On 17 November 2007 Arthurs pleaded guilty to the charges of murder and unlawful detention and was convicted in the Supreme Court of Western Australia; he was sentenced to life imprisonment with a non-parole period of 13 years.
[5] At 4:00 pm on 26 June 2006, Rodriguez-Urrutia Shu, aged eight, was at the Livingston Shopping Centre in Canning Vale with her uncle, sister and brother.
[7] Police remained at the crime scene well into the early morning and at 5:00 am the day after Rodriguez-Urrutia Shu's body was discovered, they attended the home of Arthurs who lived with his parents a few hundred metres from the shopping centre.
During the attack, which was estimated to have lasted between 3 and 5 minutes, Rodriguez-Urrutia Shu's brother knocked on the door of the cubicle having heard movement coming from inside while searching for her.
Though Arthurs made admissions to hearing the knock on the door and a name being called, neither he nor the police could determine whether Rodriguez-Urrutia Shu was still alive at that time.
[8] Once the news of Rodriguez-Urrutia Shu's murder spread and information about her alleged killer was revealed, media organisations locally, nationally and internationally[citation needed] took great interest.
[9][10][11][12] On 29 June 2006, the British High Commission in Canberra issued a media release stating "There is no connection between the man arrested in Western Australia and the individuals involved in the James Bulger case.
[14] Further controversy arose when information was revealed in the local media that Arthurs had been investigated for a sexual assault 3 years earlier in 2003, against another 8-year-old girl.
Western Australia Police received public condemnation for failing to have the shorts forensically examined, which could have secured the conviction of Arthurs for the 2003 assault and therefore could have prevented Rodriguez-Urrutia Shu's murder.
[16] Though Rodriguez-Urrutia Shu's family were frustrated by this discovery, they publicly supported the police and understood that a successful conviction against Arthurs in 2003 – if it had occurred – would not have guaranteed their daughter would still be alive today.
Head priest at the Parish, Father Bryan Rosling[20] took up the family's struggle to deal with the massive media attention the murder had raised.
Paul Litherland, a Western Australian police officer and a parent of one of Rodriguez-Urrutia Shu's schoolmates, represented the family and set up fund raising events.
[22] On 31 August 2007, Justice Peter Blaxell ruled that the bulk of the admissions made by Arthurs in a video recorded interview with police on the morning after the offence, would be inadmissible at his trial on ground of "persistent importunity, or sustained or undue insistence or pressure".
[9][30] Through the then Attorney General Jim McGinty, Rodriguez-Urrutia Shu's family and their many supporters petitioned the Government to have the laws changed to reflect more clearly the seriousness of the crimes committed.
[32] In addition to the changes to murder legislation, Rodriguez-Urrutia Shu's family worked to have the Western Australian Government introduce a public sex offender register.
[35] In June 2018, the 12th anniversary of Rodriguez-Urrutia Shu's murder, a public petition was initiated in preparation for Arthurs' first parole hearing scheduled in early 2019.
The petition addressed current Attorney-General of Western Australia John Quigley and called on support from the public for the non-release of Arthurs, regardless of his eligibility for parole.
The petition gained strong media attention in Western Australia and reflected public concern that Arthurs may be released prior to his maximum term of imprisonment having been served.
[37] The media attention drew public comment from Quigley, who stated "the wishes of Sofia's family will weigh heavily in any decision I might make regarding this shocking case.