New playground built in honour of Zayden Veal-Whitting, murdered by burglar Harley Hicks

A DRUG-addled burglar committed the “unthinkable” crime when he came across a sleeping baby while robbing a Bendigo home - then tried to pin the crime on his identical twin.

THERE’S a new playground in Bendigo, built by the loved ones of a little boy who should be alive today to enjoy it.

But baby Zayden Veal-Whitting, just 10 months old, was bludgeoned to death where he should have been safest — in his own cot — by drug-addicted burglar Harley Hicks in the early hours of June 15, 2012.

Hicks bashed Zayden more than 30 times with a homemade baton made of copper wire and electrical tape.

HORROR UNENDING FOR SLAIN BABY’S MUM

ICE ADDICT GUILTY OF BRUTAL BABY MURDER

Hicks has never offered an explanation, nor showed an ounce of remorse for his crime, described by the judge in his trial as “unthinkable” and “totally and utterly evil”.

Casey Veal shared the home in Eaglehawk Road in the Bendigo suburb of Long Gully with her partner Mathew Tisell, Zayden and her elder son Xavier.

Zayden Veal-Whitting was just 10 months old when he was bludgeoned to death in his cot. Picture: Supplied

On the night of the murder Hicks, 19, left his home in nearby Green Street to go on a burglary spree through the streets close to his home.

He smoked ice and cannabis and drank alcohol before he left.

Hicks already had an extensive criminal history, which included armed robbery, aggravated burglary, a number of burglaries and recklessly endangering life.

He previously terrorised a woman after breaking into a Bendigo home and held up a service station with a knife.

Hicks was serving a community corrections order for the armed robbery when he murdered Zayden.

The baby boy suffered 25 blows to his head and up to eight other blows to his upper body from Hicks’ frenzied attack, which fractured the little boy’s skull, collar bone and a rib.

Zayden’s baby monitor had been turned off.

Hicks then pulled Zayden’s blanket over his nose to conceal his injuries.

Casey and Mathew woke to find the house had been burgled. When Zayden didn’t stir, Casey pulled back the blanket and found her son motionless in a pool of blood.

After the murder, Hicks made himself scarce, travelling 100km to Gisborne, staying with his then girlfriend Martina at her sister’s house, which was unoccupied. The pair was due in Gisborne a day later for an event with her family.

Hicks bleached his hair in the days after the robbery.

Hicks wore Mathew Tisell’s sunglasses, stolen the night before.

He bleached his hair and cut up the tracksuit pants he wore to the break-ins, discarding the pieces in a bin.

He also searched the internet for his name and information about the murder and the burglaries.

When Martina received a telephone tip that police were looking for Hicks, he fled and spent a wintry night at a Gisborne football ground.

Because of his history of burglaries, Hicks was a person of interest to police early in the investigation and they were already watching members of his family, including his father John Hicks.

On June 19, Hicks phoned his dad for a lift home to Bendigo. Police swooped as they neared town, finding Hicks lying under a blanket on the back seat.

A search of Hicks’ home before his arrest turned a number of stolen items.

A second search after the arrest revealed Mathew’s wallet and digital scales, stolen on the night of the murder, and the improvised baton, which was hidden in a bag in a cupboard.

Forensic tests later found traces of his and Zayden’s DNA on the baton, and on a set-top box stolen from a neighbouring house.

On June 21, Hicks pleaded guilty without admissions to a series of burglary and theft offences in Long Gully including those committed on the night of the murder.

They also said that while Hicks was in a holding cell following his arrest, he divulged information about his crimes on June 14-15 that only the killer would know.

Homicide detectives later charged Hicks with Zayden’s murder.

Casey Veal with a picture of Zayden and Xavier. Picture Norm Oorloff

Hicks falsely accused another man, Aiden Kirby, of the murder. He said he and Kirby both went on that burgling spree but only Kirby went into the murder house.

Kirby had an airtight alibi and had not seen Hicks in a long time.

Ironically, Casey and Hicks knew each other at high school. Casey and her friends had taken care of Hicks, a troubled loner a couple of years younger than them, who was bullied.

The five-week trial of Harley Hicks was held in the Supreme Court in Bendigo, beginning in March 2014.

Hicks pleaded not guilty to the murder and charges of aggravated burglary and theft from Zayden’s family’s home. He was tried before a jury, which for legal reasons was not told of his guilty pleas for burglary and theft.

The hearings were attended by the nearest and dearest of both Zayden and Hicks.

It was rough stuff in a small town like Bendigo, a city still reeling from the horror of Zayden’s murder.

Members of Hicks’ circle were accused of baiting Casey Veal and her supporters outside the court and on social media, and of misbehaving in court.

