The Parole Board has freed a killer who stabbed another woman at a bus stop, just 10 months after he was last released into society.
The NSW State Parole Authority on Thursday released Terrence John Leary on strict conditions, including electronic monitoring and a stay in a secure Corrective Services facility.
Fiona Walker, the sister of Vanessa Hoson, who was murdered by Leary with a hammer in her home as a teenager in 1990 after she rejected him, warned in a letter to the council that “it will happen again”.
When he was last released on parole in 2012 after serving 22 years for the murder of Ms. Hoson, it was 10 months before Leary attacked another woman.
The 30-year-old Thai woman had just finished babysitting in North Sydney on June 19, 2013 and was listening to music at a bus stop in Hunters Hill.
In an “explosive and savage” attack, Leary grabbed her by the neck, pulled her behind the bus stop, punched her in the face, ripped her jeans so hard her belt broke, and stabbed her in the neck before a passerby intervened and called police.
The traumatized woman survived and Leary was sentenced to an additional 15 years in prison for the attack and attempted rape.
Ms Hoson’s family have campaigned tirelessly against his release in recent years and Ms Walker quoted in her petition the judge who last sentenced him, who said that “he poses a continuing danger to society” and that “it cannot be said that he has any real prospects of rehabilitation”.
Vanessa Hoson (pictured) was beaten to death with a hammer after rejecting Leary, who then attacked another woman when he was last released on parole
Ms Hoson’s sister, Fiona Walker (pictured), fought his release in a lengthy plea to the parole board, but her request was granted.
In a press release Thursday, the State Parole Authority confirmed his release on Sept. 18, saying “supervised parole promotes community safety.”
The chairman of the authority, the Honourable Geoffrey Bellew, SC, said that if Leary served his full sentence he would be returned to society without supervision.
‘The alternative is to keep the convicted person in custody and release him at a later date, either with a shorter period of parole or at the end of his sentence without any period of parole.’
“The Community is better protected if it is released under supervision.”
A courtroom sketch of Leary when he was convicted of stabbing another woman in 2013
Ms Walker argued that Leary should be declared a repeat offender and held on a continued detention order.
The Authority confirmed that it had considered the expert advice of the Serious Offenders Review Council (SORC), which recommended conditional release as appropriate.
“The offender has successfully completed programs to address his crimes, including a sex offender program,” the report said.
In addition to the normal conditions for conditional release, a number of other rules were imposed. For example, the suspect was not allowed to have contact with the victim or her family, was not allowed to visit certain municipal departments and was not allowed to participate in psychological sessions.