Mass murderer Douglas Crabbe could be released from WA prison after John Quigley decision

The man responsible for the deaths of five people after driving a truck into a pub could soon go free in a heavy blow to the surviving victims.

Western Australia Attorney General John Quigley has approved a Prisoner Review Board recommendation that one of Australia’s most infamous serial killers, Douglas Crabbe, be considered for a pre-release resocialisation program (RSP). .

On the night of August 18, 1983, Crabbe, then 36 years old, drove his 25-tonne Mack road train into a pub called the Inland Motel at Uluru in the Northern Territory, killing five people and seriously injuring 16. .

It killed Adrian Durnin, 21, Helen Fuller, 22, David Seng, 24, Leslie McKay-Ramsay, 35, and Patricia Slinn, 45.

Some of those who survived the ordeal have said they are “gutted” by Mr Quigley’s decision.

Crabbe has spent nearly 40 years in prison after being sentenced to five life terms in October 1985.

Mr. Quigley stated that the victims and their families were considered in weighing his decision.

“There is no question that the crimes committed by Crabbe were horrific and have had a lasting and devastating impact on the victims and their families,” he told The West.

“Certainly their views weighed heavily in my decision to accept the Prisoner Review Board’s recommendation for Crabbe’s participation in a resocialization programme.

It is not a decision I made lightly.

While the pre-release resocialization program sets the stage for an inmate to be granted early parole, it is not guaranteed.

“There have been inmates who have completed an RSP whose parole has not been approved,” Quigley continued.

RSPs are intended to help inmates be able to cope with additional responsibilities as they slowly reintegrate into society.

Crabbe has twice had his parole requests denied in the past, and is scheduled to be reconsidered in 2025 based on the new recommendations.

One of the survivors of the Crabbe attack, Bernadette Schiller (pictured), “collapsed” when she heard the news.

“I had just finished work (last week) when I got the call and I fell flat, I’m still trying to process it,” said one of Crabbe’s attack survivors, Bernadette Schiller.

She said the incident had haunted her physically and mentally for four decades, and she rejected Quigley’s claim that she had taken the victims into account.

“I would love to sit down and have a one-on-one with John Quigley and say what this has done to my life,” he said.

Her fellow survivor, Lydia Hannah, was “totally flabbergasted” by the decision.

‘Douglas Crabbe was never released. He is one of Australia’s worst mass murderers,” he said.

“If you were to shoot 21 people and kill five, you would not be going to a minimum security farm. Their crime is nothing less than shooting 21 people or dropping a bomb and maiming 21 people. Because he did it with a Mack road train, it’s no less a crime.

I’d like to know why you think it’s okay to let mass murderers onto our streets.

Crabbe has been held at the WA medium security Acacia Prison (file picture) an hour east of Perth since 2005 when he was transferred from Alice Springs Corrective Services.

Crabbe was initially sentenced under the NT ‘life means life’ laws which stipulated that anyone convicted of murder could not receive parole.

The bill was repealed in 2004, and the NT government reversed the amendment to include August 18, 1983, the day Crabbe committed the crime.

Crabbe’s sentence was reduced to 30 years without parole, the longest in the state.

However, he was transferred to Acacia Prison, an hour east of Perth, from Alice Springs Correctional Services in 2005 after pleas from his family.