Anita Cobby: Grace’s Place milestone on 35th anniversary of death
Anita Cobby’s sister has spoken of her journey towards healing on the anniversary of the nurse’s murder. It comes as plans progress for the creation of a world-first facility in her memory.
Blacktown
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It’s been 35 years since the nation was shocked by the murder of Anita Cobby.
It was February 2, 1986, when the beautiful 26-year-old nurse was abducted, raped and murdered by five men near Blacktown.
Anita’s death sparked widespread outrage and left her family reeling.
All these years later, the legacy of Anita lives on stronger than ever.
In the face of such tragedy, Anita’s sister, Kathryn Szyszka strove to use her unfathomable trauma as a force for good.
Following in the footsteps of her parents, the late Grace and Garry Lynch, who founded the Homicide Victims Support Group, Ms Szyszka has been a driving force in the establishment of a world first homicide trauma recovery centre in western Sydney.
The revolutionary $10 million facility, Grace’s Place, named in honour of Mrs Lynch, will support children left behind after a homicide.
Once complete, the revolutionary centre will provide accommodation, meals, counselling and activities for up to 12 children who have lost a parent to murder.
It was on the anniversary of Anita’s death on Tuesday that the group marked a special milestone in the development of Grace’s Place, with the green light officially given for construction to commence.
“You can’t help but think, my mum is overseeing this whole project,” Ms Szyszka said.
“My mum is still managing to weave her magic.
“It’s funny how things work out sometimes and I can’t help but think that mum would be so thrilled with this project and what it will mean to the homicide victim’s families in the future.”
As the patron of Grace’s Place Ms Szyszka has never been one to dwell on tragedy surrounding her sister’s death, but focus on healing and the good times instead.
She marked Tuesday’s anniversary by lighting a candle and listening to Anita’s favourite band, The Eurythmics.
“I always try to remember her spirit, which was generous, caring, thoughtful,” she said.
“I don’t have this urge to rush off to where her ashes are, that has eased over the years, it’s more just about the memories.
“The pain has definitely eased over the years and now you just reminisce about the good times.
“Healing, It can be done. Initially you can’t get your head around how life will possibly go on, so I think Grace’s Place will give a bit of comfort to those who are fresh to the horrors of that sort of thing.”
Battling through the trauma these past three decades, Ms Szyszka believed goodness will always conquer the forces of evil.
“There’s always the evil forces but there’s too many good people in the world and hopefully that will be what comes to the fore,” she said.
“It just means so much to me and my family to turn Anita’s tragic passing into something so positive.
“You can’t help but see it in other ways, like the Abdallah family that lost their children in Oatlands a year ago. Now, they’re turning the tragedy into something positive.
“It’s just really heartwarming to see you can overcome these things and turn a very negative and tragic situation into something positive and longstanding.
“Grace’s Place is going to have such far-reaching benefits for so many people. That’s what keeps us going and ticking along.”
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