Glenn Fenwick: Man involved in cold case killing of Christopher Jarvis jailed for five years and six months

A killer involved in the cold case disappearance of a Victorian father could walk free from prison later this yearafter agreeing he would give evidence against another man.

Glenn Fenwick, 61, was handed a 5 ½ year jail sentence in the Supreme Court in Warrnambool on Tuesday after pleading guilty to the manslaughter of Christopher Jarvis almost two decades ago.

Mr Jarvis, a 38-year-old father working as a delivery driver, vanished after leaving his Wangoom home in the morning of June 13, 2006.

His silver station wagon was found later the same day burning in the dunes at nearby Thunder Point.

The court was told an investigation into Mr Jarvis’ disappearance did not lead to any charges at the time, but was reopened in 2021 on the back of fresh information.

Both Fenwick and another man, known in the proceedings at AB, were charged with murder the following year, however AB had his charge dropped in 2023.

Prosecutors said the decision to drop the charge against AB was based on an assessment that there was no reasonable prospect of conviction.

Fenwick had earlier confessed the crime to an undercover police operative and he pleaded guilty last year when the charge was reduced to manslaughter.

He told the undercover officer he did not know Mr Jarvis was going to be killed and he was “just helping a mate”.

Justice Michael Croucher told the court he was sentencing Fenwick as a party to an unlawful and dangerous act that resulted in Mr Jarvis’ death.

He acknowledged the sentence was likely to appear “paltry” to Mr Jarvis’ family for the “many years of uncertainty, false hope and unbearable grief” they experienced.

But Justice Croucher said the sentence was “much shorter” than would be expected, based on Fenwick’s undertaking to give “crucial evidence” if AB’s case is resumed.

He also has offered to help locate Mr Jarvis’ body.

The court was told prosecutors alleged Fenwick was enlisted by AB as backup for an ambush one day before a VCAT dispute with Mr Jarvis was set to be heard.

The pair allegedly ambushed Mr Jarvis, With AB striking the father with a starter pistol and firing the firearm point blank at Mr Jarvis’ head.

He was then bundled into the back of his own car, taken to Framlingham Forest where AB allegedly delivered the fatal blow with a baseball bat and Mr Jarvis was buried in a shallow grave.

Justice Croucher said the offending occurred in a context when Fenwick acted out of “fear of and subservience to” AB.

Years earlier he had suffered two workplace accidents that left him with an acquired brain injury and injured back and he was “craving the approval of AB”, the judge said.

Fenwick told to a psychiatrist ahead of his sentencing he felt “ongoing guilt, regret and shame” for doing nothing to assist Mr Jarvis when he was injured.

But he claimed AB had allegedly told him; “if you say anything you’ll be next”.

“He was horrified, traumatised and guilt ridden in the years before his arrest,” forensic psychiatrist professor Rajan Darjee opined.

Justice Croucher said the crime had had a “profound impact” on Mr Jarvis’ family, who endured almost two decades not knowing whether he had abandoned his family, died by suicide or been met with foul play.

“The loss of life in criminal circumstances and the impact that has inevitably had on Mr Jarvis’ loved ones must be denounced and met with just punishment,” he said.

“I think it’s unlikely Mr Fenwick would ever be again party to such an act or any violence.”

Justice Croucher set a non-parole period of two years and nine months, meaning, with time served, Fenwick will be eligible for release in August.

Mr Jarvis’ body had not been found.