‘These people deserve nothing’: Fury over compo payouts for killers

Crime victims are shocked that killers have been paid thousands in jail compensation, with the La Trobe University shooter and a backpacker murderer among those who have raked in thousands.

Jonathon Brett Horrocks shot dead bar manager Leon Capraro. Picture: Channel 7 News

A killer who opened fire in a university bar and a martial arts enthusiast who bashed a backpacker to death each stand to reap tens of thousands of dollars in compensation for jailhouse injuries.

Authorities are scrambling to stop the duo from keeping windfalls of over $10,000 each after they successfully claimed guards used undue force.

The Sunday Herald Sun can reveal La Trobe University shooter Jonathan Horrocks — who gunned down Leon Capraro at the Bundoora campus bar in 1999 — recently won a payout over a prison incident in 2010.

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Luke Wentholt, who a court heard behaved like a “crazy monster” when he killed Irish backpacker David Greene in 2012, also received compensation dating back to a 2014 clash with a guard.

Jonathon Brett Horrocks taken into police custody in 1999. Picture: Channel 7 News

A relative of Horrocks’s victim only learned of his compensation fight from the Sunday Herald Sun on Saturday.

“How does a prisoner in jail for ­murder apply for anything?” the shocked relative said. “It’s a pity he (Horrocks) didn’t break his neck. These people ­deserve nothing. The more I think about it, the more angry I get.”

Former victims of crime commissioner Greg Davies hit out at the failure of authorities to alert victims that their tormentors had won the payouts.

Leon Capraro a victim of the La Trobe University shooting.

Victims can apply for damages when offenders get compo for jail incidents. But only those on an opt-in register are contacted when such payments are made. Victims otherwise only find out through newspaper advertisements.

“You should be on the register unless you opt out,” Mr Davies said. “All of these little-known benefits for victims of horrendous crimes should be made automatically available.”

The relative of Mr Capraro said the family would likely now seek to claim Horrocks’s payment, even if it was just to prevent him from spending it.

County Court documents reveal Horrocks filed his case seven years after his arm was broken when he refused to leave his cell. He also demanded payment for loss of future earnings, despite only being eligible for parole in 2024.

Both murderers sued the private ­security companies running the prisons.

Geo Group Australia, which runs Fulham, rejected Horrocks’ complaint in its defence, saying he was not co-operating when his arm was broken.

Court documents show the company claimed Horrocks was refusing to leave his cell to be transferred to the Melbourne Assessment Prison.

Luke Wentholt at court.

Horrocks, whose humerus bone in his right arm was broken in the 2010 incident, moaned he had “psychological disturbance” as a result.

Wentholt — who a court heard stomped on the head of backpackers Greene and David Byas “like a crazy monster” — sued Port Phillip Prison operator G4S after a guard allegedly attacked him while he was handcuffed.

In a statement of claim, Wentholt alleged he was thrown on a cell bed and hit several times before his head was pushed to the ground, which he argued caused a broken nose, headaches and an eye injury.

G4S declined to comment on the case, while Geo Group Australia could not be contacted about Horrocks’s claim yesterday.

A government spokesman said victims were encouraged to apply for damages from offenders who had received compensation. But authorities say legal reasons prevent them detailing how many victims have successfully done so.

Horrocks was jailed after the deadly shooting at La Trobe’s Eagle Bar, where he worked before having his hours cut prior to the attack.

A note he left in his room read: “I’m not crazy. I tried every legal way possible to find justice … This is a warning to employers, politicians and corrupt men of authority. The little guy is getting tired of being used and shat upon with no avenues for fair play.”