Lynette Daley death: Victim’s family calls for sacking of DPP for failing to charge pair
THE family of a woman left to bleed to death on a north coast beach after being violently raped by two men have called on the state’s top prosecutor to be sacked or resign after he persistently refused to charge them.
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- Lynette Daley death: Attwater found guilty of manslaughter
- How the charges against Attwater and Maris unfolded
THE family of a woman left to bleed to death on a north coast beach after being violently raped by two men have called on the state’s top prosecutor to be sacked or resign after he persistently refused to charge them.
Adrian Attwater, 47, and Paul Maris, 43, faced the Supreme Court in Coffs Harbour today to be sentenced after a jury took just 32 minutes to convict them over the death of mother-of-seven Lynette Daley.
Her stepfather Gordon Davis said outside court today that the Director of Public Prosecutions Lloyd Babb had to answer for the delay in bringing the men to justice.
“I feel the DPP is solely responsible for the trauma to my family over the past six and half years,” Ms Daley’s stepfather Gordon Davis said outside court today.
He said Mr Babb had to resign or be sacked and said that he had not even apologised to the family.
“He made the decision not to prosecute and it took the jury 32 minutes so where is the justice in that?” Mr Davis said.
Ms Daley, 33, died in January 2011 from shocking internal injuries but Ms Babb dropped charges against Attwater and Maris laid by police in the months after her death.
Mr Babb again refused to charge the two men despite recommendations by State Coroner Michael Barnes following an inquest into Ms Daley’s death.
It was not until The Daily Telegraph revealed the injustice that Mr Babb ordered an external review by Phillip Strickland that led to Attwater being charged with manslaughter and both men being charged with aggravated sexual assault.
Maris was also charged with hiding evidence after burning Mr Daley’s bloody bra and the blood-soaked mattress from the back of his Toyota troop carrier.
They were both convicted of the offences in August.
“There is a public interest in bringing offenders to justice speedily,” said Mr Strickland, who prosecuted the men.
Justice Elizabeth Fullerton said the charges were dropped and not pursued “for reasons I do not know or understand.”
The third oldest of Lynette Daley’s seven children told the Supreme Court today that she cannot understand how Attwater and Maris could have been so violent to a woman.
“These men have taken away the greatest thing any child could have in their lives and it really sucks,” the 18-year-old daughter, who cannot be identified, said.
Ms Daley’s mother, stepfather and three of her sisters spoke of their anger that it took so long to bring the men before a court.
The DPP has declined to comment while the case is ongoing.
The submissions on sentencing continue