Parole “in appropriate” for police killer Fiona Barbieri
Fiona Barbieri has been denied freedom nearly eight years after the brutal stabbing murder of police officer Bryson Anderson. Her son Mitchell is serving a 15 year sentence for the 45-year-old father’s murder.
Police & Courts
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Cop killer Fiona Barbieri has been refused parole with her release into the community deemed “inappropriate” until more information is gathered on her mental stability.
Inspector Bryson Anderson was stabbed to death when he walked into the northwestern Sydney home of Ms Barbieri and her son Mitchell to sort out a volatile neighbourhood dispute in 2012.
Mitchell Barbieri, then 19, is behind bars for at least 15 years for the murder of the 45-year-old father after the prosecution conceded he was affected by his mother’s paranoid delusions.
Fiona Barbieri was sentenced to at least six years and six months in jail after pleading guilty to manslaughter over the violent stand-off.
That minimum term expires next month, but on Thursday the State Parole Authority denied her freedom, having considered submissions from the Commissioner of Corrective Services and Insp Anderson’s family.
“There is need for a further psychiatric report to determine a discharge plan before she can be considered for release,” the SPA said.
“The panel was satisfied that parole at this time is inappropriate and not in the interests of the safety of the community.”
While in custody, Barbieri has been receiving psychiatric and psychological treatment and is on medication.
Her non-parole-period expires on June 5 but Barbieri will remain behind bars at least until a public review hearing is listed on a date to be fixed.
Barbieri and her son had barricaded themselves inside their squalid Oakville fortress with an arsenal of barbaric weapons when police arrived after a call from neighbours on December 6, 2012.
The pair screamed abuse at police and sent emails to a host of politicians about having the right to defend themselves.
When officers tried to storm in through the back door, Mitchell Barbieri picked up a large hunting knife and stabbed Inspector Anderson twice, while his mother swung a 1.8kg sledgehammer at officers.
Fiona Barbieri was also given a fixed sentence of four years and six months for use of an offensive weapon with intent to hinder lawful apprehension. This sentence expired on 5 June 2017
Her maximum nine-year sentence for manslaughter expires in December 2022.
