Post by insideout on May 1, 2011 23:02:50 GMT -5
Hi
Im from Sydney, Australia. This is my story. The reason i am here
To tell it i guess i will have to start at the beginning.
It was 1998 when i was 7 that i went to a new primary (elemetary) school. I was the new kid and i didnt really fit in much. I was in year 1 (first grade). I have always been kind of socially awquard. So i found it hard to make friends. But there was one girl, Hannah, who did want to be my friend. She was the most loving, kind, compassionate person i have ever known. There were many times when she stuck up for me when the other kids teased me for being "weird" in their words. I remember the first time we were in the same class was 3rd grade. That was 2000. The year of the sydney olympics. We sat next to each other. I remember her having a go at the boy who sat opposite me when he told me my writing was "too big". She told him at least mine was readable, unlike his. Everyone laughed. I could tell her anything. Anything at all. And i knew it would never be a problem. She tried so hard to do good by people. She was never mean or nasty. She was the kind of person everyone wanted to be. She was friends with everyone. She didnt care who you were. She'd always be friendly to you. She'd never hear a bad word about anyone and shed always stick up for those who she felt were getting a hard time from others. I loved her so much and she was a great friend to me
Now fastforward a couple of years. We went into year 7. Me and Hannah were going to the same High School and we were so excited. We were looking forward to it so much. For the first time our moms were going to let us go to school by ourselves. We were to get the school bus every day there and back. On Monday, 15th March, 2004, we were barely 5 weeks into the school year. It was raining that morning, and i got on the bus at my usual stop. But when it got to Hannahs stop, nobody got on. Odd, i thought. I thought she must be running late or getting driven to school, or sick or something. The day passed like any other normal day for me. I got home and started to do my French Homework. My mom and dad got home and started to make dinner. Then the phone rang. It was another friend, Daniels Mum. She spoke to my mum and told her Hannah was missing. The police were at Hannahs house and were trying to determine if hannah had been at school that day. I told her nobody had got on at hannahs stop. Then i called my friend Sophie, who was in Hannahs Class. She said Hannah had not arrived at school at all that day. Thats when i started to worry. I tried to convince myself that she'd just turned a wrong corner and gotten lost or something. Remember i was 12 years old, when you think that your invinceable and these things dont happen to you or anyone you know. I remember i didnt go to sleep very easily that night. I went to sleep praying to god she'd just gotten lost and they'd find her soon.
7am the next morning. Tuesday March 16th 2004. I got up and got ready to school. I put on hers and my favourite CD and played her favourite song. I think i thought it might entice her to come back, somehow shed know i was playing it and thinking about her. The CD was Backstreets Back by Backstreet Boys. The song: Thats what she said. I heard the phone ring again. I ran to answer it. It was Daniels mum again. She asked if she could speak to my mum. I handed the phone over and stood there. My dad also came into the room. My mum hung up the phone. She told me that Hannah had been at home yesterday when her second cousin david, who was like a father figure to her since her own dad had left the household, had come unannounced. She let him in and he killed her. Later i found out that he had knocked on the door, and as she went to open it he had smotherd, stabbed and strangled her. She was 11 and he was 41. I ran into my room screaming. I tried to put on my school uniform, but i couldnt. I ran to mum and screamed that i wasnt going to school. The next thing i remeber is calling my friend sophie and telling her not to hold the bus for me as i wasnt going to school. She asked why and i told her Hannahs been killed. She didnt believe me. I remember feeling happy. But not happy happy, like i was pretending it wasnt real. The next thing i remember is my mom taking me down the street for coffee. We bumped into mine and hannahs friend Romy's dad. he gave me a hug and i started to cry. We went into the Coffee Shop. The man who owned it, his son went to school with me and Hannah. So he knew what had happened, and he gave me a free gelato. I think to try and make me feel better. Then i went up to the news agencey. I wanted to get hannahs best friend ever a card. I did, i wrote on it, and in the afternoon mum drove me to her house to give it to her. I remember that she actually smiled and hugged me. Then there was the funeral, so on and so forth, theres not really much to say there except i cried the entire time. But at the end of the funeral, i remember, Daniel gave me this rose out of his bunch of flowers he bought. I took it up and put it on the coffin at the end, and whispered goodbye.
