Black Saturday arsonist who killed 10 released from prison

An arsonist who deliberately lit a 2009 Black Saturday bushfire that killed 10 people and destroyed more than 150 homes in the Latrobe Valley has been released from prison.

Brendan Sokaluk, a former Country Fire Authority volunteer, was freed on Tuesday after serving 15 years of an almost 18-year sentence.

Brendan Sokaluk outside the Supreme Court in 2012.Credit: Jason South

Elaine Frendo – whose husband, Alfred, and son, Scott, were killed in their car while trying to defend the family farm from a blaze started by Sokaluk – said she thought he’d be “behind bars forever”.

“He killed all those people … it’s just wrong,” the Traralgon resident said on Tuesday.

In 2012, Sokaluk was found guilty of 10 counts of arson causing death and sentenced to 17 years and nine months in prison, with a non-parole period of 14 years. He became eligible for parole in June last year as he had already spent three years in prison by the time he was sentenced.

Sokaluk – who started the February 7, 2009, fire in Churchill, about 140 kilometres south-east from Melbourne – was freed on condition he stay in secure accommodation at least 80 kilometres from the town.

More than 170 Victorians lost their lives in the Black Saturday bushfires.Credit: Jason South

After falsely reporting witnessing a firefighter deliberately light the fire, he told police he had accidentally started the blaze by flicking ash from a cigarette outside his car.

It was later found that Sokaluk, who was 42 at the time, lit fires that sparked the blaze in multiple locations in February 2009. As a result, more than 36,000 hectares were burnt, and 156 homes and a community hall were destroyed.

The fire contributed to the Black Saturday disaster in which 173 people in Victoria lost their lives in a single day.

Killed in the Churchill the blaze were the Frendos, aged 58 and 27; brothers Colin, 49, and David Gibson, 47; Alan Jacobs, 51, his wife, Miros, 50, their son Luke, 21, and Luke’s friend Nathan Charles, 21; Martin Schultz, 33; and Annette Leatham, 51.

Alfred Frendo and his son Scott Frendo died in the Black Saturday fire in 2009.

At the trial, the judge said the task of sentencing Sokaluk was difficult, particularly considering he has autism spectrum disorder and an intellectual disability.

Frendo said Sokaluk’s actions had profoundly shaped her life and that of her grandson, Lachlan – who was five years old when his father was killed.

“He doesn’t open up to anybody. People say you have to get on with your life – but you don’t get over anything like that,” she said.

“I can’t even go up to the cemetery to see my family.”

A fireman takes a breather as a bushfire rages towards the eastern Victorian townships of Labertouche and Tonimbuk on Black Saturday, February 7, 2009.Credit: Jason South

In recent weeks, authorities notified dozens of relatives of those who perished in the Churchill fire about Sokaluk’s imminent release from prison.

A Victoria Police spokeswoman confirmed it was aware of his release on Tuesday.

She said Sokaluk, now 54, would need to comply with a “range of conditions” while on parole.

“Victoria Police is always proactive in monitoring those in the community who are subject to these conditions and have a history of high-risk offending,” she said.

“It would not be appropriate to comment further on specifics. However, the safety of the community remains our number one priority.”

Veteran Churchill CFA captain Steven Barling has vivid memories of the Black Saturday blaze, but had no reservations about Sokaluk’s release on parole.

“Personally, it doesn’t bother me. He’s done his time according to the law and that’s just the way it goes,” Barling said.

However, Barling – captain of the Churchill CFA for 23 years – said most people in the town knew someone who perished in the devastating fire.

He warned Sokaluk against returning to his home town.

“I think there’s a few here in the community who can never forgive what happened and have never fully recovered,” he said.

“I can’t imagine it would be a sensible thing for him to return to Churchill.”

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