Family’s unspeakable pain as firebomber faces justice 27 years after killing teen
A man thought he had evaded justice for more than two decades after firebombing a Sydney home and killing a 13-year-old boy. Now he’s come face to face with his victim’s family.
On the evening of April 9, 1998, Julie Szabo dropped her son Arthur Haines off at a friend’s house at Darlinghurst in inner Sydney, giving him what she described as the “biggest hug and kiss” she could.
He had planned to sleep over at his mate’s place and then go to the Royal Easter Show the next day.
It was the first time Arthur, her only son, had not slept under the same roof as her.
It was supposed to be a special and exciting night for Arthur, who was just 13 at the time and had his whole life in front of him.
But that evening Gregory John Walker, motivated by a bitter and senseless neighbourhood feud, lobbed a molotov cocktail into the Walker St home.
Arthur was sleeping in an upstairs bedroom as the fire ripped through the home.
He managed to jump from the burning building but suffered serious burns to 60 per cent of his body.
He was rushed to hospital and died 11 weeks later.
For more than two decades, Walker had thought he had escaped justice but is now facing the prospect of years in jail after he earlier this year pleaded guilty to manslaughter and admitted to killing Arthur.
Inside Darlinghurst Court House on Wednesday, Ms Szabo sat in front of a picture of Arthur, just metres from Walker.
The court was read a victim impact statement from Ms Szabo, who described how the pain of losing her only son had affected every aspect of her life for the past 27 years.
Ms Szabo said that on that fateful night, Arthur was excited to be spending time with his friends - but his young life was cut short by Walker’s actions.
“I think about that decision a lot,” Ms Szabo said of allowing Arthur to sleep over.
“I gave him the biggest hug and kiss as I dropped him off.”
She told the court how she still lived in the same home that she moved into with Arthur in the mid-’90s.
The court was told how when they first moved in, Arthur told his mother of his plans to cultivate a garden with fruit trees.
She said she had lived out Arthur’s dream by growing fruit trees, including lemons, pomegranate, apples, dragonfruit, blood oranges and passionfruit.
She told the court of her pain of seeing Arthur lying in hospital and watching him take his last breath.
She said Arthur was a “fighter” and was determined to live, but eventually succumbed to his horrific injuries.
Ms Szabo also spoke of her hurt and pain as the police investigation stalled for decades before Walker was brought to justice.
She said she was haunted by rage, regret and loneliness as she struggled to deal with the hurt of losing her only son.
She said it still upset her when she heard the fire brigade, which she described as a “constant reminder” of her tragic loss.
Over the years, police revisited the investigation and a $1m reward was offered for information, which led to a breakthrough in 2022.
Walker was arrested in Queensland and extradited to Sydney, where earlier this year he pleaded guilty and admitted to throwing the molotov cocktail.
According to court documents, the firebombing was a result of a feud between a woman who lived at the property and her neighbour, who was Walker’s partner’s mother.
He claimed he only meant to start a fire in the outside veranda and did not know anyone was home.
The court was told on Wednesday that Walker had written a letter of apology, in which he had claimed he never intended to hurt anyone.
Walker was “ashamed and heartbroken” by what he had done, his barrister David Dalton SC told the court.
He had claimed he spent every day thinking about Arthur and was filled with shame and embarrassment.
Walker is facing a maximum penalty of 25 years’ jail.
The court heard on Wednesday that his defence argues he is eligible for a 25 per cent discount on his sentence owing to his guilty plea, however that is disputed by the Crown prosecution who say that a 10 per cent discount should apply.
Walker will be sentenced by Justice Hament Dhanji on December 23.
