Submissions for Sentencing

We've just found out that the Defence Council has asked to have the submissions for sentencing postponed.

So, yet another postponement. We've come to expect this from the legal system, it appears that there can be any number of reasons to postpone things. All of these reasons are legitimate and allowed to ensure that the trial is completed with the minimum possibility of a retrial, but that doesn't stop it from being really frustrating.

It is now scheduled for the 1st of August

The next step

The submissions for sentencing is scheduled for 6th June.

I have just completed my victim impact statement ready for that date. Our immediate family has 20 pages to use to express the impact that this event has had on our lives. I managed to get to about 1 1/2 pages.

How do you use just words on paper to express the impact that this has had on your life? The loss of a loved one is almost impossible to express just using words.

I feel that only someone who has walked down the same road (or maybe a similar one) as me can really understand what the loss means.

I must admit that I never really put any thought into what those who lose loved ones in a violent way actually go through or what it means to them. I now know why it takes people years to get life back to a point where you can function properly after ths kind of event.

Anyway then next thing that I have to get past is reading the statement in the court, that I think will be really tough.

Tania's Birthday

Here we are three weeks on from the trial and Tania's 18th Birthday has come and gone. This is the third one we have had to celebrate without her.

From year 7 she was always asking to have her belly button pierced - until I came upon the idea of offering her something she wanted in exchange. At some stage she decided that she wanted a car with a soft top, so she could drive around with the top down (when she was old enough, of course). So I offered to buy her a car (with a soft top) for her 17th birthday, if she would not ask about the piercing again.

We hardly ever heard anything about the belly button piercing again.

Shortly before she died she said to me "What's to stop me getting my belly button pierced after I get the car?" Tania had finally realised that the only reason she was offered the car was because I wanted her to wait until she was 17. I had never actually meant to stop her, just put her off until she had grown up a little and could pay for it herself.

So Tania's 17th birthday was one that I really missed her, because I was looking forward to giving her the car and teaching her to drive. One of the many things that I'll miss out on sharing with her.

Tonight we went out to Terrigal pub with three of her friends, unfortunately we couldn't get a hold of some and others are away during the school holidays. We had a cake, a good chat and sang happy birthday to Tania.

It was good to catch up with them again.

First post

Now that the trial of the young man that has been accused of taking her life is over, I feel that we can now begin to speak about what is been happening without affecting anything.

So, I have setup this blog for a couple of reasons:-

• To let those who knew Tania have a place to keep up with what's going on.
• There are some who have known us in the past and have lost contact with us who may want to get in touch with us.
  
• To hopefully have an impact on the community, so that these sort of things never happen again (Yeah, I know, wishful thinking)
• So that those others who have lost loved ones can know that there is a place they can have a chat about those they miss.

Anyway, enough of that - now for some stuff about Tania.

• Tania was born on 18th April 1990 and died on 19th July 2005.
• According to the autopsy she was stabbed 48 times. From what I understand most of the injuries that she suffered were survivable, except for the one that penetrated her heart.
• Because of that injury, she passed away before the ambulance arrived some 15 minutes after the attack. The ambulance officers did everything that they could to revive her.
• Before she died, she managed to identify her attacker to those who first came to her assistance.
• I think myself lucky that I was at home that afternoon and managed to get to her side before she died. Although she was not conscious when I got there.
  

Now for some of the nice stuff about Tania.

• She was fun loving and very cheeky. There were an number of times when I caught her with her jeans slipping down - just enough to show her "coin slot" and when we told her to pull her pants up, she pulled them down that little bit more. Then wagged her tail at me, before pulling her pants up.
• She loved her friends and family. If anyone she knew was down, she would come alongside them and do everything that she could to cheer them up.
• Tania loved netball and played every saturday morning.
• To the best of my knowledge, she was loved by all that she knew.
• She gave her heart to the creator of this world before she died and because of that at least I know that I will be able to see her again when I get to heaven.

There were over 500 people who attended the funeral of this vivacious teenager. From what I've seen at her funeral and over the last almost 3 years, her life and death have had a gigantic impact on the local community.

We still have no idea why she was attacked - and maybe never will.