Evie Butterworth,30,was driving at speeds of up to 188km/h while high on a cocktail of drugs including cocaine,cannabis and methamphetamine on January 11,2023 when she slammed into Abbey Sheriff’s Nissan X-Trail on the Kwinana Freeway near Baldivis.
Julie and Darren Sheriff outside the Supreme Court of WA.Rebecca Peppiatt
Sherrif died at the scene,devastating her parents who called her their “miracle baby” after years of fertility issues prior to her birth.
On Wednesday Butterworth pleaded guilty to manslaughter at Stirling Gardens Magistrate Court but had a driving under the influence of drugs charge dropped as it was “captured” by the manslaughter charge,state prosecutor Elisabeth Noonan said.
After the hearing,Sheriff’s tearful parents said there was some relief they were one step closer to ending their ordeal.
“It’s a little bit of relief because it’s been exactly 15 months and one day since it happened and it’s now a step forward in getting justice for Abbey - it’s been a long road,” Julie and Darren Sheriff said.
Abbey Sheriff,21,was killed when her Nissan X-Trail and a Nissan Maxima collided on the Kwinana Freeway.9News Perth
The couple criticised the legal process which had seen them waiting in limbo for an outcome of the case for over a year.
“We just constantly felt that - I just couldn’t win,no matter which way and the accused kept getting bail and remanded. It’s been too long,” they said.
Evie Butterworth is facing drug-driving charges after a fatal crash south of Perth in January.Supplied
Julie Sheriff said the past 15 months had been a nightmare as they grappled to come to terms with the fact that their only child was gone. She said the trauma had left her suicidal and her husband,Darren,had faced his own near-death experience with a health scare six months after their daughter’s death.
“I just hope she doesn’t go in there[when she is sentenced] and say that she has got mental health problems because I’ve got mental health problems because of what she has done,not her,” Julie said.
Butterworth will be sentenced on October 29.
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