Cricket bat attacker jailed for 5 years

A 22-year-old man has been sentenced to five years' jail for killing a man in the Western Australian wheatbelt town of Geraldton on Christmas Day last year.

Matthew Roy McDonald pleaded guilty in the Perth Supreme Court to the manslaughter of William Rowe.

Mr Rowe died after being hit over the head with a cricket bat on a beach in Geraldton last year.

His wife directly addressed McDonald when she read out a victim impact statement at today's sentencing hearing telling him he had taken away the rock of her family's life.

Mrs Rowe said she suffered anxiety and flashbacks and she and her traumatised family struggled to run their sheep station.

McDonald's sentence was backdated to December 28 last year and he will be eligible for parole.

Suspended sentence

The Supreme Court had earlier heard McDonald was serving a suspended jail term for unlawful wounding at the time of the Christmas Day attack.

McDonald also admitted that he had breached a 12 month suspended jail term that had been imposed in February last year for a charge of unlawful wounding.

Girls broke law to see jailed friends: Police

Two 14-year-old girls from Carnarvon, in central western Western Australia, who pleaded guilty to several burglaries, told police they committed the crimes so they could spend time with friends already in custody.

One of the girls pleaded guilty to 19 offences, including seven counts of aggravated burglary.

The other pleaded guilty to 11 offences, including attempting to steal a motor vehicle.

Detective Senior Constable Bruce McDonald says he is concerned by the reason behind the weekend crime spree.

"The disturbing matter regarding all the offences is that when the girls were interviewed by the police they stated they wanted to get apprehended so that they could be remanded in custody and sent to Rangeview Remand Centre in Perth where they currently have a group of friends," he said.

The girls are due back in court at a later date for pre-sentence reports.