Notorious NSW prison inmates to apply for for parole in 2024
A dodgy lawyer, a child-killer, and a high society cocaine kingpin are among the criminals who will fight to be released on parole in 2024.
Police & Courts
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A dodgy lawyer, a child-killer, and a high society cocaine kingpin are among the criminals who will fight to be released on parole in 2024.
This year, several notorious inmates will come before the State Parole Authority, having served the minimum jail term imposed by judges – for some, less than four years behind bars.
Described as a “complex process”, the State Parole Authority must decide whether it is in the interests of community safety to grant a parole order, allowing a criminal to continue serving the rest of their sentence in the community, or whether they stay behind bars to serve more of their sentence.
KELI LANE
Convicted baby killer Keli Lane will be eligible for release to parole in March – but it is not clear whether the state government’s new “no body, no parole” laws will prevent her release.
Lane was jailed for the 1996 murder of her baby daughter Tegan, with a judge ordering she spend a minimum of 14 years behind bars.
The now 48-year-old secretly gave birth to baby Tegan at Auburn Hospital in 1996 and insisted she handed the baby to its father, one Andrew Morris or Norris.
However, the father has never come forward, and in 2010 she was jailed.
With Lane always maintaining her innocence, and police never finding the baby’s body despite years of extensive searching, it’s unclear whether she will be impacted by the state’s “no body no parole” laws that make it impossible for convicted murderers to be released on parole if they refuse to give up the location of the victim’s remains.
MARK STANDEN
After spending 16 years behind bars for his role in a $120 million drug plot, disgraced former cop, the former assistant director of the NSW Crime Commission, will be eligible for release in June.
In December 2011, Standen was sentenced to 22 years jail, with a 16-year non-parole period, after he was found guilty of conspiring to import 300kg of pseudoephedrine – used in the manufacture of the illicit drugs speed and ice – as well as taking part in the supply of the substance and conspiring to pervert the course of justice.
SCOTT MILLER
He was the Olympic swim star, Cleo Bachelor of the Year and Sydney socialite who got caught up in the world of drugs – but after three years in jail, Scott Miller could be released in February.
Miller was jailed for a maximum of five years for leading a criminal syndicate that attempted to smuggle millions of dollars of the drug ice, which was secreted in candle wax, and hidden in a secret compartment in a Toyota Camry.
When police later raided his apartment, they uncovered nearly 800g of heroin and more than $72,000 in cash.
He pleaded guilty to two counts of supplying a prohibited drug, dealing with property proceeds of crime and participating in a criminal group contributing to criminal activity.
Miller will be eligible for parole on February 15.
PETER JOSEPH KELLY
A Central Coast accountant who “saw crimson” as he launched into a violent rage, killing his friend of 20 years Maria Lou Devrell, is another violent offender set for a chance to be released.
Peter Joseph Kelly will be eligible for parole in October after spending more than a decade in jail for murder.
Kelly, a court at the time in 2012 heard, had been critical of his friend Ms Devrell after she had won $5 million on the lottery.
That all came to a head at her Tamworth home where he accused her of being “wasteful” with the funds, causing her to push him and refuse to give him money.
Kelly would later tell police how he used a rubber mallet to beat Ms Devrell to death.
MATTHEW DOYLE
Matthew Doyle once said he “wasn’t a gangster” but “liked money”.
Doyle made headlines in 2019 after his major cocaine operation came undone, with police listening into all the gritty details of how he would make $85 million.
Doyle already had a socialite wife, thousands of dollars in the bank and a booming property portfolio when he indulged in a life of crime.
MICHAEL CROKE
Kings Cross lawyer Michael Croke spent decades keeping his clients out of jail.
But Croke was jailed for five years in 2020 for perverting the course of justice, knowingly helping a criminal group and providing the police with false statements, after his trial heard how the “ridiculously dodgy” solicitor helped concoct a story for a crook to explain why he had $700,000 in cash. Judge Helen Syme called Croke’s criminal associates a “cast of villains” worthy of a Hollywood movie.
Croke will be eligible for parole on February 4.
MATTHEW DE GRUCHY (Already on parole)
Matthew De Gruchy is one of Australia’s most violent criminals – having spent almost 23 years in prison for the brutal murders of his mother and siblings. While he was released from prison in 2019, his parole period will be over when his maximum sentence expires in June.
MOHAMMED SKAF (Already on parole)
Known for his role in the horrific series of gang rapes, when the clock counts down to midnight this weekend Mohammed Skaf will no longer be on parole.
After serving 22 years in jail, Skaf was released on parole earlier this year.
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