Shandee’s sister Shannah Blackburn speaks after John Peros defamation case slapped down in court
The former boyfriend of a slain Mackay woman accused her sister of defaming him in a podcast — but a coroner’s ruling has meant he could be left with a big legal bill.
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The sister of a slain Mackay woman at the centre of a defamation lawsuit filed by the man acquitted of the murder is “extremely relieved” the case has been thrown out.
Just after midnight on 9 February, 2013 Shandee Blackburn was viciously stabbed 23 times and left to die on the roadside on Boddington St barely a stone’s throw from the home where she lived with her mother.
Her former boyfriend John Peros was charged with her murder 18 months later, and to this day has maintained he had no involvement in her death.
A Mackay Supreme Court jury acquitted him of murder in April 2017, but three years later in August 2020 Coroner David O’Connell ruled Mr Peros was, on the balance of probabilities, responsible for her death.
His exact words during the three-hour reading of the 66-page inquest findings were: “Ms Blackburn died due to injuries sustained in an incident involving violence with Mr John Peros, who used a bladed instrument.”
Under state double jeopardy laws Mr Peros cannot be recharged with murder unless there is “fresh and compelling” evidence.
The former champion amateur boxer tried to sue Shannah, Nationwide News (the publisher of The Australian) and investigative journalist Hedley Thomas for defamation following the award-winning podcast Shandee’s Story claiming episode 13 had “caused or is likely to cause serious harm” to his reputation.
Instead he may have to foot what is expected to be a significant legal bill after Justice Peter Applegarth dismissed the case, finding Mr Peros failed to prove he suffered “serious harm”.
“Unsurprisingly, the Coroner’s finding that (Mr Peros) violently killed Ms Blackburn was widely reported, including by newspapers and broadcasters, and in their online publications. Those publications have remained online since their first publication,” Justice Applegarth said.
Shannah Blackburn said she was “extremely relieved” over the result.
“This is not something I had ever expected to endure in my life, so it hasn’t been a pleasant experience. However I’m extremely grateful for the efforts and the support of the legal team,” she told this publication.
Justice Applegarth found episodes 1-12 of the podcast “exposed extraordinary shortcomings in the analysis of DNA evidence”.
“Episodes 1 to 12 left listeners with the strong impression that the prosecution at the trial was out-gunned, outmanoeuvred, and out-played by the superior forensic skills of defence counsel and defence solicitors,” Justice Applegarth said.
“I find that listeners to the first 12 episodes were likely to conclude that the Coroner’s findings were right, and that the plaintiff had violently attacked Ms Blackburn with a bladed instrument in a fast, frenzied and personal attack at around 12.15 am on 9 February 2013.”
Justice Applegarth found most listeners to episode 13 “had already formed a very adverse view” of Mr Peros because of episodes 1 to 12.
“To the extent Episode 13 reinforced their views about the plaintiff’s responsibility for the death of Ms Blackburn, I am not satisfied that any additional harm that it caused to his reputation amounts to serious harm,” Justice Applegarth found, dismissing the case.
Ms Blackburn said she “along with everyone else” were awaiting any updates on whether there would be a renewed coronial inquest into the murder.
“(We) also understand that this is a very serious matter and would not want anything to be unnecessarily rushed,” she said.
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