Family members of a father senselessly gunned down outside a Wodonga party say their healing can finally begin or signup to continue reading Benjamin Paul Stiler, 27, won't be eligible for release from jail until some time around 2043 after gunning down Duwayne Johnson outside a party in January 2022. Five of the late man's family members attended the Wodonga Supreme Court on June 17 to see Stiler sentenced, with some gasping as a maximum jail term of 27 years was imposed with a 21-year minimum. Family members including his grandmother, mother and siblings consoled each other immediately after the sentence was handed down.
Stiler did not react. Mr Johnson's sister Rebecca said the legal proceedings had put the family's mourning on hold. "So now our healing journey begins," she said.
"He's free to go. "He was a beautiful person, he had a very kind heart. "He didn't deserve that.
"No one deserves that. "He had a lot of life to live. "He had a lot of love to give to his children.
" The late man's youngest child was only a few months old when he died, and Mr Johnson had been due to celebrate an older child's birthday the day after his death. "We wanted my brother's voice to be heard," his sister said of attending Monday's sentencing between tears. "We wanted to show he meant something to us.
"He was a great dad. "His kids loved him." Mr Johnson's mother, Patricia, said her son, 26, had always been there for her.
"He'd pick me up if I was down and say 'mum, don't worry about anythi.
