‘My boy is dead’: mother grieves Huonville roadside victim

Thousands of messages of support and anger have flooded social media after 26-year-old Jari Wise was killed on a Huonville roadside over the weekend.

Jari Wise was killed at Huonville on February 29. Picutre: FACEBOOK

LOVED ones of a young man who died on a Huonville roadside over the weekend have held a vigil with “a beer or two” at the location of his death.

Huon Valley man Jari Wise, 26, was fatally struck by a car about 1.25am on Saturday on Wilmot Road, opposite Huonville High School.

His mother Faith Tkalac took to social media to express her feelings after Mr Wise’s girlfriend, 34-year-old Lucaston woman Melissa Oates, was bailed in an out-of-hours court hearing on Sunday morning.

The mother of Jari Wise, Faith Tkalac. Picture: CHRIS KIDD

Ms Oates has not yet entered a plea to four counts of breaching a police family violence order. She has not been charged with causing Mr Wise’s death.

“My boy is dead,” she said on Facebook.

She said Mr Wise was “no angel” but claimed her son was the victim of domestic violence.

Jari Wise was killed at Huonville on February 29. Picture: FACEBOOK

In a Facebook post that as of Sunday night had almost 3000 comments and been shared more than 8000 times, Ms Tkalac said she didn’t understand why Ms Oates had been bailed and noted “domestic violence against men is real”.

“How can she walk free? She should be held in custody.”

Many of the online comments her post received centred around what some social media users claimed were “double standards” in prosecuting male and female domestic violence cases.

After the hearing, presided over by a Justice of the Peace, Ms Tkalac issued an open invitation for supporters to join Mr Wise’s loved ones for a beer “at the last place Jari stood”.

“Thank you so much to all for coming to support us today in court, not the outcome we wanted but that will happen,” she said.