.
However, Doolan also posted messages on Facebook about Mr Mills which showed he wanted to harm him, the court was told.
On September 2, 2022, Mr Mills and his partner travelled from Tamworth to Goondiwindi, in southern Queensland, to attend a funeral.
Doolan and his partner were also there.
Later that day, Mr Mills attended a vigil in Boggabilla, about 10 minutes away but just over the border in NSW.
Doolan’s partner had tried to avoid a confrontation by checking that Mr Mills was present at the wake before arriving with Doolan.
However, she had been mistaken when she thought he was not present, the court was told.
When Doolan arrived, Mr Mills was in the back garden smoking a cigarette. A heated argument ensued.
“I only want to attack you once,” Doolan told Mr Mills before pushing him, the court was told.
In his sentencing comments, Judge Button said Mills did not retaliate and took a step back.
But within seconds, Doolan launched a murderous attack, stabbing Mills 14 times.
As Mr Mills lay defenceless on the ground, Doolan continued the attack.
“The murderous attack was brief,” Judge Button said.
‘Yet fourteen wounds had been inflicted; some of them were deep and very powerful; and there was a phase of the attack when the assailant stood over the deceased, who lay defenceless on the ground, and tried to move, no doubt in a futile attempt to survive.’
Doolan ran from the scene and when emergency services arrived, Mr Mills had no pulse and was later pronounced dead, adding to the grief of other relatives who had buried a loved one earlier that day.
Judge Button described the attack as ‘spontaneous, unplanned, simplistic in its brutality’ and took place after Doolan lost control.
But he discovered that Doolan undoubtedly had the intention to kill.
Judge Button said Doolan had no justification for inflicting a “terrifying and terribly painful” death on Mr Mills during an “armed attack” on a victim who retreated.
“The perpetrator was unable or unwilling to accept that all adults in this country are completely free to enter into romantic and intimate relationships with other adults as they see fit, without facing threats of violence or actual violence, let alone being stabbed to death as a result of their choices,” he said.
The court heard Doolan made “callous” and “vulgar” comments during his flight.
However, Judge Button also indicated that he had since shown remorse by offering a written apology to the court.
The court was told Doolan held his head in his hands as Mr Mills’ family and loved ones made heartfelt victim impact statements during the sentencing hearing.
At the time of his killing of Mr Mills, Doolan was serving a community prison sentence for assault occasioning actual bodily harm. He punched and kicked his partner, leaving him with a broken nose and unconscious.
Doolan was sentenced to 18 years and nine months in prison, with Judge Button imposing a 14-year prison term.
He will first be eligible for release in September 2036.