The next few months were exremely hard. It was only compounded by the fact that BOTH our high school and primary school refused to put up a plarque to her. Even though they BOTH had things in her Memory. Our primary school put a bench up marking where our group of friends used to sit every day. It only had a small engraving on it that said Hannahs Bench. Our high school had a tree, and that was it. It had nothing on it whatsoever. it was like they didnt care and they just wanted to forget after it was over. But none of hannahs friends thought that was ok. So we got one plarque made for her, and we made another ourselves. On the first anniversary of her death, we went to both the schools, in the dead of night, with some cement, and stuck them on. That was 6 years ago and to this day BOTH plarques are still there. No one has had the nerve to try and remove them.
Exactly 11 months and 10 days after her death, the killer, David, was sentanced in the NSW Supreme Court to Life without Parole plus 14 years for what he did to her after her death (please i dont want to go into that its too hard to think about). He is now in one of the hardest prisons in the world. Its filled with this states hardest criminals. From what i heard, hes getting absolute hell from them. I am not normally a hateful person but i take some soulstace from that. He deserves every second of it. After all, he did brutally murder an 11 year old defenceless, beautiful little girl. Not only that, he was family to her and she trusted him. I am eternally greatful to the NSW Justice System, especially Justice Greg James, who sentanced him. Greg, in stentanceing him, called him a truely evil, vile excuse for a human being who poses an ongoing threat to society and thus should never be released. Hes right i think. After all, this man had fanaciesed about killing and mutilating young girls most of his adult life, and had not sought treatment. Greg pointed out that he could easily yield to the desire to kill again. Hannah always stood up for me in her life, now its my turn to do the same for her. I will stand up for her every time. Because shes not here so she cant do it herself. I vowed that if he ever tried for bail i'd fight for her. He hasnt as of yet but rest assured if he does ill be there.
but anyway, thats my story. Thats why im here. because i feel like i need to talk to people who know what im going through. No one does, and the ones here that do, dont want to talk about it. Oh and theres a book thats based off the events of me and my friends. If any of you are interested its called getting air, and its by deborah oswald. Shes the mom of one of the boys who was in mine and hannahs class in primary school. just if your interested.
Im from Sydney, Australia. This is my story. The reason i am here
To tell it i guess i will have to start at the beginning.
It was 1998 when i was 7 that i went to a new primary (elemetary) school. I was the new kid and i didnt really fit in much. I was in year 1 (first grade). I have always been kind of socially awquard. So i found it hard to make friends. But there was one girl, Hannah, who did want to be my friend. She was the most loving, kind, compassionate person i have ever known. There were many times when she stuck up for me when the other kids teased me for being "weird" in their words. I remember the first time we were in the same class was 3rd grade. That was 2000. The year of the sydney olympics. We sat next to each other. I remember her having a go at the boy who sat opposite me when he told me my writing was "too big". She told him at least mine was readable, unlike his. Everyone laughed. I could tell her anything. Anything at all. And i knew it would never be a problem. She tried so hard to do good by people. She was never mean or nasty. She was the kind of person everyone wanted to be. She was friends with everyone. She didnt care who you were. She'd always be friendly to you. She'd never hear a bad word about anyone and shed always stick up for those who she felt were getting a hard time from others. I loved her so much and she was a great friend to me
Now fastforward a couple of years. We went into year 7. Me and Hannah were going to the same High School and we were so excited. We were looking forward to it so much. For the first time our moms were going to let us go to school by ourselves. We were to get the school bus every day there and back. On Monday, 15th March, 2004, we were barely 5 weeks into the school year. It was raining that morning, and i got on the bus at my usual stop. But when it got to Hannahs stop, nobody got on. Odd, i thought. I thought she must be running late or getting driven to school, or sick or something. The day passed like any other normal day for me. I got home and started to do my French Homework. My mom and dad got home and started to make dinner. Then the phone rang. It was another friend, Daniels Mum. She spoke to my mum and told her Hannah was missing. The police were at Hannahs house and were trying to determine if hannah had been at school that day. I told her nobody had got on at hannahs stop. Then i called my friend Sophie, who was in Hannahs Class. She said Hannah had not arrived at school at all that day. Thats when i started to worry. I tried to convince myself that she'd just turned a wrong corner and gotten lost or something. Remember i was 12 years old, when you think that your invinceable and these things dont happen to you or anyone you know. I remember i didnt go to sleep very easily that night. I went to sleep praying to god she'd just gotten lost and they'd find her soon.
