An ex-AFL player who killed two elderly women in a car crash while driving under the influence of drugs with his daughter in the vehicle will spend at least eight-and-a-half years behind bars.
Shannon John Cox, 39, admitted to unlawfully killing Thelma Clausen and Coral Seinor after he fell asleep at the wheel and crossed into the path of oncoming traffic about 170km north of Perth on June 7, 2024, just before 9am.
The women, who were in their 80s and on their way to a Country Women’s Association event in Badgingarra, suffered significant injuries in the head-on collision and died at the scene. The friends had founded the Jurien Bay branch of the Country Women’s Association.
Cox, who played 25 AFL games for Collingwood between 2007 and 2009, had taken meth two days before and was found to have 0.77 milligrams per litre of methamphetamine in his system when he was treated in hospital after the crash, Western Australia’s Supreme Court was told on Wednesday.
He was also suffering from fatigue.
In handing down his sentence, Justice Stephen Lemonis told Cox: ‘The impact of your offending has been devastating.’
Former AFL player Shannon Cox (left) will spend eight-and-a-half years behind bars after he pleaded guilty to admitted to unlawfully killing Thelma Clausen and Coral Seinor after he fell asleep while driving
Friends Thelma Clausen and Coral Seinor (pictured) died when Cox’s four-wheel drive collided with their hatchback around 170km north of Perth
His Toyota Prado struck the Suzuki Ignis carrying the women after colliding with the side of a truck on the Brand Highway in wet conditions at about 84km/h.
Cox was travelling from Geraldton to Perth with his 12-year-old daughter, Josephine, who was also injured, to pick up his wife after she was released from custody when the incident happened.
He was sentenced to 10 years and six months’ imprisonment, eligible for parole after serving eight years and six months, backdated to October 25, 2024.
Cox, a father of two daughters, will also be disqualified from driving for four years after he is released.
The former half-back flank started using methamphetamine and alcohol at age 13 after he was exposed to drugs and violence in the early part of his childhood, the court was told.
Football initially provided discipline for Cox, who didn’t learn to read until he was an adult, but after he moved to Melbourne at age 20, he used alcohol to cope with his stress and a gambling habit.
After retiring from the game, Cox entered the mining industry.
But in 2015, he started using a significant amount of methamphetamine and previously served two years and six months for drug-related offences, Justice Stephen Lemonis said as he delivered the sentence.
Cox, who played 25 AFL games for Collingwood between 2007 and 2009, had taken meth two days before and was found to have 0.77 milligrams per litre of methamphetamine in his system
About 18 months before the accident that killed Ms Clausen and Ms Seinor, Cox’s methamphetamine use escalated significantly, and he was on a community-based order for drug-related charges at the time of the accident.
His arrest over the women’s deaths was the third time in two years he had been caught driving with methamphetamine in his system, and while on bail for the manslaughter charges, he was again caught using the drug.
‘This offending has tragically come about because of your addiction to methamphetamine,’ Justice Lemonis said.
Speaking on Ms Seinor and Ms Clausen, Justice Lemonis added: ‘The community has been deprived of having such wonderful people in it.’
Leanne Clausen said her mother Thelma’s death had caused her family significant grief and trauma.
She told the court that she had asked her mother to text her when they had arrived in Badingarra but became increasingly worried during the day when she had not heard from her mother, learning of the crash on the news later in the day.
‘Mum was the most selfless, kind-hearted and community-driven person,’ she said while reading her victim impact statement.
‘Her volunteering efforts were endless.’
In handing down his sentence, Justice Stephen Lemonis told Cox (pictured): ‘The impact of your offending has been devastating.’
She revealed she also told her father, who had been married to Ms Clausen for 60 years, the devastating news.
‘He misses her constantly,’ she said.
Leanne spoke of her frustration at how Cox had breached his bail conditions by going on to take drugs again following the crash.
‘How could someone take drugs and destroy two innocent lives and then show no remorse?’
Suzanne Seinor said her mother Coral ‘lived for those she loved and loved unconditionally’.
‘You chose to drive a car with drugs in your system,’ she said, addressing Cox during her victim impact statement.
‘That choice resulted in taking two lives that weren’t yours to take.
‘Your choice affected over 1,000 people, who were my mum and her friend’s family, loved ones and community.’
Ms Seinor added: ‘To you, she was just some old lady. To me, she was my mum, my friend, my confidant.
‘I and my family no longer have access to a mum hug that makes us feel special.
‘Coral Anne was our mum, our nanna, she was a sister, an aunty, she was a cousin, she was a friend. She loved us as much as we all loved her. Now we don’t have her anymore.’
After the victim impact statements were read, Paul Holmes, legal counsel for Cox, requested that the hearing be adjourned after his client became emotional.
He added that Cox was ‘truly remorseful’.
