A man who shot his elderly mother dead an hour after fatally shooting his brother in another state has been jailed for 30 years.
Paul Cohrs shot his brother in NSW and then his 81-year-old mother in Victoria in October 2018 after a years-long family dispute.
He was jailed today for a minimum of 23 years in the Supreme Court of Victoria for the murder of his mother Bette Schulz Cohrs.
Cohrs’ act was premeditated and planned, motivated by anger and grievance, Justice Lesley Taylor said in her sentence.
“You targeted an elderly woman who had a right to feel safe in her own home,” Judge Taylor said today.
“I was afraid you would shoot him.
“In his last moments, he would have realized that his fears had been realized.”
The relationship between Cohrs and his brother Raymond became strained in 2012, as they had conflicting ideas about properties connected to the family business.
Paul Cohrs was sentenced to 30 years in prison with a non-parole period of 23 years for shooting his brother and 81-year-old mother to death in October 2018.
Raymond, who had the support of his mother, decided to have the properties assessed, including one on the NSW border where Cohrs and his wife lived.
After returning to the front door of the property with a real estate agent for an appraisal, the brothers exchanged warm words.
All three men drove to a shearing station where Cohrs shot his brother several times in the head and chest before handcuffing the agent inside the shed.
He then traveled 120km to his mother’s home, at Red Cliffs in north-west Victoria, and shot her in the chest an hour later.
Paul Cohrs shot his brother in NSW before driving 120km to his mother’s home in Red Cliffs, Victoria, and shooting himself an hour later.
Cohrs left, leaving her four-year-old grandson to find Cohrs’ body lying on the kitchen floor covered in blood.
He returned to Lake Victoria Station, released the estate agent and tried to kill him.
Cohrs pleaded not guilty to murdering his mother because he was mentally ill, but that was rejected by a Supreme Court jury that found him guilty at his trial in May.
He was not tried for his brother’s death in NSW as it happened in a different jurisdiction.
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