Jethro Curtis murdered his 63-year-old uncle Stephen Curtis at his home in Maffra on January 18. Prior to the attack, Curtis communicated his intentions via text messages and confessed to police that he beat and strangled his uncle until he was sure he was dead. The court heard evidence suggesting Curtis believed his uncle had sexually assaulted him and others but these claims were not proven. Curtis was sentenced to 24 years in prison with a non-parole period of 17 years for the crime, which included stealing $5,500 from his victim's bank account and abandoning the vehicle at an underground car park.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-07,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
In January 2023, Jethro Curtis, aged 44, murdered his uncle Stephen Curtis by beating and strangling him in Maffra, Victoria. In the days leading up to the murder, Jethro had messaged someone about wanting to kill his uncle, suspecting that he was a child molester but without any proof of these allegations. After committing the crime, Jethro stole his uncle's money and car before abandoning it in an underground parking lot.
At a plea hearing at the Victorian Supreme Court in Morwell last week, Justice Rita Incerti noted Curtis's confession that he ensured his uncle was dead due to feelings of hurt from past events. The court sentenced him to 24 years in prison with a non-parole period of 17 years. This case highlights the serious consequences of premeditated violence and the impact of unresolved family issues on criminal behavior.
Written for “Murder By Uncle Nephew Planning” on 2026-10-07,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
In short:
Maffra man Jethro Curtis spoke about killing his uncle Stephen Curtis in the days leading up to his murder.
asserted
Curtis → speak → murder
The Victorian Supreme Court heard Jethro Curtis beat and strangled his uncle before stealing his money and his car.
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Curtis → hear → money
The 45-year-old has been sentenced to 24 years in prison with a non-parole period of 17 years.
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old → sentence → years
A man who murdered his uncle in Victoria's east spoke about his desire to commit the crime in text messages in the days leading up to the death, the Supreme Court has heard.
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Court → murder → death
Jethro Curtis was 44 when he murdered his uncle Stephen Curtis in his Maffra home on January 18, before escaping in his victim's car and dumping it at an underground car park.
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he → murder → park
The now-45-year-old suspected his uncle had sexually assaulted him and others, the court heard.
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court → suspect → him
"You told police you made sure he was dead, you had snapped because of lots of things that had hurt your feelings and that you believed he was a child molester," Justice Rita Incerti said.
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Incerti → tell → feelings
"While these allegations have not been proven, [your psychologist] indicates that he believes them to be plausible."
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them → prove → ?
The Supreme Court heard at a plea hearing in Morwell last week that Jethro Curtis was messaging another person in the weeks leading up to the murder, talking about what should be done to him.
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what → hear → him
"Tonight I'm doing this," Jethro Curtis said in one text message read to the court.
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Curtis → do → court
"It's nearly time to get this show on the road."
In July, Jethro Curtis indicated he would plead guilty and was today sentenced to 24 years in prison, with a non-parole period of 17 years.
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he → get → years
I made sure he was dead'
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he → make → ?
Prosecutor Daniel Porceddu told the court Jethro Curtis admitted his crimes during his police interview in January.
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Curtis → tell → January
"I hit him a lot, I strangled him, I tried to strangle him a few times with a few different things and then like he just stopped, so I stopped," he told police at his interview.
"
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he → hit → interview
I made sure he was dead.
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he → make → ?
The court heard Jethro Curtis lived in a makeshift bedroom in a shed at the rear of a property his mother bought with the victim, with inheritance from their mother.
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mother → hear → mother
Stephen Curtis was a 63-year-old jeweller and had trouble walking after being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in recent years.
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Curtis → have → years
The court heard the victim was in his bed and his mother was away in Melbourne when Jethro Curtis entered his bedroom and began punching him, before throwing him on the floor and kicking him.
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Curtis → hear → him
He then taped his face so he could not speak and strangled him with a charger cord.
uncertain
he → tap → cord
In the days before the murder, Jethro Curtis had texted a former partner of the victim before deciding he would kill him, the court heard.
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court → texte → him
The prosecution said that after the killing, Jethro Curtis draped the body in a shower curtain so his mother would not find her brother dead on the floor.
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brother → say → floor
The next morning, he logged into his uncle's bank account and stole $5,500 before driving the victim's car to Traralgon, buying clothes and leaving the car in an underground car park.
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he → log → park
He then boarded a train to Pakenham before taking a taxi to Seaford.
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He → board → Seaford
He handed the taxi driver $250 before telling him he had killed someone and would be going to jail.
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he → hand → jail
The court heard Jethro Curtis made many phone calls to three former partners, a friend, his mother and stepfather.
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Curtis → hear → partners
In one phone call, he told the mother of some of his children what he had done.
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he → tell → what
"I killed Steve last night, I left him in his bedroom, please call me soon before I hand myself in," he said in a voicemail message.
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he → kill → message
His mother called emergency services, who sent an ambulance, with paramedics confirming Stephen Curtis's death.
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paramedics → call → death
Jethro Curtis was apprehended by police in Seaford two days after the murder, where he had been staying with acquaintances.
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he → apprehend → acquaintances
The prosecution argued the murder was an act of vigilantism, which Justice Incerti did not accept.
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Incerti → argue → which
"I am not satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that it can be characterised as vigilantism," she said.
"
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she → characterise → vigilantism
It was more impulsive and volatile than the prosecution contends.
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prosecution → contend → ?
"You were unarmed and had no plan as to how you were going to kill Stephen."
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you → have → Stephen
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