NT wife killer Ashley a ‘marked man’ in jail
Funds boost in care of vets
CONVICTED murderer Darren Ashley is now a marked man in the Territory’s prison system, multiple sources say, after inmates learnt of shocking allegations levelled at him in the months before he murdered his estranged wife.
For legal reasons, the Sunday Territorian cannot publish details of the accusations against Ashley, but a prison source said the allegations had been “going around the rumour mill” inside Holtze since the week Ashley was sentenced to life for the 2012 murder of Kirsty Ashley.
The allegations were aired in open court during pre-trial proceedings before Ashley’s first trial in 2014, and were briefly mentioned in sentencing submissions in March but were never put before a jury because they would likely have been unfairly prejudicial.
In a pre-trial decision in 2014, Justice Jenny Blokland chose not to put the allegations on the public record.
“(The allegations have) been the subject of an agreement about excluding evidence that will not be reproduced in this published version (of the pre-trial ruling) but the parties are aware of the agreed exclusion,” Justice Blokland said.
Justice Blokland said the allegations would have carried “a high risk of unacceptable prejudice” at Ashley’s murder trial and said prosecutors were right “in the interests of fairness” not to try to put the evidence in front of a jury.
A prison source said details of the allegations against Ashley began spreading in Holtze in March, as inmates discussed his guilty verdict and life sentence, and after one former Alice Springs man divulged what he knew of Ashley’s past.
A paroled prisoner has since confirmed to the Sunday Territorian details he learnt of the allegations against Ashley while inside Holtze and said if they became known “by the wrong people” Ashley could be at risk of “jailhouse justice”.
The prison sources had precise knowledge of the allegations that had been levelled at Ashley, beyond the rough de- tails aired in open court during Ashley’s sentencing proceedings. The allegations are also common knowledge in pockets of the Alice Springs community, the Sunday Territorian understands.
The paroled prisoner, who had served time alongside Ashley, said the twice-convicted murderer was a quiet inmate and “a bit of a loser”, who was considered “odd” by many other inmates.
A Corrections Commission spokesman said the agency could not comment on individual prisoners, but that guards could move any prisoner into protective custody if there was information they were at risk.
Prisoners can also ask to be placed into protection, the spokesman said. VETERANS battling mental health conditions will have free and immediate access to a greater range of services, including suicide prevention programs, under a multi-million-dollar funding blitz by the Federal Government.
The Sunday Territorian can reveal Tuesday’s Budget will include a $350 million boost to the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, including the largest cash injection to mental health services in decades.
As part of the package, the Turnbull Government will provide more than $30 million for non-liability mental health services to ex-servicemen and women who will no longer have to prove their mental health condition is linked to their service before receiving treatment.
Currently, the Government provides free and immediate treatment for former members with just a handful of conditions including post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and alcohol and drug abuse.
The Government will also spend $10 million on suicide prevention programs which will include a pilot program which provides case management for veterans after they are discharged from hospital.
In total, the Government will spend $220m on mental health, suicide and programs to help personnel transition to civilian life, as well as addressing problems with the claims system for veterans seeking financial support.
There will be $2.7m for employment plans to help veterans find work. The remaining $100m funding boost will include the War Memorial, commemorations and gold card health costs.
Veterans Affairs Minister Dan Tehan said veterans’ health was his number one priority and the funding was a way of honouring the sacrifice of ex-servicemen and women.