Prison guards make money by selling rocking chairs made by a notorious convicted ax murderer for up to $1,700.
The chairs are made by William Patrick Mitchell, who in 1993 slaughtered Karen MacKenzie and her three children Daniel, 16, Amara, 7, and Katrina, 5, near the coastal city of Geraldton, a 4.5-hour drive north of Perth.
Mitchell and other inmates at Bunbury Regional Prison, south of Perth, make the chairs from plywood in prison workshops.
Because child sex tourists help Mitchell make the furniture, they have been nicknamed “pedo chairs” by the prison community.
One of the rocking chairs made by ax murderer William Patrick Mitchell in prison, which prison guards reportedly sold for huge profits
Details of Mitchell’s 1993 drug-induced murder and sexual assault on a family are considered so gruesome they have never been made public
Prison staff can buy the chairs for about $400, but they are being advertised on Facebook and other online sales platforms for $1,700 or $3,200 for two.
“You can’t buy these in the store, they are made from top quality marine plywood and hand finished so no two chairs are exactly the same,” says the advert for a chair.
‘They look great in the photo, but even better when you see the actual chair, giving you the last chance to buy at this very reasonable price.’
Nowhere in the ad is Mitchell or the origin of the chair mentioned.
The huge profits made by prison guards have led to WA Corrective Services Commissioner Brad Royce reviewing the report, which a previous investigation found was within the rules.
However, there are concerns that items made by prisoners are being used to lavishly furnish and upgrade staff homes and to purchase other goods.
The Western Australia reports that a staff member had an entire kitchen fitted out with cupboards made by Bunbury prisoners.
Staff caravans and trailers have also reportedly been refurbished in the prison’s metal workshop.
For a small expense, the staff has purchased driveway gates that would normally cost thousands of dollars.
Karen MacKenzie and her three children were slaughtered by drug addict Mitchell near the coastal city of Geraldton in WA
Media investigations have led to a change in the rules surrounding prisoner workshops.
“With immediate effect we will not be able to accept or progress any new staff requests for work in the prison industry workshops,” Bunbury staff were informed by email last Thursday.
After the murder of MacKenzie and her three children, Mitchell was sentenced to a minimum of twenty years in prison.
High on a cocktail of cannabis, alcohol and amphetamines, axe-wielding Mitchell murdered Daniel in the home’s driveway before entering the house to kill and sexually assault his mother, who had previously rejected his advances.
Mitchell also sexually assaulted Amara before killing the girl and her sister who were sleeping in the bedrooms.
Aspects of Mitchell’s crimes are deemed so sickening and depraved that they remain suppressed by the courts to this day.