The Gold Coast Bulletin

PSYCHO’S JAIL CELL MURDER THREATS

Tomahawk killer wanted to slay own mother as new findings reveal his dark, violent past

- ALEXANDRIA UTTING

TOMAHAWK murderer Brock Wall has been found with a notebook in his jail cell containing threats to kill his own mother.

The shocking detail has been revealed in non-inquest findings released into the death of ex-girlfriend Fabiana Palhares at her Varsity Lakes home on February 2, 2015.

Findings also revealed Wall’s own parents feared him “terribly” after he made them “beg for forgivenes­s”.

A COWARDLY womanhater serving a life sentence for the tomahawk murder of his pregnant Gold Coast exgirlfrie­nd has been found with a notebook in his cell containing threats to kill his own mother.

The shocking detail was revealed in non-inquest findings released into the death of Fabiana Palhares at her Varsity Lakes home on February 2, 2015.

Ex-boyfriend Brock Wall bashed Ms Palhares unconsciou­s, jumped on her stomach and attacked her with a tomahawk.

A Queensland Supreme Court judge described the killing as “the stuff of nightmares” in 2018 when Wall was sentenced to life behind bars.

The non-inquest findings released by Deputy State Coroner Jane Bentley yesterday also reveal:

Wall’s own parents feared him “terribly” after he made them “beg for forgivenes­s”.

Wall tried to install spyware on Ms Palhares’ computer following their break-up.

In 2001 he was convicted of the violent assault of another partner, who he pulled out of a car and bashed.

Three women took out domestic violence (DV) orders and accused Wall of serious attacks, including strangulat­ion, between 2009 and 2014.

Wall was deemed a “low risk” to others after being discharged from a mental health ward less than two months before the murder.

The killer told a men’s DV line that he planned to “f***ing kill the woman that is pregnant” before the murder, but no record was kept and, despite the call being abruptly disconnect­ed, no attempt was made to phone Wall back.

Fabiana was 11 weeks pregnant at the time of her death and pleaded with triple-0 operators “Please help me” after being attacked in her own home hours after police served Wall with a variation to an existing domestic violence order (DVO). The non-inquest findings also describe a long-term pattern of chilling attacks by Wall against previous partners and failures by police, domestic violence services and medical practition­ers in the lead-up to Ms Palhares’ death.

The findings also revealed Wall’s own parents feared him “terribly” and in 2011 he made his mother “grovel and beg for forgivenes­s for an insulting gesture she made to him” two years earlier.

“Whilst in prison after being sentenced for the murder of Ms Palhares, a notebook was discovered in Mr Wall’s cell in which he had written that he would like to kill his mother if he got the chance,” the findings said.

They also detail a Christmas Day bashing, two months before Ms Palhares’ death, in which Wall punched her in the head and stomach and told her he would “kill the baby”. Palhares fled the unit and ended the relationsh­ip.

But Wall “remained fixated” on Ms Palhares, abusing her, destroying her phones, breaking into her house and contacting IT specialist­s and asking them to install spy software on her computer, the findings said.

More than 14 years earlier, Wall was convicted of the assault of another partner in which he pulled her out of a car and attacked her before leaving her on the side of the road, the findings said.

Between 2009 and three former partners 2014, took out DVOs against Wall, saying he had stalked, strangled and attacked them, according to the findings.

They also note Wall was described by clinicians as having a “low” risk of harming others at the time of his release from a mental ward, but doctors did not take into account he had disclosed being violent toward Ms Palhares.

On January 7, 2015, police flagged Wall as a “high-risk” DV offender.

Later that night, Ms Palhares called police and said the man had come to her house earlier that day and she was fearful he was outside her window. “It does not appear that police further investigat­ed the alleged breach … by taking up with either Ms Palhares or Mr Wall,” the findings said.

Later that month, Wall phoned a DV men’s line and told them he wanted to have his “brain electrocut­ed” so he could “come back and f***ing kill the woman that is pregnant”. “Remember this call. My name is Brock and I will be in the news one day for going off. I am like a time bomb that is going to explode”, he said, adding he was a “sadistic person” who would be in jail “one day”.

“Mr Wall’s disclosure­s were not recorded … and the call was categorise­d as a standard matter,” the findings revealed.

The inquest findings also note that Wall told officers that it “looks like police will be coming to arrest me” after being issued with the DV order variation less than two hours before the murder. While Ms Bentley found responding officers did not treat Wall’s threats with “sufficient seriousnes­s” or “document his disclosure­s or take action to hold him accountabl­e to protect Ms Palhares”, she said there had been sweeping changes implemente­d by the QPS since the killing.

She also said DVConnect Mensline had made mass changes to its systems.

“Whilst it is impossible to determine whether the tragic outcome for Ms Palhares would have been avoided if those agencies had addressed the issues adequately, it is clear that Ms Palhares was not assisted as comprehens­ively as she could have been had the informatio­n provided to those agencies been dealt with appropriat­ely,” Ms Bentley said.

No further recommenda­tions were made.

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 ??  ?? Fabiana Palhares (left) and (inset, from top) friends of Ms Palhares gathering at Burleigh Hill; flowers at Randwick Court, Varsity Lakes; and Brock Wall.
Fabiana Palhares (left) and (inset, from top) friends of Ms Palhares gathering at Burleigh Hill; flowers at Randwick Court, Varsity Lakes; and Brock Wall.

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