<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>John Sheffield's decision to murder his friend and live-in carer has left victim Kenneth Magee's loved ones with a lifetime of pain.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"One moment - that's all it takes to change a person's life," Mr Magee's daughter Kristy told the Victorian Supreme Court on Monday.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>One moment Ms Magee was sitting on the couch watching TV, the next she was frantically throwing on clothes and rushing to hospital to be with her dying father.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/bowen-mountain-house-fire-sydney/8fab652e-c854-48e6-8bf8-952bbc5116ff"><strong><span>Two children killed in horror house fire hours before interstate move</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Only four minutes after that life-changing phone call from authorities, another one came which thrust her into a messy, life-changing reality.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"One moment I was so angry I could break everything in my sight ... another moment I experience complete numbness," she said as she described learning of her father's death.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I've cried so many tears that can fill Olympic-sized pools."</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/kenneth-magee-murdered-by-live-in-carer-john-sheffield/216e24f5-978d-4b4e-9551-f364352e4bdd" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Once a dedicated sous chef who loved her job, Ms Magee now spends her days withdrawn from family and friends, suffering from the mental overload stemming from her father's death.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"His life was stolen away from someone he once called a friend," she said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Mr Magee's younger sister Allison Menzies remembers her brother as a selfless man who cared for his friends, loved animals and made an impact as a prolific blood donor.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/isis-brides-children-secure-flights-to-australia-from-syria/dd98abbd-a10a-4999-b5d2-995533f5c3d5"><strong><span>'ISIS brides' and children secure flights to Australia</span></strong></a><span></span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Whenever I think of Ken, I would smile from the memories," she told the court.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>It's been almost a year-and-a-half since Mr Magee's death, but time has not begun to heal her wounds.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Instead the grief is festering deep inside me," she said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Ken was given a death sentence, but I was given a life sentence."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Menzies reminisced about a life free from fear and anxiety before losing her brother.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Now my dreams are haunted by my brother's screams," she said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>For both women, the actions of Sheffield, 56 - who admitted murdering Mr Magee on December 2, 2024, in their home in Melbourne's west - has caused ongoing struggles.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Kenny was loved, and I hope he gets the justice he deserves," Menzies said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Mr Magee, 62, was sitting in the living room of the Werribee home when Sheffield entered and bludgeoned him with a hammer.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A neighbour heard shrieking coming from the house and called police who arrived to find the victim laying unconscious on the couch with severe head injuries.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He was rushed to hospital but succumbed to his injuries, which included skull fractures and brain lacerations from five blunt impacts.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Sheffield initially told police someone had broken into their home while he was in his room listening to a John Farnham DVD loudly.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He said he went outside for a cigarette before coming back to find Mr Magee on the couch with blood coming out of his head.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Sheffield, who has been diagnosed with schizophrenia, pleaded guilty to one count of murder in March.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Defence barrister John Desmond detailed the pair's relationship history, referring to statements and reports from a neighbour and a domestic violence organisation which alleged Mr Magee would hit his client in the head with a closed fist, and in the stomach and face.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It was in that setting that my client had committed the offence of murder," he told the court.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He said the alleged domestic violence had negatively impacted Sheffield's schizophrenia diagnosis, leading to a slowing of his cognitive and decision-making process which resulted in the murder.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But prosecutor Grant Hayward urged Justice Rita Incerti to be cautious about the domestic violence claims, given Sheffield had lied to police before.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He referred to an earlier hospital report that stated Sheffield had denied any concerns about his carer and that he did not feel unsafe with him.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Justice Incerti will hand down her sentence at a later date.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)</span></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>Lifeline 13 11 14</span></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>Men's Referral Service 1300 766 491</span></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>beyondblue 1300 22 4636</span></strong></div></div>