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Perth woman Lynn Cannon was brutally murdered the day after celebrating her 51st birthday with family, friends and her new partner.
Her estranged husband Paul Cannon, who she left two years prior following years of emotional abuse, had arrived at the event uninvited and unannounced, seeing Lynn’s new boyfriend for the first time.
Jacqueline Darley, the sister of Lynn Cannon (inset) speaks outside court.Credit: Heather McNeill/Supplied
According to Lynn’s sister, Jacqueline Darley, Lynn’s life had flourished since the separation, with the mother-of-two saving to buy her own home and enjoying her career as a care worker.
But she still cared for Paul and worried about him, often sending him food parcels and lending him money.
“He’s the boys’ dad, he’ll always be in our lives,” Darley said Lynn told her.
“She was a very loyal person, even to those who didn’t deserve that loyalty. She would always put other needs ahead of her own, that kind heart of hers would be her undoing.”
Darley’s words were said through tears as she read aloud her victim impact statement during Paul’s sentencing in the Supreme Court of Western Australia on Tuesday.
The hearing was attended by dozens of Lynn’s grieving family and friends. Lynn’s killer cried and looked down at the floor throughout most of the proceedings.
“Look at me, you coward,” Darley said as she sat in the dock willing Paul to acknowledge her.
After decades of emotional abuse and an eventual separation, Paul had sent threatening texts to Lynn in the months leading up to her death.
“But really, I hope and pray that you are dead before we get to court because really you always have been and always will be a cheating lying slut … hope you die painfully soon,” one read.
After never coming to terms with the end of the relationship, the realisation Lynn had started a new relationship when he attended her birthday party ignited Paul’s worst fears and “bruised his ego”.
The next day, Lynn went to his house to complete some vehicle transfer paperwork around 3pm. It was December 5, 2022. The pair were heard arguing by neighbours for hours, with the shouting escalating into the evening, prompting a neighbour to call police at 8.10pm.
By 8.40pm, Lynn was declared dead by paramedics.
Paul had stood over her, grabbed her hair and shouted, “I told you I was going to kill you”, before stabbing Lynn multiple times in the chest.
He then sat down with two knives in his hands and attempted to self-harm before being taken into custody.
The couple’s young adult son was one of the first family members to arrive on the scene, driving up the street and seeing ambulance and police vehicles outside.
The state prosecutor labelled the killing an act of possessiveness, anger, jealousy and selfishness.
Paul’s defence lawyer Anthony Ayres acknowledged there was little in mitigation he could say of his client, but pointed out there was no knowledge of him being physically violent before the fatal attack.
There was, however, a long history of verbal abuse, which was often witnessed by the couple’s two sons as they grew up.
Paul Cannon, 55, pleaded guilty to the murder of his former wife.Credit: Facebook
Ayres also said Paul had turned to drinking to deal with his rage and sense of injustice about the split.
Darley recalled how she collapsed and was unable to speak on the night she was told her youngest sister had been killed by Paul.
“My little sister, who was so full of life, and so beautiful in every way is no longer in this world,” she said.
“[Lynn] suffered verbal abuse designed to strip her of her confidence all of her married life, but she refused to let it … she would try to keep a positive attitude and would never lose her smile.”
Darley recalled how the couple’s two sons had been left devastated by the loss of their mother.
“She was their rock, their best friend, their counsellor, their irreplaceable mum,” Darley said.
“Seeing them struggle to piece their lives together without her has been really hard. She would be so proud of him, every fibre of their being is from her.
“They’ve spoken about how robbed they feel that she will not be at their weddings, or for the birth of her grandchildren.”
Justice Anthony Derrick will determine Paul’s sentence on Friday.
Crisis support is available from Lifeline on 13 11 14. Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).
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