Brandon Wayne Hutton jailed for killing relative’s alleged molester Garry Backshall

A man blinded by rage after being told a relative of his had been sexually molested drove 600km to confront the alleged abuser — before trying to slice his penis off and then starting a blaze which eventually caused his death. By June 2020, Brandon Wayne Hutton, 40, had known Garry Backshall for nearly 20 years as the man married to his mother-in-law and someone he said he “loved and respected”. But, when he heard allegations that 63-year-old Mr Backshall may have carried out the abuse more than a decade previously, he grabbed a knife and began driving towards Geraldton. Despite pleas from others in the family not to, Hutton lured Mr Backshall to his Karloo property and then told him why he was really there. “I’ve come here to kill you,” Hutton recorded himself saying. “I’m here to tell you that I know, and we’re going to sort it out tonight. “I hope you have made good with everyone because this next bit and what goes on now depends on you.” After ordering Backshall to take his penis out, Hutton sliced on either side of Mr Backshall’s groin, leaving two cuts centimetres deep. And then, believing the abuse may have occurred in the house they were standing, Hutton fetched petrol out of the shed, poured it throughout the property and set it alight. He then walked off, leaving Mr Backshall without his phone and with only a hose to try and douse the flames. When authorities arrived soon after, they found Mr Backshall collapsed near the back door with the hose within grasp. On Tuesday, in WA’s Supreme Court, Hutton admitted it was most likely fumes from the fire that brought on a heart attack that killed his stepfather-in-law — and pleaded guilty to manslaughter and arson. “Despite the words said it was never Mr Hutton’s intention that the man would die,” defence barrister Simon Watters said. “They reveal the anger that Mr Hutton felt, and we don’t resile from that. They speak for themselves.” “He unequivocally accepts he overreacted, and he reacted in an entirely incorrect and illegal way.” Prosecutor Robert Owen said even with time “for passions to cool” and urgings from other people, Hutton went through with the confrontation. “He had no appreciation of the risk and was … essentially sprung upon,” Mr Owen said. Justice Joe McGrath said the drive, the knife and the effort to get Mr Backshall to attend the house all showed “this was not a spontaneous act”. “Your actions upon arriving at the house were not a spontaneous act but were well planned. Further, your offending was an act of (a) vigilante,” Justice McGrath said. He jailed Hutton for nine years, with eligibility for parole after seven years.