A WOMAN who lied to help a man - who would ultimately be charged with allegedly murdering a Hunter father - evade police has escaped being sent to jail.
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Sarah Jane Stackman was on Wednesday ordered to serve a 15-month custodial sentence, handed to her in June, as home detention.
Magistrate Ian Rodgers said in Cessnock Local Court an assessment found Stackman to be suitable for home detention, and that he believed such a sentence would do more than jail time to reduce the risk of the 34-year-old re-offending.
Stackman helped Jarryd Nickerson - a man with whom she had an on-and-off-again relationship - evade police investigating the alleged murder of Zachery Davies-Scott at Heddon Greta in late 2022.
Mr Nickerson, Talon Dean and Gino Ricardo Delpiero have been charged with killing the 25-year-old father, known to some as 'Donnie'.
The trio allegedly forced their way into Mr Davies-Scott's Traders Way home on the night of December 27 and gunned down the 25-year-old father.
His pregnant fiance, two small children, and parents were home at the time. A 52-year-old woman sustained minor injuries attempting to fight off the men.
The three alleged assailants remain behind bars while their charges are before the courts.
Cessnock Local Court heard during the first part of Stackman's sentencing last month she told repeated lies to police, moved Mr Nickerson's clothing, instructed others to help remove clues that he had been at her house, and deleted possible evidence from her phone between June 2023 and January 2024.
She drove Mr Nickerson to Salamander Bay on one occasion - knowing he was a person of interest and that police were looking for him in connection with the alleged murder - and told another person to warn Mr Nickerson off coming to her home while detectives were there.
Stackman was arrested in January 2024 and initially pleaded not guilty in Kurri Kurri Local Court, but changed her plea to guilty in March.
The charge of hindering an investigation into a serious indictable offence carries a maximum penalty of two years in jail when dealt with in the local court.
Magistrate Rodgers said last month Stackman's actions involved forethought and were cases of "actual real hindering of the investigation of a murder".
He said Stackman appeared to be motivated at least partly out of loyalty to Mr Nickerson, despite her solicitor saying she was trying to protect loved ones.
"This is an incredibly serious example of this offence," Magistrate Rodgers said at the time.
"This was over many months, and involving multiple acts.
"General deterrence is to play a very significant role [in sentencing].
"It looks like she's just trying to protect him."
