ACCUSED A TARGET
Prison guards fear another attack coming
PRISON guards are concerned the accused killer of Cooktown mum Donna Steele will be assaulted again unless he is shifted to a safer area within Lotus Glen Correctional Centre.
Matthew Ross White, 25, received head injuries after he was allegedly bashed by four prisoners, moments after being processed for incarceration at the Tablelands facility on Tuesday afternoon.
Mr White was taken by paramedics to Mareeba Hospital and discharged Wednesday night.
A Queensland Corrective Services spokesman said Mr White was returned to Lotus Glen and deemed to be fit to return to normal prisoner accommodation.
However, Together Union’s delegate John Stack said members were concerned Mr White had not been returned to a more secure part of the facility.
“We’ve had a lot of calls about where the prisoner was placed in the jail,” he said.
QCS is investigating the assault, however Mr Stack said there were many unanswered questions about why the department stated there was “no intelligence to indicate the prisoner was an elevated risk when he was allocated within the prison environment”, given the high-profile nature of Mr White’s charges.
“We’re not quite sure the appropriate measures were taken, or not, because of his profile and whatnot, and everything else, and the placing of him putting other prisoners and officers at risk,” Mr Stack said.
Mr White was arrested at his Mooroobool home on Friday and charged with the murder of Ms Steele, 42, whose wrapped body was found in a creek near Cooktown, in August last year.
The young father was also charged with interfering with a corpse and entering a dwelling with intent.
He faced Cairns Magistrates Court on Saturday and was remanded in custody until May 2.
Mr Stack said guards at Lotus Glen were concerned about escalating violence among inmates, which he claimed was a result of overcrowding of the facility.
“It (this latest incident) is probably a good example of this,” he said.