'My sister was not a junkie': Family lashes out at the man who killed Laura Crncevic

Three sisters have expressed their pain, grief and fear of the man who admitted to killing Laura Crncevic by overdosing her with heroin.

Christopher Roy Weaver previously pleaded guilty to manslaughter over his long-time girlfriend’s 2021 death. He was charged almost two years later following a coronial inquest.

The ACT Supreme Court heard Laura’s sisters’ victim impact statements on Monday (5 February) as part of a pre-sentence hearing. They outlined both their grief over Laura’s death and how the 40-year-old man had allegedly harassed them in the months that followed.

Weaver appeared confused over the testimony of Laura’s younger sister, Kate Crncevic, pulling faces as she detailed what she felt were “red flags” during the relationship.

“Could I have done more?” she sobbed in court.

“What had I seen and done nothing about?”

Kate described Laura as a “bright, bubbly extrovert” who had struggled with health problems since being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when she was 7, resulting in two organ transplants and surgeries.

She also spoke of the heartbreak she felt that Laura’s death had been associated with drugs, blaming Weaver for bringing them into the relationship as a way to cope with pressures in their lives.

“Who introduces heroin to a situation where someone’s had a double transplant [and other health issues]?” Kate asked.

“What brings a person to do that to someone they’re meant to love?

“My sister wasn’t a junkie … She didn’t deserve for this to be the final chapter of her life.”

Kate claimed the family had never received an apology from Weaver and that he had refused to pass on Laura’s personal items, telling her, “You’re not getting sh-“.

She also detailed how Weaver had allegedly harassed both her and her husband through text, email (work and personal), Facebook, Messenger and WhatsApp, calling her a “venomous snake” and a “waste of oxygen”.

The prosecutor read out the victim impact statement of Laura’s older sister, Julie, who also claimed abuse by Weaver.

This included when he came to her Canberra house and allegedly covered her fence with paint and home with motor oil.

She claimed he also wrote her a number of text messages, including, “I’m bored and I want to ruin your life now”, “I’ve got nothing left in life so maybe I’ll ruin yours”, and “Pray hard, a man who has lost everything is a dangerous [man].”

Laura’s other older sister, Linda, made the trip from her home in America to face Weaver in court and read her victim impact statement.

She also presented the court with a photobook of Laura, stating, “I just wanted you to understand who Laura was”.

[Laura] was vibrant, she was happy … she was a beacon of light and a giver.”

Linda spoke of her guilt and grief that she had been unable to visit Laura in 2021 due to COVID-19 restrictions and the cost of flights at the time.

“Eight months later, I came out anyway to bury Laura, money that would have been better spent seeing her alive,” she said.

“Laura is irreplaceable and [her death] has left a massive void in my life.”

All three sisters expressed their fear of retribution from Weaver for speaking at his sentencing hearing, as well as their anger that Weaver had never appeared to show remorse over Laura’s death.

“Never an apology for causing Laura’s death … not even a ‘sorry for your loss’ at Laura’s funeral,” Linda said.

“I just wish I could have saved her.”

When Weaver entered his guilty plea in October last year, he stated overdoses were “just what happens when you’re a heroin addict”.

His defence team tabled a psychiatric report, but the rest of his pre-sentence hearing is scheduled for next month so the prosecution can get its own professional opinion.