In one instance during jury deliberations, Justice Stephen Kaye admonished Hicks’ mother, Wendy Joy Clark, for taking pictures of Hicks in prison greens inside court and posting them to social media in breach of court rules and a suppression order.

Defence barrister David Hallowes insisted Hicks did not enter the Eaglehawk Road house or kill little Zayden.

“By the end of this trial you will not like Harley Hicks,” he said.

“He’s a liar. He’s a thief. He’s a drug user. That does not make him a killer.”

Later in the trial, Mr Hallowes told the jury Hicks’ identical twin brother Ashley may have been burgling with the accused and may have committed the murder as identical twins, the pair shares a DNA profile.

“To convict Harley Hicks, they (the prosecution) must prove to you beyond reasonable doubt that Ashley Hicks did not kill Zayden Veal-Whitting. I say to you they can’t do that.”

Ashley Hicks, the twin bother of Harley Hicks, outside the Bendigo court.

Ashley denied any involvement in the burglary spree or the murder, telling the court that he was bombed on cans of Jim Beam and cola and prescription medications including Xanax after watching football with John Hicks.

Mr Hicks backed Ashley’s version of events.

Prosecutor Michele Williams told the jury the case against Hicks was strong.

She said Hicks was in the area around the time Zayden died, had stored the baton containing traces of his and Zayden’s DNA in his house, had Mathew’s wallet and scales in his home and wore Mathew’s sunglasses the day after Zayden’s death.

Then there was Hicks’ conduct after Zayden’s death — fleeing Bendigo for Gisborne a day earlier than planned, fleeing Gisborne as police closed in, bleaching his hair, shredding his trackies, searching for information relating to the crimes he committed and framing Aiden Kirby.

She said there was no explanation for Zayden’s death, but Hicks’ use of ice might have explained its savagery.

“That might really fit, you might think, in terms of why he killed Zayden. Why, when he went in there, and if he’s on shard (ice) and alcohol and marijuana and in a fit of rage because the baby stirred or woke up, in a fit of panic, or perhaps aggression, that fits too as an explanation, if you like,” Ms Williams told the jury in her closing argument.

But Mr Hallowes said some of the evidence didn’t fit, such as the discovery of the wallet and baton in the second search, which he said showed Hicks hadn’t brought the items home.

“We vigorously contest the prosecution allegation that it was Harley Hicks who killed Zayden,” Mr Hallowes said in his closing address.

The jury deliberated for five agonising days before finding Hicks guilty.

Hicks’ head fell to his hands as the verdict fell.

Harley Hicks is led into a police van.

Harley Hicks outside court.

Casey Veal, who bravely attended each day of the trial and who left the court in tears several times as she described finding her son’s lifeless, bloodied body, sat silently.

Hicks’ loved ones, particularly his mother and twin brother, sobbed audibly.

Casey later posted on Facebook: “I stood strong. I got justice for my son, Zayden”.

Justice Kaye said Hicks had a history of drug and alcohol dependence, had a dysfunctional upbringing and had been repeatedly assaulted, but this did not excuse his horrific crime.

“It is almost unthinkable that any human being could have carried out such a sickening crime that you have committed,” Justice Kaye said.

“What you did was totally and utterly evil.”

He sentenced Hicks to life imprisonment with a minimum of 32 years.

Zayden Veal-Whitting with father James Whitting

Murdered Bendigo baby Zayden Veal-Whitting with brother Xavier.

He sought leave to appeal the sentence but this was denied in February 2015.

Those who loved Zayden, led by Casey, Zayden’s father James Whitting and Zayden’s aunty Angie Whitting, were determined to build a lasting memorial to the little boy that touched their hearts.

They approached the City of Greater Bendigo with the idea of a playground.

The Family and Friends of Baby Zayden Veal-Whitting group was supported by several local businesses and raised $130,000 to build the $1.3 million Eaglehawk Regional Play Space, a few minutes’ drive from where Zayden lived.

It’s modelled on the Banjo Paterson poem Mulga Bill’s Bicycle. After all, “ ‘Twas Mulga Bill from Eaglehawk that caught the cycling craze”.

It has flying foxes, a trampoline, swings and slides in a unique design, and a butterfly-themed junior play area in honour of Zayden called Where Angels Play.

“It’s amazing, it really is,” James Whitting told the ABC when the playground opened on Sunday, September 16.

“It’ll be better (for Zayden’s loved ones to gather) here instead of going to the cemetery. A lot better. The kids will absolutely love it.

”Xavier, Zayden’s older brother, will absolutely love playing here, especially knowing it’s for his.”

@JDwritesalot