A heartbroken father has railed at the characterisation of his son’s death as a “misadventure gone wrong”, a court has been told.
Divorce, bankruptcy and citizenship issues – these are all matters that might land you in court. But not all courts are created equal.
Clutching a photo of his son in the Victorian Supreme Court on Friday, John Lovison stared at the two men responsible for the death of his son as he labelled them “gutless dogs”.
“I don’t think you even care, I don’t think you even give Jarred a second thought,” he said.
“You cannot begin to comprehend the damage you have done to us. We cannot stop thinking about how our boy would have felt. The fear he would have been going through.
“It’s so easy for scum people like you to commit a serious crime and claim a hard life, all the excuses under the sun … it’s not right and nor is it fair.”
John Lovison and his wife Dianne (left) after delivering a victim impact statement to the Supreme Court of Victoria. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Nicki Connolly
His comments came after Andrew James Price, 50, and Jake William Brown, 31, returned to court after pleading guilty to manslaughter last month.
The pair had been set to stand trial after pleading not guilty to murder, but the trial was aborted after a last-minute deal was reached on the lesser charge.
Jarrad Lovison, 37, disappeared from the town of Newborough, in Victoria’s southeast, on April 16, 2020, prompting a widespread search effort.
His remains were located five weeks later in the Moondarra State Park after police uncovered a plot to lure him to the remote area and “teach him a lesson”.
Jake Brown has pleaded guilty to manslaughter. Picture: Facebook
Andrew Price pleaded guilty to manslaughter and firearm offences. Picture: Supplied.
The court was told an acrimony had developed between Mr Lovison and Price over a woman, Mr Lovison’s former partner of nine years who he continued to see despite her being in a relationship with Price.
A third person, Samantha Guillerme, 26, was enlisted to lure Mr Lovison to a remote location between the towns of Moe and Walhalla as a “honey pot”.
Guillerme was jailed for 3½ years in February after pleading guilty to manslaughter over her role in the offending.
The court was told Mr Lovison rode a pushbike out to meet her, telling a friend he was hoping to “get some”, and the pair were sitting in a car smoking cigarettes.
Price and Brown, who had been hiding in bushes nearby, jumped into the car with guns.
Mr Lovison’s phone was thrown away and Guillerme drove to a track about 500m away and marched Mr Lovison into bushland.
Guillerme was jailed for luring Mr Lovison to his death. Picture: Supplied.
Jarrad Lovison, pictured with his grandmother, was described as a gentle giant. Picture: Supplied.
The court was told he was either administered or forced to take a potentially lethal dose of the drug GHB before the two men left him there.
He was found dead on May 3, lying on his back with the rear of his head resting on a fallen tree.
Price’s barrister, Tim Marsh, told the court that his client only wanted to “teach him a lesson” and hopefully continue his relationship without interference.
“This should be regarded as a misadventure gone wrong,” he said.
“They were supposed to just leave him in the bush with a long walk back home.”
He said his client was a “simple country family man” whose life had begun to unravel in 2016 after his wife received an ultimately fatal cancer diagnosis.
John Lovison, with wife Dianne, said describing his son’s death as a prank or hijinks gone wrong was ‘so offensive’. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Nicki Connolly
Crown prosecutor Mark Rochford KC said the description of the offending as a misadventure was “totally inappropriate”.
“This is not a spontaneous act … this was a planned exercise,” he said.
“He was left in the dark to die.”
Justice Michael Croucher remanded both men into custody and will hand down his sentence at a later date.