Family’s heartache after James Morton sentenced for fiery murder of Alexis Parkes

The son of slain Brisbane woman Alexis Parkes has revealed the heartbreak of telling his four-year-old why she can no longer visit her nanna and described how he was still haunted by the image of his severely burnt mother.

The son of slain Brisbane mother Alexis Parkes has revealed the heartbreak of telling his four-year-old daughter why she can no longer visit her nanna and described how he sat helpless by her bedside as she slowly died after suffering burns to 80 per cent of her body.

James Morton Mason was on Monday sentenced to life in prison for murder after he set Ms Parkes’ Chermside home on fire in February 2020.

Tyron Parkes bravely told his mother’s killer of the pain he had caused their family, recounting how he was forced to bear the burden of turning his mum’s life support off and saying how he would do anything to hear her voice again.

His heavily-pregnant sister Mackayla stood beside him in court, saying since her mother was killed she had battled cancer, been married and was now preparing to give birth to her first child.

Tyron and Mackayla Parkes, the children of Alexis Parkes (inset), speak outside court on Monday. Picture: Liam Kidston

“A dark cloud will forever hang over our family and the realization I will one day need to explain the tragic events of that day to my children when I myself can hardly comprehend them,” Ms Parkes said.

“Finding the will to keep moving forward every day without her becomes harder and harder and at times almost unbearable.”

Ms Parkes said she could not bring herself to forgive her mum’s killer.

“And even though I’m still surrounded by friends and family, I still feel so alone because I need my mum,” she said.

“I need her just as much as I need air to breathe. I was robbed that day, we all were. We should have had more time.

“A part of me is broken, a piece of me is missing and the ache I feel in my chest just never goes away.”

The Chermside home was destroyed.

Mr Parkes said he thought about his mother every day and the pain never lessened.

“I miss the random phone calls at all hours of the day and night,” he said.

“I would get upset when she would call me late at night but now wish she’d call me every night just so I could hear her voice again.”

He said Ms Parkes loved being a grandmother and his children had been robbed of her presence.

“I would watch her run around the house with them and play hide and seek,” he said.

“She was always so happy with grandchildren, it was the happiest I ever saw her.”

My daughter was four years old when she lost her nanna. For years she asked why she couldn’t visit nanna’s house, now at age seven she finally understands why.”

Alexis Parkes died of multiple organ failure four days after she was rescued from her burning house in Chermside in February 2020.

He said he was still haunted by the image of his mum in the hospital bed after having suffered burns to 80 per cent of her body, many down to the bone.

“The smell and how she looked is forever implanted in my mind,” he said.

“I was then tasked with the hardest decision I have ever made to turn my mum’s life support off.

“I feel helpless that I couldn’t save her. I sat with my mum for 16 hours until she slowly passed away at 12.30am on the ninth of February, 2020.”

James Morton Mason.

Justice David Jackson on Monday sentenced Mason to life imprisonment after a jury took less than a day of deliberations to find him guilty of murder.

“I find that you lit the fire out of spite and anger to burn Ms Parkes’ car and knowing it would likely burn her house,” he said.

“I do not find that you actually intended to kill her at the time of lighting the fire but I find you lit the fire aware of her intoxicated state, aware of the extreme risks of your actions and yet proceeded to do so using petrol in the way I have described.”

Justice Jackson said after lighting the fire, Mason stayed to watch the awful events unfold.

“You must have witnessed the horrible scene of neighbors trying to help Ms Parkes get out before the flames beat them back from the front door and then the back door but you left anyway without any action to assist against the raging fire you had created,” he said.

“Ms Parkes experienced a terrifying ordeal until she became unconscious.

“She died in a horrible way. There is nothing in the circumstances to lessen your responsibility for her murder or the callous and deliberate arson that caused the raging inferno as a result of which she died.”

FULL VICTIM IMPACT STATEMENTS

MACKAYLA PARKES

Mackayla Parkes. Picture: Liam Kidston

I wish I could forgive, I wish I was a strong enough person to be able to do that but sadly I’m not.

All I can do is feel sad and hurt and angry, not just because you’ve taken my mother away, the grandmother to my unborn child, but you destroyed my family in ways that are beyond repair.

A dark cloud will forever hang over our family and the realization I will one day need to explain the tragic events of that day to my children when I myself can hardly comprehend them.

No matter how much time passes, that day will forever be seared into my head like it was yesterday.

