Samuel Jingle murdered Ms Murray. Her family says he ‘smiled’ as he was arrested

Warning: this report contains the name of a deceased Indigenous person, with her family’s permission. It also contains distressing details.

A West Australian man has been jailed for life over the random, frenzied and fatal attack on his partner that only stopped when three of his friends broke into his house in a bid to stop the assault.

Samuel Jingle appeared in WA’s Supreme Court on Tuesday, having earlier pleaded guilty to the murder of his partner, known as Ms Murray, in 2024.

The court was told Jingle had been drinking at a friend’s house in the afternoon of December 14 that year, before moving to the Fitzroy Lodge in the evening.

He had a history of domestic violence against Ms Murray. Their relationship had been marred by incidents of infidelity, jealousy, distrust and alcohol abuse at the time of her murder.

Despite his well-known and extensive history of violence, he was not subject to any violence restraining order at the time of her death, and on return from the local pub, he randomly launched a vicious attack on Ms Murray at the family’s house on Flynn Drive.

Jingle stabbed her 15 times – including behind the left ear, and from the back into her chest – fractured her jaw and ribs, and cut her head, face, elbows, knees and forearms.

Ms Murray’s aunt, who had been staying at the couple’s property, walked in on the assault and saw Jingle strangling Ms Murray with a belt on the bed.

She ran outside to try and find the men Jingle had been drinking with to try and stop him, and he continued his vicious attack while she was gone.

The court was told Jingle’s partner was just 35 kilograms and malnourished at the time of the attack, and he launched a prolonged assault on her – punching, stabbing and strangling her until the bedroom floor was covered in her blood.

By the time Ms Murray’s aunt arrived back home with three of Jingle’s friends in tow, the front door was locked, and they had to break in through the rear of the house.

One of the men pushed Jingle off Ms Murray, but stopped short when he realised there was so much blood on the floor she was likely dead.

Another man reported seeing the Ms Murray’s lifeless body, and blocked the entrance to the property to stop anyone else from going inside.

Police and paramedics were called just after 11pm, and Jingle opened the door for them. They found his partner of 10 years face down on the bedroom floor, covered in blood and a blanket.

An electrical cord was wrapped around her neck and a belt was hanging nearby.

Jingle told paramedics Ms Murray was dead.

Her family would later tell police he had a “smile” on his face when he was arrested and walked away by police in handcuffs.

While the implements used to stab Ms Murray were never located, it was later determined she had been stabbed 11 times in her back and four times elsewhere.

The court heard Jingle had never provided an explanation for the frenzied and brutal attack on the mother of his children, although it was likely he was highly intoxicated and experiencing methamphetamine withdrawal at the time of her murder.

This is despite Fitzroy Crossing being a dry community with no takeaway alcohol outlets.

Jingle shared two children with the woman, who are now in the custody of her sister.

Ms Murray’s eldest son told the court in a victim impact statement he was experiencing profound grief, and he had dropped out of school to do handyman work. He told the court he knew Jingle was “crazy” before his mother’s murder.

Jingle was said to have “extraordinary” anger towards Ms Murray and Justice Michael Gething said the “sheer brutality” of the attack was exceptionally serious. He also praised Ms Murray’s who had run for help to try and stop the attack

Jingle was sentenced to life imprisonment with a non parole period of 19 years.

His sentence was backdated to the time of his arrest.

Ms Murray’s brother Gavin spoke outside court on Tuesday and said the sentence was adequate.

“I mean, everybody deserves a second chance, but for him – unlikely,” he said.

“[My sister] was a loving and kind and respectful person, and happy-go-lucky lady.”

Gavin said he wished something had been in place to protect his sister, given Jingle’s previous behaviour.

“Maybe a restraining order or something could [have been] in place,” he said.

“But, you know, it’s life. We have to live by it and learn from my mistake. And now, it’s hard to say, but yeah, we’ve got to carry on and push on for the kids.”

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