The teen who stabbed a 15-year-old girl to death as she walked home from school on the NSW Central Coast has walked free nearly 17 years after her murder.
Tania Burgess was stabbed 48 times after she hopped off a school bus and walked through the car park of Forresters Beach Resort on July 19, 2005.
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Now Tania’s family are calling for the identity of their daughter’s killer to be revealed to the public.
The convicted murderer, known to the public only as “DL”, has been in custody since he was 16, and because the offense occurred when he was a minor he cannot be named for legal reasons.
With the killer now aged 32, Tania’s parents believe the suppression of her killer’s name should be lifted in the interest of “public safety”.
Tania’s parents Mandy and Chris Burgess told Sunrise last month they felt frustrated that her killer was to get a second chance at life.
“I felt anger and helplessness because it’s really like riding as a backseat passenger in a car for the last 17 years,” Mandy said.
“We had this most beautiful 15-year-old daughter, and she was taken away from us and now he gets to have his life back.
“He gets to have a second chance at life, and we can’t do that for Tania.
“She’s not going to get a second chance at life.”
The devastated parents admit they felt “a lot of anger” when seeing their daughter’s killer again in court.
“I was just such a hard thing to do, to see his face again,” Mandy said.
Mandy and Chris have also met with a handful of ministers to discuss the suppression order.
“They’re all very much all about releasing the name because it gives accountability for their crimes,” Chris said.
“And it’s not like they stole a car, they did something significantly more serious, so they should be accountable for their crimes, not just able to hide behind anonymity. “
DL was convicted back in 2005 by a jury and was jailed for at least 17 years, with a maximum term of 22 years.
This was reduced on appeal by four years in 2018, meaning he has been eligible for parole since mid-2018.
During a hearing, Justice James Wood accepted the expert advice from the Serious Offenders Review Council that strongly advised DL should be released with supervision before his full-time sentence expired.
“The priority is now supervision to foster his reintegration and the protection of the public,” the council report stated.
DL must provide authorities daily notifications of all his movements and undergo treatment by a forensic psychologist, along with other strict conditions.
-With APA
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