The Murder of Eurydice Dixon

Eurydice's walk home

Eurydice Dixon was a 22-year-old aspiring comedian active on Melbourne's comedy circuit. On the evening of June 12, 2018, she performed at a city venue and later began walking home. Shortly after midnight on June 13, she entered Princes Park in Carlton North.

The Supreme Court's sentencing reasons establish that Jaymes Todd had followed Eurydice for nearly an hour over several kilometres before attacking her in the park. This page does not reproduce the detailed sexual and physical violence described in the judgment.

Investigation and guilty pleas

CCTV footage documented portions of Eurydice's route and Todd's movements. After police publicized images and the investigation focused on him, Todd ultimately admitted responsibility. He later pleaded guilty to murder, rape, attempted rape and sexual assault.

Because he pleaded guilty, there was no jury trial to decide whether he was the offender. The main contested issues before sentence concerned the seriousness and premeditation of the offending, his mental-health evidence, youth, prospects of rehabilitation and the appropriate period before possible parole.

Sentence in September 2019

On September 2, 2019, the Supreme Court of Victoria sentenced Todd to life imprisonment for murder. It also imposed concurrent terms for rape, attempted rape and sexual assault and fixed a 35-year non-parole period. A non-parole period is the minimum time before a prisoner may apply for parole; it is not a promised release date.

The court recognized mitigating matters including Todd's age, guilty plea, lack of prior convictions and difficult home circumstances, but concluded that the extraordinary seriousness of the offending, limited rehabilitation prospects and community-protection considerations justified life imprisonment.

The 2020 appeal

Todd sought leave to appeal against the sentence, arguing that life imprisonment and the 35-year non-parole period were manifestly excessive and disproportionate. On March 12, 2020, the Victorian Court of Appeal refused leave.

The appellate court held that the sentencing judge had properly weighed the mitigating factors and that the life sentence with a 35-year minimum was within the available range and proportionate to the offending. The appeal did not challenge a jury verdict because Todd had pleaded guilty.

Current sentence status

Recent Victorian appellate argument in an unrelated 2026 murder case continued to use Todd's sentence as a comparator and described the Eurydice Dixon case as a life sentence with a 35-year non-parole period. Crime by Region located no later decision setting aside or reducing that sentence.

Todd therefore remains subject to life imprisonment and is not eligible even to seek parole until the expiry of the minimum period, accounting for pre-sentence custody. Any future decision to grant parole would be separate from the sentence itself.

Remembering Eurydice

After sentencing, Eurydice's father asked that she be remembered for her wit, courage and kindness rather than only for the circumstances of her death. Her murder prompted public vigils and renewed national discussion about women's safety and gendered violence. Those social responses form part of the case's legacy, but they are kept separate here from the criminal findings against Todd.

Timeline

Current status

The case is classified as Solved / Adjudicated. Jaymes Todd pleaded guilty and his sentence appeal failed. No reliable later source reviewed for this update shows the conviction or life sentence being overturned.