Steve Egberts, grandfather of Hillier victims, urges families to speak up if they feel they are mistreated by prosecutors
THE grandfather of the children murdered at Hillier hopes future victims of crime will not be as poorly treated by prosecutors as he was — but, if they are, that they will speak out publicly.
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THE grandfather of the children murdered at Hillier hopes future victims of crime will not be as poorly treated by prosecutors as he was — but, if they are, they will speak out publicly.
Steve Egberts has told The Advertiser that pursuing a complaint against an allegedly abusive prosecutor, after the triple murder trial, has run his family “into the ground”.
He said that, after meeting Director of Public Prosecutions Adam Kimber SC on Monday, he must now “give up” on the matter for the sake of his mental health.
“It’s been pitiful but, at the end of the day, what’s happened with us is done and dusted — still, I have concerns for other victims,” he said.
“There are victims who won’t feel like they can stand up and talk, and I want to see change made for them.
“It is not in the public interest for prosecutors to behave this way.”
Mr Egberts’ grandchildren Amber Rose Rigney, 6, and Korey Lee Mitchell, 5, and their mother Adeline Yvette Wilson-Rigney were murdered in May 2016.
Steven Graham Peet confessed after a fraught and delay-plagued prosecution, and is serving a minimum 30-year jail term.
Two days after the admission, Mr Egberts filed a formal complaint about a senior prosecutor who, he claimed, subjected him to an “inexcusable personal attack”.
He alleged the prosecutor had taken credit for the case, blamed Mr Egberts for the delays and told him to “whinge in your victim impact statement”.
On Tuesday, Mr Egberts said Mr Kimber had assured him, during their meeting, he had personally counselled the prosecutor involved.
“Mr Kimber said (the prosecutor) told him ‘I can’t even fathom the amount of stress Steve is under’ so, when he called me out, it was probably stress,” he said.
“If I’m expected to keep my cool, and risk being ejected from court if I call the man who killed my grandkids some choice names, why isn’t he?
“Assurances of personal counselling mean nothing unless there’s an actual change in behaviour, otherwise there’s nothing to suggest he won’t do it again.”
In a statement, Mr Kimber said the Hillier case “has been a very difficult one” bearing a “lifelong” impact on victims “that cannot be overstated”.
“There has been very close liaison between my Office and all victims throughout this matter ... the overwhelming majority have included involvement with a social worker,” he said.
“Many of those meetings have been very lengthy and have covered a number of exceptionally difficult topics.
“Given some of the publicity about this matter, it is important I emphasise that all of my staff involved in this matter have my full support.”