NSW: Murdered teenager's parents break down in court

AAP General News (Australia)
08-01-2008
NSW: Murdered teenager's parents break down in court

SYDNEY, Aug 1 AAP - The parents of murdered teenager Tania Burgess have broken down
in court while telling the judge who will decide her killer's sentence about the "searing
pain" they have lived with since her death.

Tania, 15, was stabbed 48 times on her way home from school while walking through the
car park of the Forresters Beach Resort on the Central Coast in July 2005.

As she lay dying, Tania managed to utter her attacker's first name, his school and his class.

In March, a NSW Supreme Court jury took only 90 minutes to find the "gentle" youth
- who cannot be identified as he was 16 at the time - guilty of her murder.

As part of sentencing submissions in front of Justice Robert Hulme today, victim impact
statements from Tania's parents Chris and Mandy Burgess were read to the court.

Tania's killer sat impassively in the dock as the statements were read out.

Crown prosecutor Margaret Cunneen, SC, had to read Mr Burgess' statement when he became
too emotional to continue.

In it he described the hardest day of his life as when he had to carry his daughter's
coffin, and one of his greatest laments was he would not be able to walk her down the
aisle.

"I know other families have losses, some even have the unthinkable tragedy of losing
a child, but to lose a child to murder shattered one's belief in humanity," his statement
read.

"The thoughtless and selfish act took Tania from us forever and put an end to the bright
future that would have been Tania's."

Mandy Burgess wept as she spoke about her passionate, artistic daughter who loved surfing
and summers on the beach and had wanted to be a lion tamer.

She said she was only grateful the family had enjoyed a holiday together only a week
before the murder.

"What was to happen a week later would shatter our lives forever," she told the court.

"We have had to endure (a journey) of hell, frustration and pain - searing pain that
still to this day rips through my body.

"I will live with the pain and heartache for the rest of my life.

"Just day to day life of trying to keep my family together is a nightmare."

Mr Burgess rested his hand on his wife's shoulder in support while she read her statement.

Both spoke of the devastating effect Tania's death had had on their relationship and
on their other children, who were struggling to cope.

Mrs Burgess said she had been on psychiatric medication since 2005.

"This should never have happened. Nothing has been achieved by this senseless death," she said.

"There is a hole in my family - a hole that can never be filled.

"A piece of my family has been taken away."

Forensic psychiatrist Dr Stephen Allnutt also addressed the court during sentencing
submissions today.

He said the boy found guilty of Tania's murder, who is now 19, suffers from depression
and anxiety symptoms and had some symptoms of obsessive compulsive disorder, but there
was no evidence he was suffering from psychosis at the time of the attack.

"(But) something distorted his thinking," he said.

"For something to drive that behaviour there must have been some significant stuff
going on in his head."

AAP kaj/kd/evt/cjh/de

KEYWORD: BURGESS

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