Dante Arthurs | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Dante Wyndham Arthurs 8 August 1984 Rockingham, Western Australia, Australia |
| Occupation(s) | Fruit and vegetable packer |
| Criminal status | Incarcerated |
| Conviction(s) |
|
| Criminal charge |
|
| Penalty | Life imprisonment with non-parole period of 13 years |
| Details | |
| Victims | Sofia Rodriguez-Urrutia Shu |
| Date | 26 June 2006 |
| Location(s) | Canning Vale, Western Australia |
Date apprehended | 27 June 2006 |
Dante Wyndham Arthurs (born 8 August 1984) is an Australian murderer, convicted of the murder of eight-year-old Sofia Rodriguez-Urrutia Shu.
On 17 November 2007 Arthurs pleaded guilty to the charges of murder and unlawful detention and was convicted in the Supreme Court of Western Australia; he was sentenced to life imprisonment with a non-parole period of 13 years.[1] As of June 2023[update], Arthurs is imprisoned in Casuarina Prison. Bids by him for parole were dismissed in June 2019 and again in May 2022.[2][3] Arthurs is next due to be considered for parole in May 2025.[3]
Many areas of the Western Australian and Australian community debated the re-introduction of the death penalty due to the emotion evoked by Rodriguez-Urrutia Shu's murder.[4] The last person hanged in Western Australia was Eric Edgar Cooke in 1964 and the death penalty was abolished in that state in 1984.[5]
- ^ "Arthurs pleads guilty to Sofia murder". Retrieved 17 September 2007 Archived 15 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Home of girl's accused killer vandalised". The Age. Australia. Australian Associated Press. 29 June 2006. Archived from the original on 13 March 2007. Retrieved 29 June 2006.
- ^ a b Hampton, Shannon; Harvey, Ben (24 May 2022). "Dante Arthurs: Child killer to remain behind bars after parole board refuses to release him". PerthNow. Archived from the original on 18 October 2022. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
- ^ Van Homrigh, Mitchell (6 November 2021). "Cleo Smith's alleged kidnapper on remand in Casuarina, WA's toughest prison". news.com.au. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
- ^ "Death penalty in Australia". New South Wales Council for Civil Liberties. 14 May 2009. Archived from the original on 29 March 2010. Retrieved 21 April 2012.