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Herman Rockefeller - Source: ONE News -
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The pair who killed multi-millionaire businessman Herman Rockefeller, whose body was dismembered and burnt after a swingers' rendezvous went wrong, have been jailed for the "incalculable" damage they caused to his family.
Rockefeller was killed in January after he failed to bring along a partner to have sex with swingers Bernadette Denny, 42, and Mario Schembri, 58, at their unit at Hadfield in Melbourne's north.
On Wednesday, Schembri was jailed for nine years with a minimum of seven years, and Denny for seven years with a minimum of five years, in the Victorian Supreme Court after they both pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
Denny looked down for most of the hearing and sobbed when the sentence was handed down.
The court heard Schembri pushed Rockefeller, sparking a fatal fight, when the Harvard graduate with a dark double life failed to bring his own partner to their meeting.
Rockefeller fell to the ground, hit his head and died.
Schembri then dismembered him with a chainsaw and burnt his body in a 44-gallon drum.
Rockefeller met the couple after he advertised in a swingers magazine to have sex with strangers.
Supreme Court Judge Justice Terry Forrest said while Rockefeller and the accused had made some unorthodox life choices, it was not the court's role to pass judgment.
But he added it was those choices that set the scene for Rockefeller's "totally unnecessary death".
"The damage you have caused to a decent honourable family is incalculable," said Justice Forrest.
The judge said he accepted the death arose spontaneously because the couple believed Rockefeller was trying to take advantage of them.
But he said that the anger they felt ultimately led to Rockefeller's death and without Schembri's "explosive loss of control" the offence would not have happened.
Justice Forrest said while Denny's overall moral culpability was less than Schembri's, it was still considerable.
"You, Mr Schembri, detained Mr Rockefeller and were responsible for perhaps all the heavy blows he sustained," he said.
"It is clear you, Ms Denny, actively assisted and encouraged Mr Schembri to the point of striking Mr Rockefeller yourself.
"It is also clear that whilst Mr Schembri actually dismembered and burnt the body, you, Ms Denny, assisted him to purchase the necessary equipment at Bunnings and Safeway."
Rockefeller's wife Vicky Rockefeller, who the court heard was the victim of horrifying traumas, appeared emotionless as the sentence was read.
A psychological report read to the court said the traumas she had lived through and continues to relive, had imposed a life sentence.
"She is isolated, ... defined by her husband's death, horrendous disposal of his body and the discovery of his secret life," the report said.
Mrs Rockefeller did not comment to reporters outside court.
Manslaughter convictions can attract a maximum jail term of 20 years in Victoria.
