TWENTY-FIVE years after Cronulla bank teller Janine Balding was abducted, raped and murdered, her family hopes public outrage will thwart the killers’ final chance for freedom.
The opportunity for parole for three men convicted of her murder will come as early as 2018 for Stephen ‘‘Shorty’’ Jamieson and two years later for Matthew Elliott and Bronson Blessington.
Laws passed five years ago ensured the state’s worst murderers, who were sentenced to life imprisonment before that became a set term, could not make repeated applications for parole.
Ms Balding, 20, was on her way home from work on September 8, 1988, when the gang of ‘‘street kids’’, who had caught the train to Sutherland from the city, abducted her from a car park.
After assaulting her, they drowned her in a dam at Minchinbury.
Blessington was 14 at the time, Elliott, 16, and Jamieson, who protested another man named ‘‘Shorty’’ was involved, was 22.
Ms Balding’s brother David told the Leader painful memories were revived for the family by cases such as those involving Melbourne woman Jill Meagher and last week’s alleged attempted rape at Hunters Hill by paroled murderer Terrence John Leary.
Mr Balding said he and his parents hoped Janine’s killers would never be freed.
‘‘You can’t give everyone a second chance,’’ he said.
‘‘Hopefully, if [the chance of parole] ever comes up, there will be sufficient public outrage to make sure it never happens.’’
Mr Balding said Wayne Wilmot, another member of the gang, who was convicted of rape, was paroled after serving 7 years, but was sent back to jail after he committed further rapes.
Victims of Crime Assistance League vice-president Howard Brown said Ms Balding’s killers were ‘‘stymied for now’’.
‘‘Five years ago we had the law changed so Jamieson, Elliott and Blessington will get only one more chance for parole,’’ he said.
‘‘[Attorney General] John Hatzistergos, who was very supportive of victims’ families, listened when we said if nothing was done these men would be able to make repeated applications for parole.
‘‘The law also applies to people like the Murphy brothers [who abducted, raped and murdered nurse Anita Cobby in 1986].’’
Mr Brown said Wayne Wilmot, the fourth member of the gang that attacked Ms Balding, was convicted of three further counts of rape after his release.
‘‘He is eligible for parole in 2016, but he has got into strife since he has been at Lithgow [Jail], so I can’t see him applying,’’ he said.
Mr Brown said there was ‘‘no question’’ Ms Balding’s killers should never again taste freedom.
‘‘They still refuse to accept responsibility,’’ he said.
‘‘When you are releasing someone back into the community they need to show some contrition, but all they are willing to do is find excuses.’’
Constant reminder
A roadside memorial to Ms Balding ends with the words ‘‘Never to be forgotten’’.
It sits on the edge of the car park in Toronto Parade, Sutherland, where the young bank teller was abducted 25 years ago in September.
Residents and commuters who use the car park say fresh flowers are laid at the memorial regularly.
Ms Balding’s family, who live in Wagga Wagga, visit the site whenever they are in Sydney.
The car park was a strip of clay beside the railway line in 1988. Today, it is bitumen with concrete kerbing and marked car spaces.
One thing that hasn’t changed is that it is just as quiet and secluded as it was 25 years ago.
Do you think the men who killed Janine Balding should ever be released?
