Nick Skeyhill’s plea to end ‘torture’ after father Kevin Skeyhill was murdered in his childhood home at Tungkillo
Nick Skeyhill thought moving back into his childhood home would be a way to honour his slain father.
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Nick Skeyhill thought moving into his murdered father’s house would bring a sense of solace at a time when he was processing overwhelming grief over his family’s unbearable loss.
The then-25-year-old hoped living in the Tungkillo home would help him feel closer to his dad, Kevin Skeyhill, and he intended to honour his memory by finishing the renovations he had started.
Kevin Skeyhill was stabbed to death at his home by his neighbour Darren Geoffrey Lorke, now in his late 50s, in September 2017, over a stormwater and fencing dispute.
Lorke, who hid in a bush on his property and attacked Kevin with an eight-inch hunting knife when he returned home, was sentenced over the murder in February 2019 to life in prison, with a non-parole period of 20 years.
Father-of-two Nick, now 32, still vividly remembers a telephone conversation with his dad just two nights before he was killed.
“He mentioned the neighbour was acting weird after an altercation they had a few days earlier regarding stormwater run-off,” he said.
“During the phone call dad also mentioned that the neighbour was threatening to ‘bury him in the backyard’.”
Nick said that after his father died, he initially channelled his shock and grief into “determination for a conviction and strength for the family”.
“The day the trial ended though I instantly felt flat and lethargic as the gravity of the situation started to finally sink in,” he said.
“I had moved into my father’s house with an intention to finish his renovations as a tribute to him but without the energy I had in the beginning, living here caused me to spiral into PTSD.
“Unfortunately it’s turned my childhood home into a place of torture.”
Nick said he wanted to sell the home so he and his family could move out and start to heal but he had underestimated the work and cost involved in the renovation, and they were now stuck.
The family can’t use the bathroom and currently bathe in the shed using a camp shower.
Nick said there were also a lot of smaller projects that needed to be finished in the house, such as fixing joinery in the laundry and replacing some cladding.
He said he had already bought the tiles for the bathroom and other items required to complete the renovation, however he needed about $15,000 to pay for labour.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help Nick and his family pay for the work so they can move out - and on.
It comes as the family grapples with a new documentary about Mr Skeyhill’s murder.
The Investigation Discovery channel’s long-running Fear Thy Neighbor series last month released an episode focusing on Mr Skeyhill’s murder.
The Skeyhills had input into the show but were left disappointed with the final product, which they say contained factual errors and omitted important information.
“The episode really hit us for a six,” Nick said.
Nick described his dad as a “beautiful country soul, always helping out the community, and (he) would do anything for his mates”.
“Even though he was the youngest male out of his seven siblings, they all looked to him for advice in times of need,” he said.
“As a father he was always empathetic and the best teacher I could’ve asked for (and) as a grandfather, he enjoyed nothing more than spoiling his grandchildren and used any excuse he could to give them gifts.”
To donate, visit gofund.me/5c8b9826.
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Originally published as Nick Skeyhill’s plea to end ‘torture’ after father Kevin Skeyhill was murdered in his childhood home at Tungkillo
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