As investigations continued into the death of Hannah McGuire, her former partner, Lachlan Young, allegedly sent threatening letters to an individual he suspected was connected to the case. On Monday, Young failed in his attempt to keep these witness intimidation and harassment charges under wraps.
This disclosure followed Young’s decision to plead guilty to McGuire’s murder during his Supreme Court trial that lasted eight days back in July. The 23-year-old from Sebastopol had initially been pleading not guilty until the prosecution rejected his offer to plead to a lesser manslaughter charge.
Young appeared via video link at the Ballarat Magistrates Court to face six charges related to the intimidation and harassment of a witness, which had reportedly occurred around July 23 of last year. The court adjourned the hearing until January 29, coinciding with the timeline for sentencing related to the murder charge.
Court documents indicate that Young is accused of sending menacing letters to the witness, presumably to influence the ongoing investigation. Details of these charges were previously suppressed until the jury reached a verdict in Young’s trial or he entered a guilty plea. During the court session, Young’s defence attorney, Ryan Robertson, argued against the public disclosure of the charges, claiming that the offences had not yet been presented in court and that it was premature to release such information.
However, Magistrate Mike Wardell ruled in favour of allowing the information to surface, citing public interest following the resolution of the murder charge.
Hannah McGuire, also aged 23, was tragically found deceased in her burnt-out car in regional Victoria on April 5 of the previous year, two weeks after her tumultuous relationship with Young ended. After the murder, Young attempted to stage the incident to look like a suicide and even texted her parents pretending to be McGuire before transferring funds from her bank account.
Evidence presented during the murder trial painted a disturbing picture of McGuire’s fear of Young, as she had reached out to the police in February 2023, expressing concerns over his increasingly controlling behaviours. In a chilling revelation just days before her murder, Young allegedly confided in a workmate about plans to incapacitate McGuire and crash the car while she was unconscious.
It is suspected that McGuire was murdered between 1:50 am and 2:53 am on April 5 when she was last seen alive at their shared residence, shortly after arriving to meet Young. Young’s initial claim of accidentally killing McGuire during an argument was abandoned when he admitted to the murder.
Young is set to have a pre-sentence hearing for the murder charge in October before he returns to face the additional charges in January.
For anyone in need of support, services such as 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732), Lifeline (13 11 14), and Men’s Referral Service (1300 766 491) are available.