By Perry Duffin
A celebrated police officer who barely survived a savage ambush in Kings Cross was kept in the dark about her attacker’s impending release, and says she feels betrayed by a legal loophole that stopped the justice system from warning her.
Drug addict Roderick Holohan was on parole for the second time after two attacks on women when he bashed off-duty sergeant Samantha Barlow with a brick in May 2009.
Samantha Barlow with her husband Laurence on Wednesday.Credit: Janie Barrett
Barlow miraculously survived, but it left her and husband Laurence unable to carry on as a police officers. They have spent the past 15 years rebuilding their lives in regional NSW.
That was until Friday, when a call from a friend warned Holohan was earmarked for parole.
The couple were devastated to hear the news.
“At a time when there is bipartisan support to do something about violence against women at both state and federal level, a known violent criminal who attacked me whilst on parole for an earlier crime is being considered for a return to the community,” Barlow told the Herald.
They were furious to learn Holohan had a parole hearing in November 2023 and, had he been released then, they may have crossed paths without them even knowing he was out.
The Barlows had just days to compile a statement to authorities, pleading for Holohan not to be paroled.
“There are no words that can accurately describe the sense of betrayal that comes from something like this,” Barlow said.
“We are scraping together vague memories of legal process, reliving the trauma and being asked to put together a coherent, logical submission to be reviewed by judges and others.”
Left for dead: Former police officer Samantha Barlow revisits Kings Cross in 2013.Credit: Steven Siewert
The Serious Offenders Review Council this year concluded Holohan should be recommended for release. On Thursday, their recommendation will go to the State Parole Authority, which holds the final decision on Holohan’s release.
The authority considers feelings of victims when considering parole, but cannot contact them.
That responsibility lies with the Victims Register – the catch is, the register is an opt-in service.
“I gave a 25-page victim impact statement in court staring down this scumbag who would not look me in the eye during sentencing,” Barlow said.
“As if we would not want to be part of the process of keeping him locked away.”
The Barlows say they were not approached by the registry. They effectively fell through the cracks.
Corrective Services NSW, which oversees the registry, said it is “extremely distressing” for some victims when parole approaches. They do not contact people who have not opted in, to avoid causing unnecessary anguish.
Barlow returned to work after the attack, but has now left the force.Credit: Photographic
People can register at any point for updates about the offender’s custody, day leave, death, escape or parole until the end of their sentence, a spokesperson said.
The registry assists victims in writing letters ahead of parole, but Barlow said the system “is back to front”.
“People who have just been through the most traumatic experience in their lives … are expected to possess the logical thinking required to become part of a body that will one day be called upon in relation to parole five, 10 or 15 years later.”
Holohan, who was 39 when he attacked Barlow, had spent many years behind bars for violent assaults, often on women.
He was paroled after just 18 months in the late 1990s after stabbing a former partner with a kitchen knife. In 2004, he was given three years without parole after approaching a woman on the street and smashing the back of her head with a blunt object.
All Holohan cared about when on parole again in May 2009 was cash to score drugs. He targeted one woman just before midnight and put his hands around her mouth. She escaped.
Hours later, he grabbed Barlow while she was walking to work, and bludgeoned her with a brick up to 20 times. It caved in her skull.
Holohan dragged Barlow into the bushes, robbed her of $200 and fled, believing she was dead.
Doctors, too, feared Barlow wouldn’t survive, but the 34-year-old mother fought through the trauma and returned to duty.
Then-Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione lauded Barlow and hoped she would become the first woman to hold his office.
The judge sentencing Holohan felt there was “no point” for an early shot at parole, given his previous failures to reintegrate.
The Barlows, this week, returned to their psychologists.
“The nightmares, flashbacks, sleeping disorders like sleep paralysis, have all returned and are as real and raw as they have ever been,” Barlow said.
“Victims of serious indictable offences in NSW ... should automatically be on the register. They should only be removed if they apply to be.”
Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.