7am the next morning. Tuesday March 16th 2004. I got up and got ready to school. I put on hers and my favourite CD and played her favourite song. I think i thought it might entice her to come back, somehow shed know i was playing it and thinking about her. The CD was Backstreets Back by Backstreet Boys. The song: Thats what she said. I heard the phone ring again. I ran to answer it. It was Daniels mum again. She asked if she could speak to my mum. I handed the phone over and stood there. My dad also came into the room. My mum hung up the phone. She told me that Hannah had been at home yesterday when her second cousin david, who was like a father figure to her since her own dad had left the household, had come unannounced. She let him in and he killed her. Later i found out that he had knocked on the door, and as she went to open it he had smotherd, stabbed and strangled her. She was 11 and he was 41. I ran into my room screaming. I tried to put on my school uniform, but i couldnt. I ran to mum and screamed that i wasnt going to school. The next thing i remeber is calling my friend sophie and telling her not to hold the bus for me as i wasnt going to school. She asked why and i told her Hannahs been killed. She didnt believe me. I remember feeling happy. But not happy happy, like i was pretending it wasnt real. The next thing i remember is my mom taking me down the street for coffee. We bumped into mine and hannahs friend Romy's dad. he gave me a hug and i started to cry. We went into the Coffee Shop. The man who owned it, his son went to school with me and Hannah. So he knew what had happened, and he gave me a free gelato. I think to try and make me feel better. Then i went up to the news agencey. I wanted to get hannahs best friend ever a card. I did, i wrote on it, and in the afternoon mum drove me to her house to give it to her. I remember that she actually smiled and hugged me. Then there was the funeral, so on and so forth, theres not really much to say there except i cried the entire time. But at the end of the funeral, i remember, Daniel gave me this rose out of his bunch of flowers he bought. I took it up and put it on the coffin at the end, and whispered goodbye.
The next few months were exremely hard. It was only compounded by the fact that BOTH our high school and primary school refused to put up a plarque to her. Even though they BOTH had things in her Memory. Our primary school put a bench up marking where our group of friends used to sit every day. It only had a small engraving on it that said Hannahs Bench. Our high school had a tree, and that was it. It had nothing on it whatsoever. it was like they didnt care and they just wanted to forget after it was over. But none of hannahs friends thought that was ok. So we got one plarque made for her, and we made another ourselves. On the first anniversary of her death, we went to both the schools, in the dead of night, with some cement, and stuck them on. That was 6 years ago and to this day BOTH plarques are still there. No one has had the nerve to try and remove them.
Exactly 11 months and 10 days after her death, the killer, David, was sentanced in the NSW Supreme Court to Life without Parole plus 14 years for what he did to her after her death (please i dont want to go into that its too hard to think about). He is now in one of the hardest prisons in the world. Its filled with this states hardest criminals. From what i heard, hes getting absolute hell from them. I am not normally a hateful person but i take some soulstace from that. He deserves every second of it. After all, he did brutally murder an 11 year old defenceless, beautiful little girl. Not only that, he was family to her and she trusted him. I am eternally greatful to the NSW Justice System, especially Justice Greg James, who sentanced him. Greg, in stentanceing him, called him a truely evil, vile excuse for a human being who poses an ongoing threat to society and thus should never be released. Hes right i think. After all, this man had fanaciesed about killing and mutilating young girls most of his adult life, and had not sought treatment. Greg pointed out that he could easily yield to the desire to kill again. Hannah always stood up for me in her life, now its my turn to do the same for her. I will stand up for her every time. Because shes not here so she cant do it herself. I vowed that if he ever tried for bail i'd fight for her. He hasnt as of yet but rest assured if he does ill be there.
but anyway, thats my story. Thats why im here. because i feel like i need to talk to people who know what im going through. No one does, and the ones here that do, dont want to talk about it. Oh and theres a book thats based off the events of me and my friends. If any of you are interested its called getting air, and its by deborah oswald. Shes the mom of one of the boys who was in mine and hannahs class in primary school. just if your interested.