A memorial in Carrum Downs for Beau Lawson after the incident. MICHELE Lawson has been dragged to many horrible places after the senseless death of her son - a crime scene, a hospital, a cemetery and a place in her mind where the nightmares lurk. On this day - the morning of her son's killer's pre-sentence plea hearing - she finds herself in another terrible space; a Dickensian wooden witness box in the Victorian Supreme Court. She is here to do what she will later tell the Herald Sun was the hardest thing she has ever had to do in her life. Ms Lawson is here to read aloud her victim impact statement. A typical loving suburban mum previously untouched by crime, she stands as a voice for her lost son Beau and all of those who loved him. Beau, an engineering steel fabricator who worked on major projects, was a gregarious 31 year old and a loving dad. Ms Lawson never imagined events would bring her to this moment in a courtroom. She stands with a heavy heart and a stoic facade. Like a dam wall in a disaster movie that facade is threatening to crack. Beau Lawson. Her husband Kerry, Beau's dad, sits close by with other relatives. In the dock at the back of the court sits Scott Alan Parker, her son's killer. Parker's moronic decision to punch someone in the head has ruined his life and shattered the lives of his family and friends. The ripple effect in cases such as this is devastating for all concerned. Parker, 26, is from the Frankston area. He is an average bloke, by all accounts. A mate. A labourer. Beau Lawson's ex-partner Naomi Green with her kids Kailem and Jai and a photo of Beau and Jai. A regular at local footy games. A godfather to a friend's little girl and a young man looking forward to having his own kids one day. But now he sits as a killer. "Sometimes some things happen that make him a little bit angry," a female friend will tell the court, "but in general he's not an angry person at all." Parker sits as the extreme example of any number of young men who resort to throwing heated punches, usually in social environments after a few beers or bourbons. It could have been any one of those offending young men sitting here in the dock, but on this occasion it is Parker because his punch killed a bloke. Knocked him out and caused him to fall and hit his head on bitumen. Parker hangs his head in his hands, shamed and probably petrified by the lengthy prison sentence coming his way. For some time to come there will be no local football games, social drinks or basic freedoms for him. Parker is destined for a regimented, frightening and sober existence in a confined space among meaner men. With tissue in hand Ms Lawson begins her impact statement. She cries and blots her eyes throughout. "The impact of my son's death is unbearable to cope with," she says. I will never forget that terrible phone call on the night of November 29 ... (I was told) to come around to Cadels Road and that Beau had been hit in the head by someone and was not expected to live. Kerry and I flew around the corner only to see my beautiful son trying to be revived. She tells of time spent at Alfred Hospital, where a doctor said Beau was not going to survive his traumatic brain injuries. "He was put on life support," Ms Lawson says. I remember begging God to take me instead ... We were told to get the family together and say goodbye. Beau's dad and I held our hands on our son's heart which was still beating from the life support, until his heart stopped. She talks of the funeral. Six hundred were there. His two beautiful sons were very strong. If I could only say the same for all of our family. I cannot function fully and will grieve for my boy forever. We will never be whole again. None of us. Naomi Green, the mother of Beau's boys, has her statement read out for her. "Both my sons adored their father and he truly was their hero," it says. It is such a horrible thing to know your children are feeling so much pain and there is nothing I can do to make this pain go away. It is sad that they will never have their dad to take them to the footy, (and) to teach them how to drive. He won't be there for all the milestones and celebrations in their life. Hayley Kenny, a friend of Parker, gives character evidence on his behalf. She says he is remorseful, despite Justice King having described his letter of apology as "self-justifying." "I was there the night when he (Parker) found out about Beau's situation and he burst into tears and he ran outside - he was bawling his eyes out," Ms Kenny recalls. All he kept saying was 'the kids, the poor kids - no kid should have to grow up without a father. What have I done? I didn't mean for any of this to happen'. When I talk to him on the phone even now he says to me, 'I will never, ever, ever punch somebody ever again.' Scott Parker never imagined events would bring him to this moment in a courtroom. Most young men who lash out with dumb punches don't. Our lives will never be the same, ever ... we will grieve until the day we die.