Finding the will to keep moving forward every day without her becomes harder and harder and at times almost unbearable.

Since losing my mum I have faced an illness that almost took my life, I got married and now I’m about to bring my first child into the world.

The back door to the home.

And even though I’m still surrounded by friends and family, I still feel so alone because I need my mum.

I need her just as much as I need air to breathe.

I was robbed that day, we all were. We should have had more time.

A part of me is broken, a piece of me is missing and the ache I feel in my chest just never goes away.

The image of her lying in the hospital bed covered in burns is a nightmare I can’t wake up from and every time I close my eyes I’m haunted by that image.

All I have now are the memories of my mum but even they too are filled with sadness, sadness that I will never be able to see her again, hear her voice or hug her so tightly I just don’t want to let go.

All I want more now than anything is to have more time.

TYRON PARKES

Tyron Parkes. Picture: Liam Kidston

My world has been changed forever. My heart is heavier than I could ever have imagined.

It’s been almost three years since my mum was taken from us and I’ve tried many times to articulate the impact of her death on me but I’ve never been able to find the words. This is my attempt to express the sadness I feel.

I remember the morning of 5th of February 2020 like it was yesterday. I arrived at work and received a phone call from police saying my mum was in a very serious way and I needed to come to the hospital as soon as possible.

Thoughts of my mum were racing through my head. When I arrived at the ICU I was informed by the doctors to prepare myself as the burns unit is warmed to slowly bring down the burns.

I was the first family member to enter the room as I saw my mum laying there in the bed hooked up to machines it hit me, I couldn’t say a word I just instantly cried.

I knew nothing would ever be the same again.

The smell and how she looked is forever implanted in my mind. She had burns to 80 per cent of her body, most were down to bone. When I close my eyes it’s all I see, even now.

I was immediately asked by the ICU staff to be my mum’s statutory health attorney as she was in an induced coma and not able to make any decisions about her own health. This weighed heavy on me as I was now responsible for every decision regarding my mum’s health going forward.

After consenting to multiple surgeries and procedures to assist with her injuries, our family was advised that the chances of my mum recovering from her injuries was near impossible and if she did, she would likely be in vegetative state for the rest of her life.

The home in flames in 2020.

Her body had started shutting down and the medical team said there was nothing more that they could do.

I was then tasked with the hardest decision I have ever made to turn my mum’s life support off.

As mum’s eldest, I’ve always prided myself that I was the one that mum relied on.

I feel helpless that I couldn’t save her.

I sat with my mum for 16 hours until she slowly passed away at 12.30am on the ninth of February, 2020.

As soon as my mum passed, her death was announced, I then had to sign her body over to the coroner to begin the investigation. I couldn’t express how traumatic this was.

Mum’s tragic passing has left a hole not only in my heart but many hearts that can never be filled.

She is my mum and I say the word is because to me and others she is still living and will always be here.

I am being forced into learning to love my mum differently. I didn’t want to but I have no choice, it is now a reality I face.

I think about mum every single day. I miss the random phone calls at all hours of the day and night.

I would get upset when she would call me late at night but now wish she’d call me every night just so I could hear her voice again.

I used to look forward to the weekends when I would take my children to her house. I would watch her run around the house with them and play hide and seek. She was always so happy with grandchildren, it was the happiest I ever saw her.

They would bribe her for lollies, to which she would say ‘okay but please don’t tell your dad’.

She would always ask me when am I bringing them over for another visit. I used to look forward to the weekend but they are now no longer something special.

My daughter was four years old when she lost her nanna, for years she asked why she couldn’t visit nanna’s house, now at age seven she finally understands why.

Most days I feel emotionally saddened by the fact I must face the world without me.

She was all I had left after my dad passed away when I was 10.

Some nights I wake up and hope this was all a dream … and then I realise it’s not.

Mum would want us to be strong but it’s easier said than done. The pain I feel is just as strong as the day she passed away.

I understand this pain will never go away, I just have to learn to live with it.

I can’t call mum and tell her how my day was, I can’t drive to her house and watch her spoil her grandchildren, I can’t share birthdays or Christmases with her, all I can do is look at photos and remember the times I had with her and wish I spent more with her.

I’m tired of crying and feeling like I shouldn’t be sad and wondering if there’s something wrong with me still feeling like this.

The centerpiece of our family has been taken from us. Anything short of mum’s return could never compensate for the loss we have to feel every day.

My mum received a death sentence, however our family has received a life sentence.