Introduction

What value do you place on a life? To some Australian families, the death of a loved one to homicide is the catalyst for a crusade to improve the legal and judicial system for those who will follow in their footsteps. This book tells the stories of four such families.

In 1974, after her five-year-old daughter Nicole was stabbed to death by an intruder, Gwen Hanns embarked on a mission to comfort other families in similar circumstances and to keep the killer of her daughter behind bars for as long as possible. Along the way, Gwen brought about major changes in child sex offender legislation and played a part in the establishment of a national paedophile database.

Then, in 1992, who could forget the anguished faces of Christine and Peter Simpson as they prayed for the safe return of their nine-year-old daughter, Ebony, who had been abducted as she walked home from the school bus at Bargo, New South Wales? They would never see her alive again. Confronted with a lack of community support after their daughter’s murder, the Simpsons helped to establish the Homicide Victims’ Support Group (HVSG). This organisation has brought about monumental legislative changes that have made life easier for families left after the murder of a loved one.

In October 1997, two Bega schoolgirls, Lauren Barry and Nichole Collins, disappeared while camping with their friends. Their bodies were found five and a half weeks later. In the wake of the murders, the Barry and Collins families instigated much-needed amendments in existing legislation that deals with the counselling of relatives and friends of the deceased and speedier compensation for families of victims.

Join these four families as they remember their daughters’ deaths and the way in which they were treated by society and the police, judicial and government systems in their fight for justice. Read about the inadequacies of the law of those times, the families’ mistreatment by some, the kindness of others and the fortitude with which they still face each day. Then, ask yourself, what would you expect from the legal system, the media and community if it were your child?

 

I have dealt with the story of Ebony Simpson first, because it was her parents, with Grace and Garry Lynch, whose daughter, Anita Cobby, was murdered in February 1986, who initiated the network that paved the way for the later efforts of many others, including Gwen Hanns and the Barry and Collins families, to be recognised. The story of the 1974 murder of Nicole Hanns follows, then finally I have dealt with the murders in 1997 of the two Bega schoolgirls, Nichole Collins and Lauren Barry. The final section of the book reviews the main legislative changes brought about by the combined efforts of these and other families. The impact of the reformed laws is explored in the context of the question whether they have gone far enough. Is there more that can be done?

 

In a democracy, the treatment of convicted paedophile murderers by the legal system and society rests on the shoulders of its citizens. Over the past ten years, the treatment of families of victims of paedophile murders by the legal system and society has come a long way. Victims’ families have seen to that.

Within months of the formation in 1993 of what became the New South Wales branch of HVSG by Christine and Peter Simpson, with the support of Grace and Garry Lynch, the group had become the voice of bereaved families across the state. Originally formed to provide a forum in which families could turn to each other in despair, soon HVSG had set down guidelines on how groups, such as the police, should handle confused and distraught families and loved ones of homicide victims. HVSG counsellors educated the police, media and legal profession about confused families’ immediate needs after a homicide.

The following year, HVSG supported legislation that abolished dock statements. This long-established practice allowed the accused to read from the dock a written statement in which he or she could say anything without being challenged by cross-examination. Needless to say, this practice was abhorrent to victims’ families. Originally, dock statements were introduced to ensure that the simple-minded, or those who couldn’t afford a lawyer, got a fair hearing without being tricked by cross-examination. But, with the introduction of legal aid, many in the legal profession considered dock statements no longer necessary. Moreover, it appeared that some lawyers were using them to give their clients an advantage. Following the campaigning of a number of families in HVSG, dock statements were abolished in New South Wales, the only state still to have them, in 1994. They had been abolished in Queensland in 1975, Western Australia in 1976, the Northern Territory in 1983, South Australia in 1985 and Victoria and Tasmania in 1993.

Through HVSG and individually, families of homicide victims have fought for, and brought about, other legislative changes. Now, although those convicted of homicide can claim compensation for injuries inflicted upon them in jail, any monies awarded to them can be seized and contributed towards compensation for their victim’s family. Victim impact statements, which are read to the court by the family of the victim, are today admissible in courts in New South Wales. (Now such statements are also admissible in the other states and territories.)

More recently, a paedophile register was created in New South Wales that obliges all registered child rapists and freed child killers to let police know where they live and work and all vehicles they drive regularly. (A register run along the same lines as the one in New South Wales has also been established in Victoria.) The Federal Government has introduced a database Crimtrack that collates data on criminal records, modus operandi and DNA. And, from 1 January 2001, the compulsory DNA testing of all criminals in Australia began. It is obvious that parliamentarians are listening to the growing voice of the families of homicide victims.

With compensation an automatic right for families affected by murder and unrestricted counselling now available, Australia has stepped to the forefront in victims’ rights. But, the question remains has it stepped far enough? Often, the trial does not take place until three or four years after commission of a crime. It may be followed by appeals, re-determination of sentences, parole hearings and work release proposals. Each of these events causes bereaved families to relive their grief. Is there anything we can do? First, we can listen. Secondly, we can lend our support to the legislative changes families of victims consider essential. And, thirdly, we can allow them the time they need to grieve, whether it be a week or a lifetime.

The four families in this book have made changes to the system after losing their loved ones. In an ideal world no one should have to follow in the footsteps of these families. In reality, however, there are approximately 315 murders in Australia every year, and about nine per cent of victims are children. It would be comforting to think it could never happen to you. But it can, so together we must improve the system we have.

 

Helen Reade

Sydney

March 2003