Convicted murderer and an escapee among instigators of costly Darwin prison riot

A CONVICTED murderer with a long history of causing disturbances, and a man who had previously escaped from custody, were instigators in the riot that caused tens of millions of dollars in damage at the Darwin prison last month

Emergency service vehicles outside the Darwin Correctional Precinct on the night of the mass breakout. Picture: Che Chorley

A CONVICTED murderer with a long history of causing disturbances and a man who had previously escaped from custody were instigators in the riot that caused tens of millions of dollars in damage at the Darwin prison last month.

The NT News can reveal murderer Matej “Matt” Vanko and Aaron Hyde – jailed in 2016 over an ice-fuelled crime spree that ended in a fatal crash – were among 21 prisoners who armed themselves, left their cells and set fire to parts of the jail on May 13.

Their involvement has raised questions about why dangerous prisoners with a history of escaping and causing disturbances were being held in the prison’s medium security cottages.

RELATED STORIES

Darwin prison riot now a major police investigation

Prison riot bill expected to be at least $40m

Prisoners ‘weren’t happy for some reason’, says Justice Minister

Vanko — convicted over the gruesome murder of Donald Stevens and kidnapping of Noelene Stevens in Darwin’s rural area in 2012 — led a riot at the Alice Springs Correctional Centre in July 2016.

That incident saw eight prisoners assault other inmates then climb on to the jail’s roof on the same day former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull called a Royal Commission into the NT’s youth justice system.

Vanko had been moved to Alice Springs after he bashed fellow inmate Daniel Camilleri at the Darwin prison in 2015.

He was moved back to Darwin following the 2016 riot.

Hyde — jailed for the 2015 crash that killed his 18-year-old friend Ashley Richards — escaped from custody in April 2018 while being escorted in handcuffs from Royal Darwin Hospital.

He then stole a car and drove it erratically through Palmerston at speeds of up to 90 km/h while still handcuffed.

Emergency service vehicles arrive at the Darwin Correctional Precinct on the night of the mass breakout. Picture: Che Chorley

During a hearing over his escape, the NT Supreme Court was told Hyde had been traumatised by his time spent at the Don Dale Youth Detention Centre and that he had not been provided appropriate grief counselling while in prison.

Prison sources said Hyde had instead been paired up with Vanko who had been given an unofficial role as his mentor.

The Department of Attorney General and Justice did not directly answer questions about Vanko and Hyde’s roles in the riot, or whether it was appropriate for a convicted murderer such as Vanko to be mentoring a younger prisoner.

“Northern Territory Correctional Services do not comment on any individual prisoner or divulge operational security matters,” the department said in a statement.

But prison officers — who spoke on the condition of anonymity — said they had serious concerns about how dangerous prisoners were being managed.

MORE TOP NT NEWS

Humpty Doo Barramundi lodges development plans for $9 million expansion

Businesses ‘may have to shut’ after Cavenagh St carpark closure

NT should have early access to trans-Tasman bubble: NZ Deputy PM

Contested Dundee development to get Minister’s tick or flick soon

“These are people who keep doing the wrong thing but keep getting rewarded,” one source said.

“There is no way these blokes should have been in medium security, but that’s where they put them and look at what happened.”

Attorney General Natasha Fyles said it was not reasonable for a prisoner to be held in high security for their entire sentence.

“We can’t simply take someone from being a high-security prisoner and simply downgrade them to exit,” she said.

“There is processes they go through and it is not uncommon for an individual to go up and down that classification scale.”

Ms Fyles has ordered an independent review into the May riot, as well as a separate review into the prison’s security issues.

The damage bill from the riot has been estimated at more than $30 million.

The prisoners were moved into the high security unit following the riot, but Hyde again managed to escape from his cell last Thursday and climb on to the jail’s roof.

NEW OFFER: Get amazing Sennheiser earbuds (RRP: $499) with NT News subscription deal

Sources said he used tin that had been put in place to stop male prisoners looking into the women’s section of the prison to climb out of the small exercise area at the back of his cell and on to the roof.

Prison officers had to use tear gas to get him down.

There was a further disturbance last Thursday involving 10 prisoners in the high security unit.

The Department said there was “no riot”, but further details could not be given as the matter was now under police investigation.

But prison sources say there was more fire damage done to the unit’s cells.

Police are expected to lay charges over the riot as soon as this week.