Doreen Langham inquest: DV killer’s family in call to end violence

The family of domestic violence killer Gary Hely have made an emotional speech at the inquest into the horrific death of his ex-partner Doreen Langham, saying he was ‘not a monster but he did a monstrous thing’.

The family of domestic violence killer Gary Hely have made an emotional speech at the inquest into the horrific deaths of he and his ex-partner Doreen Langham in a townhouse fire, saying he was ‘not a monster but he did a monstrous thing’.

The five-day inquest into the February 2021 tragedy at Browns Plains ended in tears, with even Coroner Jane Bentley wiping her eyes with a tissue.

Ms Langham and her ex Gary Hely, both 49, died in a fire in her Browns Plains townhouse on February 22 last year, hours after she made her final Triple 0 call.

Ms Langham’s daughters Shayne Probert and Tabitha Bleys and Mr Hely’s brother-in-law David Guthrie bravely took to the witness stand to deliver powerful and emotional speeches.

Mr Guthrie said Hely’s actions were ‘horrific and indefensible’ and the family felt ‘shame and embarrassment’ for what he had done and a sense of responsibility that they could have done more.

Domestic Violence victim Doreen Langham.

“Gary was not a monster but he did a monstrous thing,” he told the court.

“We want men like Gary to stop using violence and we want no more women like Doreen to die.”

A weeping Ms Probert said family members were still ‘in immense pain, angry and confused’ about her loss and woke up from nightmares.

She said Ms Langham was full of laughter and unconditional love and was ‘the one person you always knew would be right there by your side’.

Ms Bentley offered her ‘sincere condolences’ to both families, describing Ms Langham as a ‘strong, independent, optimistic and resilient woman’.

The inquiry heard Ms Langham died after repeated police failures to protect her from Mr Hely.

Counsel assisting the inquest Ben Jackson said he recommended a major increase in police domestic violence training and a trial of specialist domestic violence police stations in the Logan district.

Earlier, police who responded to Triple 0 calls from Ms Langham in the days before she was killed were simply “ticking boxes” so they could get to the next job, a former top cop has told an inquest.

Former Assistant Commissioner Clem O’Reagan, who prepared a report for the inquest, said officers who interviewed Ms Langham two weeks before the tragedy failed to hear her tell them that Hely had been convicted for stalking and setting fire to his ex-partner’s home.

Police footage of a visit to Doreen Langham’s townhouse six days before she died. Picture: Queensland Police

“If two officers had listened on the day, that changes the whole game,” he told the hearing.

“(It was) a wonderful example of compliance gone wrong. The police are ticking boxes here. They’re doing the least they can do to get on to the next job.”

Mr O’Reagan said police made a “major mistake” in not checking Hely’s criminal history when Ms Langham told them about his background of stalking and alleged arson.

He agreed with counsel assisting the Coroner, Ben Jackson, that police had enough information to take action “then and there” and issue a protection notice for Ms Langham.

Mr O’Reagan said police were under enormous pressure and stress, especially in the Logan district, which had 44 jobs on the night of the fatal fire and a major manpower shortage.

He said the two officers who responded to Ms Langham’s final Triple 0 call had previously spent hours on another domestic violence incident and knew that if they took out a protection notice for her they would have to go through “hours and hours bureaucratic box ticking”.

But he said police needed to focus on “what’s important now” and listen to what domestic violence victims are telling them.

Coroner Jane Bentley told Mr O’Reagan that she was “perplexed at the total lack of any action” by police in response to Ms Langham’s many complaints about Hely, including their failure to check his criminal history.

The property at Myola Street in Browns Plains following a house fire. Pics Tara Croser.

Mr O’Reagan said police “had it in their head” that domestic violence was a civil matter and should have investigated him for stalking after he left flowers in her home.

“We’ve seen a compliance-driven process lead to the minimum of what could be expected,’ he said.

“They haven’t turned their mind to the victim … they’ve simply done the process. I’m at a loss, I don’t understand it.”

Mr O’Reagan was also asked about evidence from some police that Ms Langham did not appear to be in fear of her life and actually came across as “quite jovial”.

But he said that in times in body-worn camera footage of police interviews with her, “you can genuinely see her shaking with fear” and appeared to be masking her terror “with the bravado of a laugh”.

He said it showed the need for police to be better trained in victim responses.

Mr O’Reagan, who was previously in charge of training at the Police Academy, said online DV courses undertaken by officers “don’t cut it” because they failed to teach “emotional, interactive human skills”.

The inquest heard that mobile police centres staffed by specially trained female officers were being rolled out in domestic violence hot spots across the state in a bid to prevent similar tragedies.

Domestic and Family Violence Command boss, Acting Superintendent Ben Martain, said face-to-face training had been put on hold during the Covid-19 pandemic but was now being ramped up.

He said a compulsory one-day face-to-face training course in domestic violence had been introduced for all officers and he was committed to making it part of annual refresher training.

A domestic and family violence manual was also being developed for police, Supt Martain said.