Kyna McAuley, who orchestrated the abduction and torture of a young woman in her backyard shed in Mount Hutton in 2021, is appealing her 10-year prison sentence. Her lawyers argue that the 20-hour kidnapping was not “methodical, systematic and calculated” as the sentencing judge described.
The victim endured a horrifying ordeal in the shed on Kestrel Avenue in May 2021. She was tied up, struck in the head with a hammer, had her teeth knocked out, was burnt with a cigarette, threatened with a “hot shot” of methadone, and had boiling water poured over her head. The young woman feared she would be killed and wet her pants when someone pinned her down while McAuley started a grinder and approached as if to cut off her arm.
The abduction stemmed from a minor car accident after the victim fell asleep behind the wheel and drove into a ditch while looking after McAuley’s young daughter. McAuley pleaded not guilty, claiming she fought with the woman but left and was unaware of the ongoing detention. However, a jury found her guilty of abduction and witness interference in 2023, leading to a maximum 10-year sentence with parole eligibility from December 2027.
During the appeal in the state’s highest court on Friday, Public Defender Ian Nash argued the abduction was “opportunistic and impulsive,” not premeditated. He said the violence involved whatever was at hand—a kettle, a needle, an angle grinder—and that McAuley did not direct two other men to detain the victim for the entire day. Nash also claimed the judge failed to link McAuley’s post-traumatic stress disorder to the crime and that the sentence was manifestly excessive.
Prosecutors countered that the judge’s characterization was consistent with evidence showing McAuley directed the abduction. They argued there was no sufficient connection between her mental condition and the offending, and the sentence was not unreasonable or excessive.
