SYDNEY: A woman who used a hammer and a telephone book to beat her six-year-old son to death has been granted parole on the condition she does not visit his grave, Australian Associated Press (AAP) reported.
Britt-Gunn Ashfield, 43, now known as Angelic Karstrom, wept on Friday during a hearing by the State Parole Authority at Parramatta in western Sydney.
She and her partner Austin Allean Hughes pleaded guilty to the 1993 bashing murder of her son John Ashfield which her other four children were forced to watch.
Her daughter Melissa Ashfield, 21, opposed her mother’s parole during an emotional witness impact statement she made at the hearing.
Her mother was on-screen via video link from jail as Melissa yelled at her: “She can rot in hell.”
“The day I’ll jump for you is the day you drop dead,” Melissa said.
“And you can go to hell.”
Annette Ashfield, the sister of Melissa’s late father Brian Ashfield, also took the stand.
She calmly stated that she had known Ashfield for 28 years and had visited her former sister-in-law in jail a number of times.
Annette gave an impression she was about to express sorrow for Ashfield.
“I want her to stay in jail and die in jail,” she said instead.
“I want you to go back to your little cell and hang yourself, or put a bullet in your head.”
On Aug 4, 1993, Ashfield and Hughes beat John in front the other children over several hours.
At one point, they took turns putting a telephone book on his head and hitting it with a hammer.
The boy was pronounced brain dead in hospital and died the next day.
Ashfield and Hughes plead guilty and were jailed for 21 years but had their sentences reduced on appeal to 19 years, with a minimum of 14.
She has served 18 years of her sentence and applied for parole in June, when the Parole Authority then indicated it would approve her application.
On Friday, counsel for the state of NSW, David Kell, opposed her custodial release, saying her crime was “heinous” and her ability to lawfully live in the community had not been tested.
In delivering the authority’s determination, chair Ian Pike said the benefits of parole outweighed the need to keep Ashfield in custody.
“It remains particularly concerned that this is the last opportunity for parole, and it is clearly not in the interest of the public that she end her sentence without the benefit of a period of parole supervision,” Pike said.
“The authority is of the view parole should be granted.”
Before he could finish reading the decision, Annette stood up and shouted to Ashfield, “See you six feet under”, and then stormed out of the hearing.
Seconds later, Melissa Ashfield stood up, held a photo of John to one of the television monitors and said: “Have a look at what you did you ******* mutt.”
Ashfield had 10 conditions imposed on her parole, including electronic monitoring, drug and alcohol testing, curfews and ongoing counselling.
She is banned from living or visiting the Illawarra and Hunter regions, where her family lives, and may not be in the company of anyone under the age of 16.
At the family’s request, she was prohibited from visiting John’s grave.
Ashfield will be released from jail sometime between Aug 12 and 19. — Bernama