Shandee Blackburn’s ex John Peros ‘distrusted women, had mental scars’

Shandee Blackburn’s former boyfriend saw a GP, a psychologist and two psychiatrists in the year before her murder – and their notes give insights into his mental health.

John Peros, a champion amateur boxer, fell into a depression after his breakup with Shandee Blackburn. Picture: Lee Constable

Shandee Blackburn’s former boyfriend John Peros had a deep ­distrust of women that dated back to his childhood and haunted his relationships, medical notes ­reveal.

Peros consulted a general ­practitioner, a psychologist and two psychiatrists in the year before Shandee was murdered, ­stating that his problems had caused him to be ­constantly tense and easily ­angered.

“He has issues with trust and his past personal issues seem to haunt him all the time, affecting his relationships,” his GP, Praveen Jayaram, wrote in a referral letter to a psychologist.

Podcast 'Shandee's Story' is examining Shandee Blackburn’s 2013 unsolved murder.

The notes are revealed in The Australian’s investigative podcast series Shandee’s Story, examining the February 2013 unsolved murder in Mackay, on Queensland’s central coast.

After 23-year-old Shandee was stabbed to death as she walked home from work, Peros quickly became a person of interest for the investigators in Operation Lima Zimzala.

On February 22, less than two weeks after the murder, police had him under surveillance and Detective Sergeant Lisa Elkins applied for a search warrant seeking access to the files of his psychologist, Jeff Poots: “We’re obviously looking for anything in relation to John with his ex-girlfriend, Shandee.”

Two days later, with authorisation from a magistrate, Elkins and Detective Senior Constable Scott McDonald went to see Dr Poots at his Mackay clinic. Elkins told Poots they recorded every search warrant.

Elkins said it was more than likely if there was anything ­relevant, Poots would be sub­poenaed, reading aloud some of the notes being handed over. ­“Relationship with Shandee brought out a lot of things from my childhood that aren’t going away … lots of trust issues.”

Poots confirmed that Peros had expanded on those comments, and that anything significant was written down. “There’s nothing there that ­indicated any physical violence,” the psychologist said.

Police found Peros had seen his GP, on March 12, 2012, 11 months before Shandee’s murder, at their relationship’s tail end.

“Long history of low moods, low self-esteem, lack of self-­confidence, unable to focus or concentrate, distrustful, easily angered,” Jayaram had noted.

Eight days later, Peros returned with Shandee and reported low moods and relationship ­issues among other things.

On April 10, Peros visited his doctor again and said he had ­broken up with Shandee because he was not able to deal with her past.

Jayaram had prescribed and then recommended an increase in his antidepressant medication, but Peros didn’t like the side-­effects, which included a lessened libido, so he had stopped taking the prescription drugs.

The GP also referred him to Poots, who became his psychologist for the next six months.

A psychiatrist, Ambica Prasad Jha, also saw Peros and noted that his “current stressor is a recent separation from his 23-year-old girlfriend … This is in the background of a difficult relationship for the last nine months.”

Jha’s detailed notes involve deeply personal family history, ­although there is no suggestion of any physical or sexual abuse.

“He describes a difficult time growing up, witnessing a lot of domestic arguments. I suspect that the mistrust with women has a deep-seated psychological scarring,” the psychiatrist wrote.

Another psychiatrist, Graham Futter, confirmed Peros had fallen into a depression ­because of his break-up with Shandee.

Peros was acquitted of Shandee’s murder by a jury in less than two hours in 2017.

However, Central Coroner David O’Connell in 2020 found that he did in fact kill her.

Peros denies any involvement.

Shandee’s Story is an investigation by national chief correspondent Hedley Thomas. The third episode, Toxic Love, is available to The Australian’s subscribers.