Keep killer in prison
Parole board plea from murdered cop’s mum
THE shattered mother of slain Gold Coast cop Damian Leeding is fighting to stop one of her son’s evil killers being freed from jail early.
Just four years after being sentenced for his involvement in the cold-blooded killing of Detective Senior Constable Leeding, who was gunned down while bravely trying to foil an armed robbery at the Pacific Pines Tavern, it can be revealed that Benjamin Ernest Power could be released on parole as soon as next month.
In another cruel blow, Det Sen Const Leeding’s mother, Julie Waters, learned on her son’s birthday that Power could be set free.
An angry Ms Waters, in a heartfelt letter to the Parole Board, has pleaded for the killer to be kept behind bars.
She told how her family has been “shattered and broken” since Det Sen Const Leeding’s “appalling and callous” murder on May 29, 2011.
“The lives of my family changed forever the day we lost Damian and it’s had a devastating impact on all of us,” Ms Waters said. “I feel like I’ve been given a life sentence too. I can’t believe (he) Power could be out of jail so soon and back getting on with his life. Lucky him.”
In a crime that shook the nation, Det Sen Const Leeding, a 35-year-old father-oftwo young children, was shot dead after bursting into the tavern to be confronted by armed robber Phillip Graeme Abell, wielding a sawn-off shotgun.
Abell shot Det Sen Const Leeding in the face at pointblank range. The highly respected Coomera detective died three days later in Gold Coast Hospital.
Abell and co-accused Donna McAvoy were sentenced to life imprisonment for the officer’s murder.
Power, who was McAvoy’s boyfriend and drove the getaway car, was jailed for nine years for manslaughter. He was declared a serious violent offender, meaning he had to serve at least 80 per cent of his sentence before being considered for parole.
But having served almost three years behind bars before he was sentenced, he is up for parole on August 11.
Ms Waters said she was notified on her son’s birthday in January that Power intended to seek parole.
“That was just another dagger through my heart,” she said. “I can’t even be heard or represented at the parole hearing. It’s just so frustrating.”
Ms Waters said she did not know how she would cope if Power was released.