Barker brother reacts to a ‘bittersweet day’

IT was the news Shane Barker’s family had been waiting more than 10 years to hear.

Paul Barker said confirmation that two people had been charged over his younger brother’s killing brought a flood of mixed emotions.

“It’s like someone has pulled a weight off my shoulders,” he said.

“Losing your brother is bad enough … but it’s worse when it’s murder and you’re still asking questions 10 years down the track.”

Since Shane’s killing, Paul and supporters of the family have doggedly pursued justice. They sought the reinstatement of a cold case unit within Tasmania Police after the unit was disbanded amid budget cuts in 2011.

In 2016, a nine-month review by a new serious and organised crime squad opened up fresh leads in Shane’s case — and offered a $250,000 reward.

Paul paid tribute to the work of the serious crime unit which resulted in yesterday’s charges.

“Without that, there’s no way they would have solved this case,” Paul said. “I just thank Tasmania Police.

“They didn’t give up … and 10 years and nine months later we’ve got a result that we wanted. But it’s still not over yet. There’s been an arrest that we’ve been waiting on, but there’s a lot of water to go under the bridge.”

Paul said he was sad his father Rob did not live to see charges laid.

“Dad would be doing cartwheels in the sky at the moment. It’s all he concentrated on. Day in, day out … he would seek me out because Mum would get a bit emotional about it.

“We would go on road trips, and whatever we were talking about, it would revert to Shane’s murder. Who did it and why,” Paul said.

“It’s a bittersweet day today. I’d rather have my brother here of course, and Dad back, but this is the best thing we can hope for now.”

DAD WOULD BE DOING CARTWHEELS IN THE SKY AT THE MOMENT. IT’S ALL HE CONCENTRATED ON. DAY IN, DAY OUT. PAUL BARKER