An investigation relative to the murder of Tara Brown last September 8,2015, which was undertaken by Gold Coast District senior management together with the Ethical Standards Command, concluded to findings of lapses on the part of two members of Queensland police, as per Brisbane Times report; said two police members were subjected to disciplinary actions according to police statements.
Ms.Brown, who was murdered by her former partner and father of her three year old daughter, Lionel Patea, applied for a domestic violence protection order against the latter on September 3,2015. She was initially denied despite Patea’s known violent behavior. According to Brown’s mother Natalie Hinton, her daughter sought from the police protection order days before her killing as she was scared for her life and her fears rammed up, but the police questioned why she belatedly sought for help.
“Lionel Patea had a record as long as our arms. He was known for his violent behavior. He was known as a Bandidos bikie and Tara was scared. She was hoping the police would put in place the domestic violence order,” Ms Hinton said. She criticized how police members handled her daughter’s plea for help.
Days after her application, Tara Brown was issued the protection order against Patea together with an interim custody arrangements wherein he was given joint access to their daughter Aria. He nonetheless, haunted her forcing her to hide and seek refuge in shelters and friends’ houses.
On the day of the attacked, Brown dropped her daughter in a day care where Patea was already waiting for her and chased her. According to witnesses, the two were seen speeding at 100 km/hr. Patea was eventually able to ram Brown’s car causing it to overturn. Nearby residents initially thought that Patea was trying to rescue her, and even helped him break the window to assist him, only to find out what he was actually trying to do. Patea fought off the people who tried to stop him.
A cctv footage recovered showed how Paeta smashed Brown, who was already lying helpless, more than a few times, with a weapon which turned out to be a 7 kilo fire hydrant cove; this, despite of the violence protection order issued few days after her application. She was sent to the hospital in what reports state as “non-survivable state” having suffered multiple face and skull fractures.
He fled the scene but surrendered to the police 30 minutes after with self-inflicted stab wounds and told the police “he did something wrong.”
One witness Leesa Kennedy, who tried to help her stated Ms. Brown during the attack, told the court what she saw Patea do to Ms Brown had “horrified me to my core”.
“Even though I tried to stop you. I felt hopeless and helpless,” she said in a victim impact statement.
“She was screaming at me to help her from you. Did I do my best, did I try hard enough? I felt like I had failed Tara.”
Paeta, 25 years old, was sentenced with life imprisonment with a minimum of 20 years jail sentence, after he pleaded guilty in his first trial.
Patea said he pleaded guilty with the full support of his family, who had encouraged him to face up to his actions.
In a statement read outside court by his solicitor Campbell McCallum, Patea said: “I do not wish to cause Tara’s family any further pain nor delay their need for justice. I accept without reservation the punishment imposed upon me by the justice system today, I will also be ultimately be judged by God.
“I know Tara will never be forgotten, nor will I ever be forgiven. I just hope that I can today stop any further potential pain and suffering for Tara’s family.”
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