Man sentenced for killing family of three

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ADELAIDE, Australia, April 17 (UPI) -- An Australian man was sentenced to a minimum of 35 years in prison Monday for killing a young woman with whom he was obsessed and her parents.

Andrew and Rose Rowe and their teenage daughter, Chantelle, were stabbed in their home in rural Kapunda in November 2010. Their son, Christopher, who was camping in Queensland with his fiancee, learned on Facebook that his family had been killed.

Friends of the Rowe family yelled obscenities at Jason Alexander Downie, 20, as he was led from the courtroom, The Advertiser of Adelaide reported.

Justice John Sulan said Downie not only stabbed the parents many times before attacking Chantelle but stabbed her again when she began moving. He then raped her as she died, Sulan said.

Investigators said Chantelle Rowe was dating one of Downie's friends, and he had become obsessed by her. He apparently went to the house hoping for a confrontation and stabbed the parents because they saw him.

Downie will be in his mid-50s before he is eligible for parole. Sulan said he would have imposed the maximum 42-year term, but Downie pleaded guilty and rehabilitation may be possible.