Your web browser is no longer supported. To improve your experience update it here. News National. Tweet Facebook Mail. A Colombian national who killed a sex worker in her apartment after learning she was transgender will spend at least six years and nine months in jail. He had earlier engaged her services as a sex worker. Her sister Karen McRae told the court she was an intelligent, talented artist and a friend to many.
NSW Supreme Court Justice Dina Yehia said Valencia's sentence of 10 years imprisonment with a non-parole period of six years and nine months does not and cannot measure the value of her life. The judge was not persuaded he had targeted her because he was motivated by hatred or prejudice but reacted in panic. The year-old flew into a rage after learning McRae was transgender, punching her twice before a struggle on the darkened apartment's floor as she defended herself. He placed the electrical cord of a lamp over her neck with some force for several seconds, causing her death.
Valencia was found not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter in February following a judge-alone trial. McRae's already decomposing body was found covered with a pillow and a bloodied blanket. She was wearing tights and a grey long-sleeved top which was pulled down, exposing her breasts. While he did not seek help for McRae after rendering her unconscious, Valencia left the unit likely realising she was dead, and his failure to render assistance did not contribute to it, the judge said.
Justice Yehia said Valencia demonstrated genuine remorse with his early guilty plea, expert observations and representations to the then attorney-general Christian Porter in a letter found when he was arrested in Aruba.
Valencia has demonstrated insight into his offending, with strong prospects of rehabilitation, the judge found.
