Depraved Vic killer will never be released
Sadistic murderer Michael Cardamone will remain behind bars until the day he dies after his appeal against a life sentence was refused.
The 52-year-old murdered his neighbour Karen Chetcuti-Verbunt in "horrifying, depraved and disgusting" circumstances in January 2016.
On parole at the time for raping a 15-year-old girl, Cardamone held the 49-year-old prisoner for hours, sedating her with horse tranquillisers, tying her with rope and duct tape, injecting her with battery acid and bashing her.
He then doused Ms Chetcuti-Verbunt with petrol, setting her on fire while she was still alive, before running over her dead body with his car.
He was jailed for life without parole in August 2017, the first killer without a prior murder conviction to be jailed without the chance of release.
On Tuesday, his bid for leave to appeal his sentence was refused.
"(The murder) was committed by an offender who had already shown himself to be a serious threat to women," Chief Justice Anne Ferguson said as she delivered her judgment alongside criminal appeal specialist Mark Weinberg.
