On this date, 8 September 1988, 20-year-old
Janine Balding was raped and murdered by a gang of five youths in New South
Wales, Australia. We, the VFFDP, will post information from Wikipedia and post
a quote from the victim’s family members, who wanted justice and not revenge.
Janine
Balding (SOURCE: http://www.mako.org.au/ausnews572.html)
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The murder of Janine Balding was the killing of a woman in New South
Wales, Australia by multiple perpetrators. 20-year-old Janine Balding was raped
and murdered by a gang of five youths on 8 September 1988. Balding's murder is
often compared to the 1986 murder of Sydney nurse Anita Cobby.
Early life
Janine Balding was born on 6 October
1967 and lived in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales before moving to Sydney and
gaining employment as a bank teller at a branch of the State Bank on George
Street. She was due to marry boyfriend Steven Moran in March 1989. The couple
had purchased a house in Berkeley Vale and were letting that house to help
finance their wedding arrangements.
Janine Balding |
Abduction
and murder
Balding was abducted from Sutherland
railway station by a group of homeless youths, consisting of four males, and
one female. She was repeatedly raped by three of the male offenders,
bludgeoned, then hog-tied and drowned in a dam at Minchinbury.
Accused
- Matthew James Elliott, aged 16 at the time of the murder
- Bronson Matthew Blessington, aged 14 at the time of the murder
- Stephen Wayne 'Shorty' Jamieson, aged 22 at the time of the murder
- Wayne Lindsay Wilmot, aged 15 at the time of the murder
- Carol Ann Arrow, aged 15 at the time of the murder
In
sentencing the defendants, Justice [Newman] said:
To sentence people so young
to a long term of imprisonment is of course a heavy task. However, the facts
surrounding the commission of these crimes are so barbaric that I believe I
have no alternative other than to impose upon [these] young prisoners, even
despite their age, a life sentence. So grave is the nature of this case that I
recommend that none of the prisoners in the matter should ever be released.
In
2007, Elliott and another defendant (presumably Blessington, but identified
only as "B" due to his age) were granted an additional appeal based
on a missing staple in their files. Essentially, it was argued, because the
Crown indictment was not stapled to the court file, it was not
"fixed" to the court file as required by law and the judgement was
therefore not technically finalised. The High Court of Australia subsequently
rejected this ground of appeal.
Summary of
sentences
Defendant
|
From
|
Convictions
|
Notes
|
Stephen
'Shorty' Jamieson
|
Murder
|
Sentenced
to life imprisonment plus 25 years
|
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Matthew
Elliott
|
Murder
|
Sentenced
to life imprisonment plus 25 years
|
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Bronson
Blessington
|
Murder
|
Sentenced
to life imprisonment plus 25 years
|
|
Wayne
Wilmot
|
Accessory
to murder
|
Sentenced
to nine years four months imprisonment (later extended by six months for
escaping lawful custody; served 7½ years before being paroled; currently
incarcerated for multiple parole violations)
|
|
Carol Arrow
|
Accessory
to murder
|
Sentenced
to 3-year good behaviour bond plus the nineteen months of time served in
prison
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Janine Balding Memorial Plaque (SOURCE: http://monumentaustralia.org.au/themes/people/crime/display/23111-janine-balding)
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Further
development
In 2003, the NSW Innocence Project (a
joint project by the NSW Police, the Director of Public Prosecutions and the
Privacy Commissioner) used the latest DNA techniques to review the DNA evidence
of the crime. This was done because Stephen 'Shorty' Jamieson denied taking
part in the murder, and one of the murderers had claimed that it was 'Shorty'
Wells (rather than 'Shorty' Jamieson) who had committed the murder.
The DNA results demonstrated that
Stephen Jamieson's DNA was not found in a rectal swab of the victim, and
neither was the DNA of 'Shorty' Wells. Police Minister John Watkins announced
that the NSW Innocence Project would be suspended. Subsequently, accomplice
Carol Arrow stated that 'Shorty' Jamieson was one of the murderers.
Bev Balding with photo of her daughter Janine
Balding in Wagga Wagga.
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PRO-DEATH
PENALTY QUOTE:
“They
should be put to death. I have no wish for revenge. People say that bringing
back the death penalty is stooping to the level of the criminals. It’s not.
Stooping to their level would be to terrorize them as they did Janine.”
-
Bev Balding, the mother of Janine Balding.
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