THIRTY YEARS ago, seventeen-year-old Kate Moir ran semi-clothed into a vacuum cleaner shop, fleeing the clutches of Willagee serial killers David and Catherine Birnie.
Her brave escape led to the arrest and prosecution of the sadistic couple, who’d raped and murdered three women and 15-year-old Susannah Candy.
David Birnie hanged himself in prison in 2005 but Catherine is still alive and every three years comes up for mandatory parole, despite both Labor and Liberal Attorneys-General saying she will stay behind bars for life.
Ms Moir says she relives the horrifying events in her head every time she is notified by the justice system of Birnie’s upcoming hearing, and is contacted by the media for comment.
She is lobbying WA attorney-general Michael Mischin to change the law that decrees WA’s worst murderers must be considered for parole every three years, even if they do not apply for it.
“It is an inane regulation that costs the victims and their families unnecessary pain and anguish,” she says.
“The parole board even contacted me on my birthday once. Why should victims have to needlessly relive all that pain again and again? She doesn’t even apply for parole.”
Ms Moir plans to meet Liberal Churchlands MP Sean L’Estrange on Friday to discuss her campaign: in two weeks she has amassed thousands of signatures on a petition.
Perth lawyer John Hammond is providing Ms Moir with “informal support”.
“In cases such as Catherine Birnie the court should be given the power to order that there be no reviews for parol,” he says.
“Catherine Birnie has inflicted incalculable damage on the families of the victims, who are all suffering daily as a result of her actions.”
Tim Vines, vice-president of Civil Liberties Australia, says any changes to parole hearings should be across the board.
“If the severity of the crime a person was sentenced for makes it unlikely that a parole board would ever recommend their release then undertaking a review in the absence of a prisoner’s request seems to impose harm and burden on victims for no good reason,” he says.
“However, whatever rules are applied should be applied to all prisoners, not selectively because some people consider some cases worse than others.”
Mr Mischin didn’t get back to us but he did tell another media outlet victims can opt not to receive notification of parole hearings.
At 47, Ms Moir has three kids and is enjoying life in Perth. She spent eight years in Broome, establishing a commercial cleaning business, has owned a bar in Perth and spent time travelling the world. She has never been back to see the Birnies’ house in Moorhouse Street, a non-descript, run-down suburban bungalow.
“I have no demons to exorcise,” she says. “I refuse to let that event define me. Catherine Birnie will die in gaol.”
by STEPHEN POLLOCK
