Closed — final outcome reached

Wyndham Vale Lake Deaths: Trauma, Depression and a Reduced Sentence

👤 Akon Guode 📍 Wyndham Vale, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia 🗓 2015 ⚖️ Two counts of murder; one count of infanticide; one count of attempted murder

Case summary

In April 2015 Guode drove her four-wheel drive into a lake at Wyndham Vale in Melbourne's outer west with four of her children inside. Four-year-old twins Hanger and Madit and 17-month-old Bol died; five-year-old Alual was pulled from the water and survived. Guode pleaded guilty to two counts of murder, the infanticide of Bol, and the attempted murder of Alual. She was sentenced in May 2017 to 26 years and six months. The Victorian Court of Appeal reduced that to 18 years in 2018, holding that 'giving weight to the applicant's mental condition … required significantly more lenient sentences.' The High Court of Australia allowed a Crown appeal in March 2020 and the matter returned for resentencing; in September 2020 she was resentenced to 18 years with a 14-year non-parole period.

Mental-health context

Justice Lex Lasry found Guode, a South Sudanese refugee, was suffering post-traumatic stress and symptoms of depression. The court heard she had witnessed her husband's murder and been raped until she lost consciousness during Sudan's civil war, and that she fell into a deep depression after the birth of her son Bol. The infanticide count reflects Victorian law's recognition that her mind was disturbed following childbirth.

Status / outcome

Sentenced 2017 to 26 years 6 months; after appeals, resentenced September 2020 to 18 years with a 14-year non-parole period

Sources

This summary is compiled from public reporting. Allegations are not findings of fact, and every accused person is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

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