‘Cold-blooded’ triple murderer granted parole
A man who was given three life sentences for the execution-style murder of a policeman and two civilians has been granted parole.
In 1977, Berwyn Rees entered a Bondi Junction gun shop and ordered 26-year-old manager Raymond James and 26-year-old customer Christopher Greenfield to lie face down on the ground.
Rees shot both of them in the back of the head from point-blank range.
For three years the murders remained unsolved until forestry and telecom workers heard Rees’ target practice shots in the bush.
Sergeant Keith Haydon went to investigate and was also murdered in horrific fashion.
During his attempted escape he shot another young police officer multiple times in the stomach, but the constable survived.
In 1981, Rees was handed three life sentences for the murders and another 10 years in prison for the attempted murder.
Inexplicably, Rees was granted parole before the Supreme Court overturned the ruling in May this year, ruling the parole board hadn’t fully considered the effect on the victims’ families.
But in a remarkable decision by the NSW State Parole Authority, 69-year-old Rees has again been granted parole and will now be released within a matter of weeks.
Channel 9 reporter Simon Bouda tells Ray Hadley the families of his victims are devastated, with one calling out in court “it’s another failure of the NSW justice system”.
Click PLAY below to hear the full interview
Tracy James was just two-years-old when her father Raymond was murdered at work.
She tells Ray Hadley she’s been left “completely speechless” by the decision.
“This just proves how broken our system really, really, is.
“To let out a triple murderer by saying he’s been so good in jail… it’s wrong.”
Ray Hadley agrees and says “he should never see the light of day”.
“We despair at the decision.”
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