Kiesha Weippeart’s stepfather Robert Smith’s new life in Sydney after 12 years jail

Tracked down after his release from jail 13 years after he covered up the murder of Kiesha Weippeart by stuffing her body in a suitcase and setting it alight, Robert Smith still can’t say “I’m sorry”. | FIRST PICTURES

• How child murder case gripped Sydney

Note: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples should be aware that this article contains images and names of deceased persons

Thirteen years since he covered up the murder of his stepdaughter by dousing her body with petrol and setting it on fire, Robert Smith still won’t say “I’m sorry”.

Smith, 43, was spotted for the first time on Tuesday since he left prison in the middle of the night last month to avoid being seen after serving 12 years for the manslaughter of western Sydney girl Kiesha Weippeart.

Kiesha was only six-years-old when her mother Kristi Abrahams bashed her to death in 2010, before she and Smith stuffed the body into a suitcase and dumped it in a shallow grave, in one of the state’s most depraved crimes.

When The Daily Telegraph approached Smith on a street in the city’s east, he initially denied he was Kiesha’s stepfather.

“Who, nah, (I’m) not Rob, my name’s Terry,” Smith said.

Robert Terry Smith is pictured for the first time since he left jail after serving 12 years. He was released on parole last month and is now living in Sydney’s east. Picture John Grainger

Smith refused to apologise for his role in his stepdaughter’s death when approached on Tuesday.

But when this reporter reminded Smith — whose middle name is Terry — that she had interviewed him multiple times in the days after Kiesha was reported missing, and sat with him and Abrahams while they cried and begged for help to find the girl, the man conceded it was him.

“Yeah … what are ya here for?” Smith said.

Kiesha Abrahams was bashed unconscious when she refused to put on her pyjamas, then put to bed to die. Picture: Supplied

Asked if he was sorry for what he did to Kiesha, and if he would apologise to her family and friends for his role in the abhorrent crime, he said simply “Nah”.

If he had his time again, would he call an ambulance for the little girl who was bashed unconscious when she refused to put on her pyjamas, then put to bed to die? Smith replied “Nah”.

Smith then fumbled with his mobile phone and refused to say anything about the heinous crime, before sprinting away down a side street and hiding.

The Daily Telegraph can reveal Smith is now living in a halfway house along with 35 other newly-released serious offenders.

Smith with his partner Kristi Abrahams and Kiesha at her 4th birthday party. Picture supplied

The facility is only a few blocks away from several primary schools and daycare centres.

Smith’s few restrictions are that he not leave the facility between 6pm and 6am, and he must report to his parole officer regularly.

He is banned from entering the Penrith or Bankstown areas, and must not contact Kiesha’s family.

Smith is walked from the NSW District Court to a waiting prison van during his sentencing in 2011.

Kristi Anne Abrahams is led away from King Street Court after being jailed for her daughter Kiesha Weippeart’s murder.

Full board and lodging costs Smith around $150 per fortnight, and he can stay there for up to three months while he looks for permanent accommodation.

Smith has been living at the centre since he snuck away from Junee Correctional Centre just after midnight on April 21, the day he was eligible for parole.

His mother Rebecca Smith, a fierce supporter of her son, collected him under the cover of darkness so they wouldn’t be seen by waiting media.

A staff member of the correctional centre said Smith had been so anxious about the media and the public reaction ahead of his release that he was spending extended periods in his cell.

The State Parole Authority granted Smith’s release saying he had been a model prisoner, completed education programs and demonstrated “pro-social behaviour”.

Abrahams and Smith called police claiming Kiesha had disappeared. The pair made multiple emotional pleas for help finding the missing girl before they were both arrested eight months later.

Abrahams pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to a minimum 16 years in jail.