It’s been almost a decade since the horrific rape and murder of Jill Meagher sparked fury and impassioned calls for change across the country. And now, Susan Bayley, the mother of her convicted killer, Adrian Bayley, has broken her silence on the heinous crime.
On September 22, 2012, 29-year-old Meagher was walking home after a night out along a busy street in Brunswick, Melbourne. She was only 400 metres from her home when she was violently attacked and murdered by Bayley—who at the time was on parole after serving a sentence for raping five sex workers over a six-month period.
It was only when he was identified in CCTV footage that police then discovered his phone had travelled in an identical path to Meagher’s phone along the Tullamarine freeway to Gisborne—where her body would later be found. Bayley’s phone had made the return journey while Meagher’s did not. What wound up solidifying his involvement to investigators was a toll he paid along Moreland road which passed through the point at the exact same moment as Jill’s phone.
Bayley, who was 40-years-old at the time of the attack, pleaded guilty to the rape and murder of Jill and was sentenced to life in prison in 2013. His non-parole period was later extended in 2015 when he was convicted of three other sex crimes.
His mother Susan has now broken her silence on the crimes, claiming that she had previously warned the authorities multiple times that her son was dangerous.
In an interview with 3AW radio, she voiced her frustrations over the lack of action.
“Let me tell you, I went high and I told them I had concerns and nobody listened to me, nobody,” she said.
“His parole officer didn’t listen to me, I went into the city to an office of the justice system and nobody listened to me,” she continued.
Notably, she opened up about her feelings towards the proposed Victorian ‘Gag Law’ which would make it illegal for victims of sexual assault to be named publicly in cases where the offender has been found guilty, resulting in fines in excess of $8,000 and even jail time if found to be in violation of the laws.
“Every time I hear these girls, particularly the girl who my son harmed… I don’t want her voice stolen,” she said.
She also said that it would be “wrong on so many levels” that her son’s name would be able to be publicised while “poor, innocent girls” would lose the right to come forward.
“We need to listen to their voices, just because they’re not with s anymore doesn’t mean they’re less important and their voices shouldn’t be heard,” she said.
Meagher’s mother, Edith McKeon, has also spoken out about the proposed legislation, which would effectively ban her from speaking about her own daughter’s experiences.
“We have not been contacted and it’s so wrong,” she said.
“It’s such a heartache on all of us who lost our previous ones. I am fucking fuming that they haven’t even contacted any of the family.”
Read more about the gag laws here.
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