Killer’s charge reduced
A woman who bashed and strangled her boyfriend to death had her murder charge reduced to manslaughter because police needed to protect informants.
His appalled family say the ‘‘loophole’’ has denied them justice.
Zariah Jae Samson admitted killing Cory James Protos, 30, when she handed herself in to police on April 27, 2014. Police discovered she had beaten him over four hours before moving him to another house where she strangled him with a computer cord.
She was initially charged with murder, but the Crown accepted a guilty plea to manslaughter in July last year. She was jailed for six years and three months and is eligible for parole in September.
A Press investigation found the police reduced the murder charge after being faced with a prolonged and unforeseen legal battle that could have jeopardised their confidential informants.
Protos’ aunt and godmother, Robyn Hydes, said the Protos family felt badly let down by the justice system especially when the full details of the killing emerged.
‘‘It just ripped our hearts out to hear what happened to him.’’
If Samson had been found guilty of murder, she faced life imprisonment (a minimum of 10 years jail without parole) and possibly a 17-year non-parole sentence because of violence in the killing.
The Press was granted limited access to the court file late last year after a ruling by Justice Cameron Mander. All material relating to police informants was removed beforePress inspection.
The file reveals a complex legal battle over the disclosure of information from informants, who provided intelligence on the killing on a confidential basis. Samson’s lawyer Jonathan Eaton QC believed the information, judged by police to be no more than rumour and gossip, had the potential to undermine Samson’s confession and wanted access to the informants.
Police did not want to jeopardise their informants and had no stomach for a long battle through the courts. Samson had earlier indicated her willingness to plead guilty to manslaughter and this was accepted.
The case has far-reaching implications for cases where informants provide information confidentially even if the information is useless.
Crown Law, the police and Eaton all declined to comment.
Hydes said the family was still bitter about the change of charge and light sentence for the brutal killing.
In a letter to Justice Minister Andrew Little, sent on November 28, Hydes said the family was kept on ‘‘the backburner’’ as four trial dates over three years were vacated.
Police broke to the news to the family about the reduced charge only days before Samson’s plea, she said in the letter.
‘‘We were told they were going to see if Zariah would plead guilty to manslaughter. We were informed that the Crown had two pages of informant information that they weren’t at liberty to share with the defendant’s lawyer so their hands were tied.’’
Because of a loophole, the Protos family did not get justice for a ‘‘prolonged, violent atrocity’’, she said.
In an interview with The Press this week, Hydes said many people could have stopped Samson.
‘‘Why weren’t they held accountable? We were told if you are in the next room while someone is being murdered, you don’t have to say anything. Well, that’s disgusting.’’
She said Protos, who was like a son to her, was popular with women, but seemed to find girls who had problems.
‘‘He seemed to think he could fix them. He would never lay a hand on a woman because I was waiting for her (Samson) to come out with that, but she said he was nothing but good to her.
‘‘I’m glad she actually said that. He was very much against any violence against women.’’