Zachary Rolfe: NT police officer’s parents sell house after Black Lives Matter activist threats
The high society parents of Constable Zachary Rolfe - who is charged with the murder of an indigenous man in the Northern Territory - are selling their home after threats from Black Lives Matter activists.
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The high-society Canberra parents of NT Police Constable Zachary Rolfe, who is awaiting trial for murder, are selling their dress-circle family home just weeks after revealing they had been the target of “conduct” so serious their son could no longer live with them while on bail.
Constable Rolfe, 29 is on leave from Northern Territory Police on full pay after being charged with the murder of Kumanjayi Walker, 19, after shooting him during an arrest at Yuendumu in November last year.
He has indicated he will plead not guilty.
The aftermath of Constable Rolfe’s shooting of Kumanjayi Walker saw tense protests around the country.
Constable Rolfe has not returned to the Northern Territory since being granted watch-house bail, after which he flew home accompanied by his mother, Canberra socialite and philanthropist Deb.
He has attended pre-trial court hearings by video link.
Constable Rolfe’s bail conditions included living at his parents’ home on Endeavour St, in the leafy Canberra suburb of Red Hill.
That changed last month when Northern Territory Local Court Judge John Birch rubber-stamped Constable Rolfe moving to an address — which is suppressed — after being handed a confidential affidavit detailing “conduct that is alleged to have taken place towards the defendant, as well as his family”.
The affidavit detailing the alleged “conduct” towards Constable Rolfe and his parents has not been made public, but the The Canberra Star has been told by nearby residents of “activists” who appear to be associated with the Black Lives Matter movement.
Constable Rolfe’s father, Richard Rolfe, is a successful and respected Canberra car dealer.
Requests for comment on his son’s case have been met with refusals from his staff.
The listing for the family’s five-bedroom home makes no mention of the apparent reason for the sale.
It is not being sold to bankroll Constable Rolfe’s top-dollar defence, which is being funded by the NT Police Association.
LJ Hooker agent Stephen Thompson told realestate.com.au the home was on a large parcel of land and would attract discerning buyers.
“In the true sense, it’s a character home, it’s good quality as is, but it’s like a farmhouse,” he said.
The Rolfe family has owned the house since 1999, when they started a “sympathetic renovation and extension” on it.
The home features a billiard room, a four-car garage, three outdoor areas and a formal lounge and dining area.
It goes to auction on July 25.