Damian ‘Wildman’ Duffy opens up on tough life after dad jailed over Milperra massacre
A social media star has opened up on how his life spiralled after his bikie dad was involved in one of Sydney’s worst massacres that left an innocent girl dead.
An Australian wildlife enthusiast has revealed he became addicted to meth after being introduced to drugs by his bikie dad years after one of Sydney’s worst massacres that claimed the lives of six men and an innocent teenage girl.
Damian ‘Wildman’ Duffy was six months old when his dad, who was part of the Comanchero motorcycle gang, was involved in a shootout with rivals, the Bandidos.
The two groups met at the Viking Tavern’s car park in Mileprra, the city’s southwest, on Father’s Day in 1984 during a barbecue and motorbike parts market day.
But a “disagreement” led to guns being drawn and dozens of shots being fired, which left six bikies, all men, and a 14-year-old girl selling raffle tickets, dead.
Get all the latest Australian news as it happens — download the news.com.au app direct to your phone.
Both of Mr Duffy’s parents were arrested at the scene.
His dad, Robert John Heeny, was convicted of manslaughter and jailed for five years, while his mum was charged with affray.
The wildlife enthusiast, who has more than 500,000 followers on Instagram, said the massacre led to him struggling in the early years of his life.
“Instability. Just chaos,” he told SBS’s Insight: Caught Up In A Crime.
“A lot of anger issues. I used to get picked on and bullied, and I had no skill set in managing my emotions in any way, shape or form. I was very quick to be triggered.
“I was very quick to lash out, and I was just very confused as well. It’s an unfortunate reality, but I did walk around for many years, right through my younger years, all the way to my 20s, with a chip on my shoulder. And you get caught up in it, don’t ya?”
Mr Duffy said some of his earliest memories with his dad were visiting him behind bars, an environment he did not understand, which compounded his grief.
He was primarily raised by his grandparents when he was an infant and toddler, as his mum struggled in the weeks and years following the deadly shooting.
“Alcohol abuse, drug abuse, being reckless. Mum really went right off the rails and ended up having a car accident when I was nine years old. (She was left with) permanent brain damage, couldn’t walk, talk, feed herself, and required permanent care,” he said.
She died in 2012, almost two decades after the crash.
After being released from prison, Mr Duffy was able to spend more time with his dad.
But while he was excited to be back in his father’s arms and spent time with him, the adventurer admitted he did not have “many good memories”.
Mr Duffy said his father became “very angry” and was a “violent person” who was struggling with the loss of his bikie friends and the five years spent in jail.
Heeny’s behaviour had an impact on his impressionable young son.
“I thought I had to be like him. I thought if I was more like him I’d be accepted. But I’m just not like him in any way. I look a lot like him but that’s probably the only similarity,” he said.
Mr Duffy revealed he fell into a life of crime, telling how he once tried to steal a car before he was later introduced to drugs at 18 years old by his dad.
The wildlife enthusiast eventually developed a methamphetamine addiction.
“I wasn’t very good at it (dealing drugs) because I was a drug addict so I would buy all the drugs and I’d take most of the drugs and sell a little bit just enough to buy the next,” he said.
“But I became a drug addict because it was the ultimate escape. I didn’t have to deal with anything. I felt like I had no conscience as well. Like just acting out, saying nasty things and being nasty to people and responding with violence.
“I was like, ‘uh, who cares’. Because you’re not clear, you’re just not thinking straight.”
His dad died in 2008.
Originally published as Damian ‘Wildman’ Duffy opens up on tough life after dad jailed over Milperra massacre
