Decades in jail for man who brutally murdered ex-girlfriend Hannah McGuire

Ms McGuire, 23, was brutally murdered by her ex-boyfriend in the early hours of April 5, 2024, after she attempted to end the abusive relationship, which had been marred by violence, degradation, and control on Young's part.

Young, 23, appeared before Justice James Elliot in the Supreme Court in Ballarat on Tuesday, November 18, wearing a black, button-down shirt.

Close to 100 people packed the courtroom as Justice Elliot sentenced Young.

His sentence carries a non-parole period of 22 years and four months.

The Supreme Court murder trial was in its eighth day when Young pleaded guilty to strangling Ms McGuire to death on the bathroom floor of their Sebastopol home.

After murdering Ms McGuire, Young callously put her body into the rear footwell of her Triton, drove the car out to bushland in Scarsdale, and set her and the car on fire.

He then staged her death to look like a suicide, texting her mum a suicide note and transferring $5000 from her account to his.

He told friends and family that she had taken her own life by burning herself in her car.

Justice James Elliot said the case was yet another example of a male using violence and superior strength to murder a vulnerable woman who trusted him.

"Your interaction towards Ms McGuire had all the hallmarks of an abusive and domineering relationship," he said.

"You were brazen; your unacceptable behaviour was frequently witnessed by others."

He said Hannah's father's attempt to confront Young "fell on deaf ears".

"You did not change your ways," he said.

"You spoke to her in the most appalling ways, including referring to her as a 'fat whale' and 'a fat slut'."

Friends and coworkers of Hannah McGuire allege her killer was "abusive" over the two-and-a-half-year relationship.

The jury heard evidence from several of the 23-year-old's friends and coworkers on Tuesday, who told the court in Ballarat they witnessed Lachlan Young's "aggressive" and "degrading" behaviour towards his then-girlfriend over the course of the relationship.

A friend of Young's told the court that Young had planned to drug Ms McGuire and roll her car down a hill to "scare her" after the couple had broken up.

Benjamin O'Keefe gave evidence on the fifth day of Young's Supreme Court trial that Young had visited his home in Sebastopol on April 2, 2024, asking him for help to "roofie" Ms McGuire, place her unconscious body in the car and stage a car crash.

Young's defence team maintain this was a lie.

Crown prosecutor Kristie Churchill delivered her final legal arguments on Tuesday, October 28, before Justice Elliot retired to consider Young's sentencing.

Ms Churchill said his cousin remarked to him how he previously described her as "beautiful and hot", to which Young responded: "Well, she's hot now, isn't she?".

The allegation was met with a visceral reaction throughout the courtroom, which was packed with Ms McGuire's relatives and close friends.

"Hannah McGuire was a much-loved and deeply missed young woman, whose life was taken because the offender wouldn't allow her to live a life beyond his relationship with her," Ms Churchill said.

"Women are entitled to end relationships without it resulting in their death.

"The prevalence of intimate partner violence has been declared a national emergency ... all too often, men come before the court, having killed their partner or former partner."