44th Murderer: Stephen Jamieson, 45th Murderer: Matthew James Elliot and 46th Murderer: Bronson Matthew Blessington - Victim: Janine Balding, 20
A month before her twenty-first birthday, Janine Kerrie Balding was abducted from a Sutherland railway station car park by a group of homeless persons consisting of four males and one female.
These persons were Bronson Blessington, Matthew Elliott, Stephen 'Shorty' Jamieson, Wayne Wilmot and Carol Ann Arrow.
Janine
Kerrie Balding - died aged 20 on 8 Sept. 1988
Blessington had met Jamieson and Elliott at a homeless shelter named 'The Station' in the Sydney CBD earlier that day and had proposed "Why don't we get a sheila and rape her?", a quote which became infamously known through Australian news media. The victim, who was to be picked at random, became Balding. The gang of five had earlier approached another female—Christine Moberley—at the same car park, but she became concerned and quickly locked herself in her vehicle and drove home where she reported the matter to her partner. They became concerned for other commuters, so drove to the Sutherland Police Station to report the matter. On passing the same car park en-route they saw the offenders speaking with another female near a motor vehicle there. That person was Janine Balding. Police, upon being alerted to these incidents, immediately attended the Sutherland Railway Station car park itself, not realising that the earlier encounters had happened in an overflow dirt car park on the opposite side of the rail line. This was the same car park from where Janine Balding had been abducted in the intervening period.
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Janine Balding was driven in her vehicle to the side of the F4 Freeway at Minchinbury in Sydney's west, and during that time was partially stripped of her clothing and raped at knifepoint by Blessington, Jamieson and Elliott. On arrival at Minchinbury, she was again raped. She was then dragged from her vehicle, gagged with a scarf, hog-tied, then lifted over a fence and carried into a paddock by Blessington, Jamieson and Elliott. She was then held down and drowned in a dam on the property.
All three were sentenced to life imprisonment plus 25 years.
Jamieson, now 54, will never be released from jail. He has been behind bars for 31˝ years. Based on the average annual cost of Maximum Security Incarceration in 2020, should Jamieson live another 21 years to 75, his jail incarceration of 52˝ years will have cost the NSW taxpayer $9.188 million circa ($175,000 p.a. X 52˝ years).
Elliot, now 48, was only 16 at the time of the murder, may be released from jail. He has been behind bars for 31˝ years. If he is released say at 55 years old, after serving 38˝ years jail, based on the average annual cost of Maximum Security Incarceration in 2020, Elliot's jail incarceration of 38˝ years will have cost the NSW taxpayer $6.739 million circa ($175,000 p.a. X 38˝ years).
Blessington, now 46, was only 14 at the time of the murder, may be released from jail. He has been behind bars for 31˝ years. If he is released say at 50 years old, after serving 36 years jail, based on the average annual cost of Maximum Security Incarceration in 2020, Elliot's jail incarceration of 36 years will have cost the NSW taxpayer $6.3 million circa ($175,000 p.a. X 36 years).
Questions re 44th, 45th and 46th Murderers
Should the NSW state government amend its criminal codes so that where the level of proof is Beyond Any Doubt of Guilt that the death penalty may be sentenced for malicious unprovoked murder because Justice for the Innocent Victim should be a consideration amongst the Purposes of Sentencing?
Should other states and territories similarly amend their criminal codes?
Write responses to above two questions re 44th Murderer on the 'Peer Reviewer's Responses to Sentences Form' Word document