Family confronts killer with powerful statement

THE family of murdered Dalby father Mark Wilkes paid tribute to the man they described as a loving father during a number of victim impact statements in the Supreme Court last Friday.

Confronting the man convicted of killing Mr Wilkes, his sister Myra had strong words for Jason William Binney during her opportunity to speak.

She was one of three family members to do so.

Binney was convicted over the murder in Toowoomba last week after the father-of-three was killed in his sleep with a hammer before his home was set alight in 2016.

“It still haunts me to think how things escalated into this never-ending nightmare for our family,” she said.

“Jason Binney, you not only took our little brother away, you took a father to David, Emily and Jake.

“Mark was a loyal father watching his kids grow up and wanted to be there when they graduated from school.

Another one of Mr Wilkes’ sisters asked “how did you think you could get away with it in such a small town like Dalby?”.

Binney was jailed for life after pleading guilty to the murder and will be eligible for parole after serving 20 years.