Darren John Chalmers showed little emotion as chilling details of the 1992 murder of a young Geelong mum south-west of Melbourne were read out, his eyes fixed on the floor.
Legal affairs writer HUGH SELBY says the reasons prosecution offices go to trial or not are secret business and there is no mechanism that forces a prosecution office to disclose their reasoning.
High-powered firearms and explosives are being exchanged for jail sentence cuts in a secret deal police and the legal fraternity say helps keep the public safe.