Australia News 3

A GRIEVING father cried with relief and joy after a jury found his ex-wife guilty of murdering his two little boys.

It was the second time David Fitchett had been put through the agony of a trial. Donna Fitchett, 51, was convicted of killing Thomas, 11, and Matthew, 9.

Mr Fitchett said outside court two juries had now got it right.

"Another 12 people saw through the absolute shallow, shallow, pathetic defence she put up," he said.

"She is a manipulative, cunning, street-smart woman and she knew all along what she was doing was wrong."

But Mr Fitchett cannot forgive the system that allowed his ex-wife to drag out his pain. She was convicted and jailed for 18 years but granted a retrial last year on a technicality.

"The law is a joke. The law is an ass," Mr Fitchett said.

"One judge got one sentence wrong, so we had to go to a retrial."

Asked if he had a message for his ex-wife, Mr Fitchett replied: "You don't want to hear it. You don't want to know about it."

He walked from court flanked by supporters who cheered: "For the boys!"

Donna Fitchett drugged and smothered or strangled her sons at their Balwyn North home in September 2005.

The Supreme Court jury of eight women and four men returned their verdict after just four hours.

They rejected a claim the mother was mentally impaired and so depressed she thought killing the boys was her "greatest act of love".

The court heard Fitchett killed her boys after deciding her marriage was intolerable and over.

She told her husband to enjoy the Father's Day weekend because it "would be their last as a family".

The qualified nurse gave her sons a cocktail of prescription drugs and put them to bed.

Fitchett used a sock to strangle Thomas and then placed a pillow over the face of Matthew as he struggled.

She then took some pills herself and wrote a letter to her husband.

But before Fitchett could take her own life Mr Fitchett arrived home.

In a letter to her psychologist Fitchett wrote: "I am not a coward nor am I crazy."

And the jury agreed.

Justice Elizabeth Curtain remanded Fitchett in custody for a plea hearing on a date to be fixed.

Comments:

Another news about homicides was found in the online newspaper. This shows the seriousness of our society's situation where the social security is in a bad condition. Everyday we can't pass without hearing any news about murders. Therefore, some drastic actions should be carried out to curb this social problem. For example, government should not only regulate stricter rules but also announce the decisions to the public so that the message can be passed to all the people. Thus this can alert those who have the intention to commit crime to think twice before they do any reckless actions. Besides, all of us should be more aware of our own safety. We should not easily trust any stranger and even follow them to somewhere else. Girls should be extra careful because they are vulnerable as compared to guys because they are smaller in size and weaker in strength. All in all, all levels of societies should work hand in hand to bring the crime rate down.