Travis Mortyn granted parole after terrorising churchgoers at home

A young man who had been kicked out of home by his religious father before terrorising a family from his former church during a violent home invasion has been released from behind bars.

KICKED out of home as a teen by his “deeply religious” dad after an oppressive childhood marked by punishment, Travis Mortyn was already building a criminal record by the time he unleashed a terrifying home invasion upon a churchgoing family.

Now, nearly four years after punching a terminally ill man in his surgery wound and launching a blow that fractured his wife’s eye socket, the Parole Board of Tasmania has released Mortyn from jail after accepting his “genuine” desire to change.

Travis Anthony Mortyn leaving the Supreme Court in Hobart on 23/11/17. Picture: SAM ROSEWARNE.

He was initially granted parole in December 2018, and found work, a place to live and a new relationship — but his freedom was revoked in January this year for breaching his illicit substance and curfew conditions. But the board, noting Mortyn sought help for drug use back in jail and seemed motivated to be a good role model for his partner’s children, said he deserved a “further opportunity for parole”, releasing him on April 20.

In granting his release, the board noted Mortyn’s August 2016 home invasion had a “long-lasting impact” on the family.

Debbie and Jim Franke were victims of a home invasion at their property in Claremont.

Having burst through the Claremont family’s front door, Mortyn verbally abused their daughter, physically assaulted “man of religious faith” Jim Franke, left Debbie Franke with an orbital injury requiring surgery, and menaced them for money or he’d cut their throats.

Mr Franke subsequently established a Victims of Crime Support Group the following year, telling the Mercury he’d been through “12 months of absolute hell”.

Then 22, Mortyn was jailed from September 2017 for two years and six months, with a non-parole period of 20 months, after pleading guilty to aggravated burglary, attempted robbery, and demanding property with menaces with intent to steal and assault.

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He had another year slapped on from March 2018, with a non-parole period of six months, after striking a Mt Nelson man with a metal pole in a blow that pierced his kidney.

The board, which noted Mortyn’s difficult childhood, said he was classified as a minimum security prisoner, and any risks of his release could be managed with stringent conditions and therapeutic help.

“The applicant appeared genuine in his acknowledgment that he had a ‘lot to lose’ and had previously made poor decisions that had impacted everyone,” it said.