Woman paroled after helping to hide ex-boyfriend’s murder at hands of new lover

A woman who accessed her ex-boyfriend’s Facebook account to hide the fact he’d been brutally murdered by her new boyfriend has been released from jail on parole.

A WOMAN who used her ex-boyfriend’s Facebook account in a bid to conceal the fact he’d been brutally murdered by her new lover has been released from jail on parole.

In 2016, Ian Rosewall killed 24-year-old Tyson Clarke by striking him to the back of the head with a hammer at least four times, at a home they shared in Launceston.

Rosewall, 44, and Renae Lorraine Donald, 18, then “jointly embarked on a strategy to keep the murder secret”.

Rosewall moved Mr Clarke’s body to a garden shed before burying him in the garden about a week later.

Meanwhile, Donald sent a series of messages from Mr Clarke’s Facebook account to other people, including Mr Clarke’s father, to make it seem as though her ex-boyfriend was still alive.

Donald told Mr Clarke’s dad that the pair was still in a relationship, even asking him to give them money because she had fallen pregnant with his twins.

Donald also kept receiving Mr Clarke’s Centrelink benefits into her bank account, which she shared with Rosewall.

The victim’s “largely skeletonised” remains were not found until nine months later.

Rosewall was jailed for 22 years, with a minimum term of 12-and-a-half years, while Donald was jailed for six years, with a non-parole period of half that time.

Donald, who pleaded guilty to one count of being an accessory after the fact of murder, became eligible to apply for parole in March this year.

In its newly-published decision, the Parole Board of Tasmania said Donald’s “ruse” of messaging Mr Clarke’s father from his Facebook account continued for several months until he became suspicious and reported his son’s disappearance to police.

“The applicant has struggled in the custodial environment,” the board said.

“She is classified as requiring maximum security, most probably because of numerous breaches of prison regulations she has committed.”

However, the board said Donald’s case notes described her as being capable of behaving pro-socially and compliantly, and that she’d engaged in therapy, alcohol and drug counselling and vocational courses.

Describing her as remorseful, the board granted parole as of March under the conditions she not contact Mr Clarke’s family, and that she stick to a mental health care plan.

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Originally published as Woman paroled after helping to hide ex-boyfriend’s murder at hands of new lover