Tragic deaths down under and a failing parole system
Murder in Melbourne is a hard-hitting new documentary that
looks at the murders of three Irish nationals living in Melbourne during 2012
and 2013, and investigates failings in the parole system in Victoria, which
could be said to be responsible for two of them. The film opens with the
botched robbery and killing of Dublin born jeweler, Dermot O’Toole, in July
2013 and we see poignant interviews with his wife and family. David Greene
meanwhile, was attacked while managing a hostel in Melbourne one year earlier.
The film documents the plight of his parents, Aidan and Catherine, who hearing of
his attack flew to Melbourne, only to have to sanction the switching off of his
life-support twelve days later. They then had to face David’s killer in court.
Within weeks there had been another murder in Melbourne, that of Jill Meagher.
Jill’s murder became one of the highest profile in Australia’s history, not
just because of its brutality, but because her murderer, Adrian Bayley, a
convicted rapist, was out on parole. Despite this, less than five months later,
a convicted armed robber by the name of Gavin Perry was also released on
parole. Perry was a highly dangerous career criminal and quickly went on a spree
of armed robberies, which eventually led to the murder of Dermot O’Toole. This
is an engrossing and moving portrait of ordinary families coping with
devastating loss and the difficult journey to get justice for loved ones.
