DRUG KILLING EXPOSES A a€'DARK UNDERBELLYa€TM

The motiveless, amphetaminefuelled murder of a young man by his best
friend exposed a 'dark underbelly' in society, Justice John McKechnie
said yesterday.

Justice McKechnie made the comments in sentencing suburban drug
dealer Srdjan Cecez, 22, to a 17 1 /2-year jail term after a Supreme
Court jury found him guilty yesterday of wilfully murdering Milan
Tomasevic, 19, in September 2004.

During a seven-day trial, the court was told that Cecez suddenly
stabbed his best friend in both the neck, severing his carotid
artery, and back with a big butcher's knife while they were doing a
late-night drug deal at a Balga house.

Cecez then drove the dying victim to a truck stop 20km south of
Lancelin and dumped his semi-naked body in scrub.

Justice McKechnie said the apparently motiveless murder exposed a
'dark underbelly' in society.

Both Cecez and Mr Tomasevic had been using and dealing in
amphetamines since early 2004 and had set up a clandestine laboratory
in the Chisholm Way house where the killing occurred. Cecez had
snorted a line of speed only hours earlier and was described by
witnesses as "ooping out" and "looking funny" .

"This was an amphetamine-fuelled crime," Justice McKechnie said.

He said the jury rejected Cecez's attempt to blame two other men who
had witnessed the killing. He said the killer had embarked on a plan
to ensure his friend would die and to divert blame.

After stabbing Mr Tomasevic twice, Cecez repeatedly beat him with a
spirit level before driving him out of the metropolitan area to hide
his body. He then covered bloodstains in the car before hiding it off
a bush track. Cecez also lied to Mr Tomasevic's family when they were
frantically looking for him.

Justice McKechnie said Cecez had only been interested in protecting
himself. The judge rejected defence submissions that Cecez's actions
were affected by post-traumatic stress disorder from his experiences
as a child in the 1990s Bosnian war.

Cecez, formerly of Kiara, was sentenced to a mandatory life jail with
a minimum of 17 1 /2 years, backdated to September 2004.

Outside court, Det-Sgt Rod Wilde, from Major Crime, said Ceceza€TMs
use of amphetamine appeared to be the main trigger for the murder.

"The family are searching for answers and they are finding it
difficult to understand why his best friend would do this to him," he said.

"There certainly is an underbelly of crime and drugs and
methamphetamine is definitely fuelling a lot of these offences.