'It's a kick in the face': Woman, now 22, who was high on ice when she fatally stabbed a young father 70 times with gardening tools appeals jail sentence - as grieving family call her a 'monster'

  • Bonnie Sawyer-Thompson was 19 when she killed Jack Nankervis, 23, in 2014
  • She stabbed him 70 times with a gardening tool at her home in Morwell, Victoria
  • Sawyer-Thompson made an application on Tuesday to reduce ten-year sentence
  • Her appeal attempt has since enraged family members of Mr Nankervis 

The family of a man killed by a teenager high on ice say they've been dealt 'another kick in the face' after the killer applied to appeal her ten-year sentence.

Bonnie Sawyer-Thompson was 19 when she killed Jack Nankervis, 23, after stabbing him up to 70 times with a gardening tool at her Morwell unit, 150kms east of Melbourne, in June 2014.

Now 22, and just three years away from being eligible for parole, Sawyer-Thompson made an application to the Victorian Court of Appeal on Tuesday to have her sentence reduced further, News.com.au reported. 

The appeal application has enraged family members of Mr Nankervis, who believe her current decade-long sentence is lenient.

Bonnie Sawyer-Thompson (pictured) applied to appeal her ten-year sentence on Tuesday for killing Jack Nankervis, 23, at her Morwell unit, 150kms east of Melbourne, in June 2014

Bonnie Sawyer-Thompson (pictured) applied to appeal her ten-year sentence on Tuesday for killing Jack Nankervis, 23, at her Morwell unit, 150kms east of Melbourne, in June 2014

Mr Nankervis (pictured) was stabbed up to 70 times with a gardening tool by Sawyer-Thompson who was high on ice 

Mr Nankervis (pictured) was stabbed up to 70 times with a gardening tool by Sawyer-Thompson who was high on ice 

'Bonnie appealing her pathetic sentence is just another kick in the face,' Mr Nankervis' sister Kathleen told the publication.  

'A sentence of ten years is nothing in comparison to the life sentence we have been served.

'No normal person could even fathom bludgeoning someone to death or mutilating another human. She is an animal, a monster.' 

She added that Sawyer-Thompson will still have time to start a family when she is released, while her brother had 'all of those opportunities' taken away.       

Sawyer-Thompson pleaded guilty in 2016 to defensive homicide - a charge which no longer exists in Victoria - and blamed her boyfriend for allegedly ordering her to kill Mr Nankervis.

Now Ms Nankervis says she hopes her brother's face haunts Sawyer-Thompson every night and she is 'eaten alive' by the pain she's caused the family.

The appeal application has enraged family members of Mr Nankervis, who believe Sawyer-Thompson's (pictured) current decade-long sentence is lenient

The appeal application has enraged family members of Mr Nankervis, who believe Sawyer-Thompson's (pictured) current decade-long sentence is lenient

Sawyer-Thompson was just 19 years old when she killed Mr Nankervis (pictured)

Sawyer-Thompson was just 19 years old when she killed Mr Nankervis (pictured)

Sawyer-Thompson pleaded guilty in 2016 to defensive homicide - a charge which no longer exists in Victoria - and blamed her boyfriend for allegedly ordering her to kill Mr Nankervis (pictured)

Sawyer-Thompson pleaded guilty in 2016 to defensive homicide - a charge which no longer exists in Victoria - and blamed her boyfriend for allegedly ordering her to kill Mr Nankervis (pictured)

Ms Nankervis said she never plans to speak to the killer, but would tell her she is a 'revolting and putrid' human if she ever saw her.    

In the Victorian Supreme Court in April 2017, Sawyer-Thompson was jailed for 10 years, with a non-parole period of seven years.

She sought leave to appeal the sentence in the following month, claiming it was manifestly excessive given her young age, guilty plea and the fact she helped police.

Her lawyers said mental health problems, genuine remorse and good rehabilitation prospects should have also been considered.   

In a 2017 Court of Appeal application, she said the sentencing judge also erred in finding the crime to be in the upper range of seriousness.

Sawyer-Thompson was jailed for 10 years, with a non-parole period of seven years for Mr Nankervis's (pictured) killing

Sawyer-Thompson was jailed for 10 years, with a non-parole period of seven years for Mr Nankervis's (pictured) killing

The scene is pictured after Sawyer-Thompson killed Mr Nankervis at her Morwell flat in Victoria's east

The scene is pictured after Sawyer-Thompson killed Mr Nankervis at her Morwell flat in Victoria's east

Sawyer-Thompson previously told court Mr Nankervis was killed under the orders of her boyfriend Phillip Mifsud, who her lawyers said handed her a pick axe and instructed her to also use a knife, ABC reported.

The court previously heard she did not know Mr Nankervis, but the man was known to Mr Mifsud. 

But prosecutor Campbell Thomson said the allegations against Mr Mifsud were false and came 11 months after Mr Nankervis's death. 

No charges have been laid against Mr Mifsud in relation to the killing.  

Court heard the trio took a cocktail of drugs, including GHB and ice, on the morning of the killing, according to News.com.au.

Sawyer-Thompson's defensive homicide charge was abolished by the Supreme Court in Victoria after she was sentenced. 

The charge was initially created in 2005 to help victims of domestic violence.