Granting bail for alleged domestic violence offenders a ‘death sentence’ for victims, says Cluney ex-partner

An ex-partner of convicted domestic violence offender Dean Cluney says tough new bail laws in NSW won’t work, claiming magistrates will continue to release alleged perpetrators into the community.

Racheal Merrett, 36, also told an anti-family violence rally in Leeton that granting bail for alleged perpetrators could be a “death sentence” for victims, as domestic violence was “most lethal” when a woman was trying to leave her partner.

In a case that attracted national media attention, Dean Cluney, 33, was convicted of stalking and intimidating his girlfriend Tania Murphy, 36, and another woman in April 2023.

Soon after these offences, Ms Murphy fled her home and was killed in a car crash alongside her two sons and nephew when her vehicle hit a pole and rolled into a water channel.

“I wasn’t taken seriously when I reported [alleged] abuse,” Ms Merrett said. “The system is so flawed. If they had taken me seriously, Tania and those children would still be alive.”

In May 2024, Cluney was also convicted of intentionally choking without consent and intimidating a different woman. He is currently serving jail time for both convictions and will be eligible for parole in January 2025.

“I was extremely devastated by this judgement,” Ms Merrett said. “I’m disgusted at our legal system … sentences need to be harsher.”

Ms Merrett, who lives in Narrandera, says she was in a relationship with Mr Cluney between 2013 and 2019 and had three biological children with him. She claims he abused and threatened her while they were together and after she left him.

Following a spate of media reports on women killed by intimate partners, the NSW Government enacted new laws to supposedly make it harder for alleged domestic violence offenders to get bail. Under the reforms, only magistrates and judges will be able to grant bail. Previously, bail could be granted by registrars – less senior positions within the court system who mostly handled administrative tasks.

“A lot of people say new bail laws will mean perpetrators won’t get released,” Ms Merrett said. “But magistrates are the ones who are granting bail. The police deny bail. Nine times out of 10, it’s magistrates that are letting people down.”

The 36-year-old also says authorities are slow to respond to accusations of family violence.

“I reported [alleged] abuse of my children to Family and Community Services [the child protection authority], but it took them two years to respond,” she said.

“If you’ve got children who are going to speak up, you should see them immediately.”

Ms Merrett expressed her views on the Cluney case and justice system at an anti-family violence rally held in Leeton in May 2024. Her speech was broadcast on her Facebook page.

She also said she supported rehabilitation for offenders, but that programs should take place in jail.

“Rehabilitation should not occur in society, putting children and other people’s lives at risk,” she said.

The Narrandera woman says she is now studying family violence and aspires to become a counsellor.

“I want to help women and children who have experienced domestic violence. My final push to do that was seeing what happened to Tania and those children.”

The Australian Institute of Criminology’s National Homicide Monitoring Program has found 34 women were killed by an intimate partner in 2022-23, an increase of 28 per cent on the previous year.

According to a recent Monash University study, around 10 per cent of offenders were on bail at the time they murdered their partner.

Original Article published by Oliver Jacques on Region Riverina.