Blindsided. That’s how Thomas Kelly’s bereaved father Ralph described himself at the end of the parole process that resulted in his son’s killer Kieran Loveridge walking out of Broken Hill prison late on Friday and the NSW government scrambling for answers about how the family was treated.
Ralph Kelly with his wife Kathy Kelly, parents of Thomas, the victim of a one-punch attack in 2012. Credit: James Brickwood
The corrections minister has ordered his department to review the support offered to the Kelly family, who were denied facts about Loveridge’s time behind bars before they made a submission to the parole authority.
Loveridge, now 30, has spent the past 12 years behind bars after killing 18-year-old Thomas with a single punch to the head near the Coca-Cola sign in Kings Cross on a night out in 2012.
The attack sparked Sydney’s controversial lockout laws that placed restrictions on late-night entry to pubs and clubs, and led to strict mandatory sentences for alcohol-fuelled killings.
Earlier this month, the State Parole Authority granted Loveridge his release, which the Kelly family neither supported nor opposed at the time.
Now, Ralph Kelly says they were denied basic facts about their son’s killer that became apparent during the final parole hearing.
Thomas Kelly.Credit: NSW Police Media
“They left it until the end of the parole hearing to tell us [that Loveridge was drunk in prison in February]. That is a major concern, that four weeks ago he was intoxicated and violent,” Kelly told this masthead from London, where he and his wife Kathy are now based.
“When he killed Thomas he was heavily intoxicated.”
Multiple prison sources not authorised to speak publicly have confirmed Loveridge drank hand sanitiser and had spoken about how anxious he was ahead of the parole decision and attendant publicity.
He was hospitalised after the incident.
“What we’re trying to do is change the parole review in that family victims should be advised of things like courses being done in prison, behaviour behind bars – all those kind of questions so you can form an opinion and support or oppose his parole,” Kelly said.
One-punch killer Kieran Loveridge is escorted from the NSW Supreme Court in November 2013.Credit: Kate Geraghty
In a private meeting about an inmate – a week before Christmas, in Loveridge’s case – the parole authority forms an intention to grant or deny parole. The intention to grant Loveridge parole and the grounds on which it was made was not communicated to the Kelly family.
“We should’ve been given the verdict from the private hearing. We were blindsided, we walked in with no idea what restrictions would be imposed,” he said.
“We were told nothing so didn’t know.”
Corrections Minister Anoulack Chanthivong told the Herald some matters could not be communicated to families for privacy reasons, but had tasked his department with “looking into this particular parole matter, including the support provided to the Kelly family”.
“It is important that families know the type of information that can and cannot be shared, before they decide whether to make a parole submission,” he said.
Kelly believes the whole parole system should be redesigned so victims’ families have more understanding of what is happening behind bars.
“It’s not good enough, we have a vested interest in him being rehabilitated and educated. I can only hope he has changed, we would really like him to be a decent person in the community.”
With Clare Sibthorpe