http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/...years-for-murder/story-fnihsrf2-1226924450531
Bevan Meninga, brother of NRL legend Mal Meninga, to be released from prison after serving 21 years for murder
- PETER BADEL, ROBYN IRONSIDE
- THE COURIER-MAIL
- MAY 21, 2014 12:00AM
SHARE
Queensland State of Origin coach Mal Meninga addresses the media about his brother’s release from jail this morning. PIC: Peter Wallis
QUEENSLAND State of Origin coach Mal Meninga has vowed to keep brother Bevan “on the straight and narrow” after the convicted murderer was today released from jail after 21 years.
Meninga will briefly leave the Maroons’ State of Origin camp over the coming days to re-unite with Bevan, who was released from a low-security prison farm around 5am this morning.
Meninga today spoke of he and mother Leona’s mix of pain, relief and excitement at the news.
Bevan was given a life sentence for the killing of 19-year-old Cheree Richardson, whom he bashed with a tree branch in 1991.
Meninga released from jail
He was 20 at the time of the attack, and was under the influence of drugs and alcohol.
“Obviously we are very pleased this day has come,” said Meninga, speaking at Queensland’s new team base at Sanctuary Cove on the Gold Coast.
“We don’t condone his actions but we understand he is very remorseful and he has a lot of empathy for the family and the victim.
The parents of murdered woman Cheree Richardson, John and Helen Richardson, left town ahead of Meninga’s release.
“As a family, all we can do is support him. All we can is be around and make sure he is well looked after and doing all the right things.
“I’m looking forward to (seeing him), I will be going home and having a chat to him sometime over the next few days.
“It’s a difficult time for everybody, not only us but the victim’s family as well.
Meninga's brother freed from jail
Asked if he was confident Bevan could re-integrate into society, Meninga said: “Absolutely. At the end of the day, it’s up to him.
“He has done everything he possibly can, he has paid his time and completed everything that has been asked of him.
“But it’s up to him. We’d like to make some promises it will be right but we’re there to keep him on the straight and narrow.
Victim Cheree Richardson. Picture: Supplied
“My emotions are ... it has been a long time. When it all occurred it was a difficult time for the family. I know that there is an element out there in society that wishes Bevan would stay in jail for the rest of his life.
“We have to deal with that and certain people in the community don’t like what’s happened. We can’t help that. The decision has been made and all we can do is be there to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
Meninga said Bevan would live with his mother.
Bevan Meninga at the time of his incarceration. Picture: Supplied
Under his parole conditions, the 42-year-old must not live in the Sunshine Coast region and will undergo regular drug and alcohol tests.
In February, Mal Meninga offered to support his brother if granted parole from his prison farm at Rathdowney, about 100km south of Brisbane.
Meninga said today Bevan was still coming to terms with his release.
“He’s been interned for a long, long period of time,” he said.
“He is very disorientated at the moment, it’s a surreal experience for him, so we’re hoping with a bit of patience and love and support from family that he will make this transition back into the community and society in a positive manner and that’s our role as a family.
“We’ll stick by him and offer every little bit of support as we possibly can.
“It’s in the media because of my name in particular. I’m not quite sure whether this would be a media piece if Bevan wasn’t a Meninga, but we understand that and confronted it.
“That’s why I’m here speaking. We need this to be the end from a family point of view, we want to have some privacy from this point onwards, we’ve got a job to do with Bevan.
“We want to do it in peace and do it properly.
“Mum is the support for him at this stage. She is relieved and excited by Bevan being (home), she has been lonely for a long time but has been supporting him on a regular basis.
“She is excited that Bevan is home with her but also mindful of the fact that he has committed an awful crime, mindful that he is under strict guidelines from a parole point of view and mindful that Bevan is in a position to make a worthwhile contribution to society now.”
OVERNIGHT: BEVAN Meninga is a free man today after serving almost 22 years for the savage murder of Cheree Richardson on the Sunshine Coast.
The 42-year-old brother of Maroons coach Mal Meninga has been granted parole on condition he live with his mother in Brisbane. She is understood to have moved from the Sunshine Coast to help her son after his release from a low-security prison farm at Rathdowney.
It is believed to be a condition of his parole that he not live on the Sunshine Coast, where his victim’s family lives.
He is expected to be subject to regular drug and alcohol tests after booze was found to be a factor in his horrific attack on 19-year-old Cheree, who was struck repeatedly with a tree branch.
The 1991 murder shocked the Sunshine Coast community when the young woman’s mutilated body was found in dense parkland at Alexandra Headland. Meninga was arrested days later after being found hiding in the ceiling cavity of a flat.
He was on parole at the time for bashing a woman with a stake in her home.
A family friend yesterday said the couple wanted to escape the storm expected to erupt over the high-profile case.
Ross Thompson, from the Queensland Homicide Victims Support Group, said the Richardsons had been dreading Meninga’s release and the memories that would dredge up.
“I’d probably do the same, it’s just something you don’t want to confront,” Mr Thompson said.
He said it was unfortunate Meninga was being released but the fact of the matter was he had served his time.
Meninga has been eligible for parole since 2005 but remained behind bars on the advice of psychiatrists who said he was at high risk of reoffending if he returned to substance abuse.
Attorney-General Jarrod Bleijie said the Parole Board was an “independent statutory body and the Government could not interfere in its decisions”.
Meninga’s brother Mal is in camp with the State of Origin team. He has supported Bevan’s bid for parole.
Get your news on Facebook
