The father of a 10-year-old girl brutally murdered in rural New South Wales has launched a furious attack on Australia's justice system, accusing it of prioritising the needs of his daughter's killer.
A Brutal Crime and a Controversial Verdict
Bridgette 'Biddy' Porter was just ten years old when she was savagely killed at a farmhouse in July 2020. The crime was so horrific that the Supreme Court of NSW ordered the details of her injuries to be suppressed for two decades. Her killer, a 14-year-old girl with significant mental health impairments whose identity remains protected, was arrested and charged.
In 2021, the court found the girl guilty of the murder but not criminally responsible due to her mental state. Acting on advice from the NSW Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Biddy's parents, Dominic and Rebekah Porter, initially supported this 'special' verdict. They were told it would result in a longer sentence within a forensic health facility, with the Mental Health Review Tribunal (MHRT) controlling any future release.
Day Release Decision Ignites Parental Rage
The couple's stance turned to outrage when they learned in early 2024 that their daughter's killer had been granted day release. Dominic Porter, who suffers from severe PTSD, unleashed an expletive-laden tirade on the Justice4BiddyPorter Facebook page, condemning the MHRT.
'This country is f***ed. A legal system that prioritises the needs of a murderer over that of the victim's parents,' he wrote. He accused the tribunal of 'wrapping my daughter's killer in cotton wool' and expressed fury that hearings focused on whether the killer had 'gained weight' or was 'flourishing' with new medication.
Mr Porter also condemned the clinical language used, asking, 'How can you refer to the brutal death of my innocent daughter as 'The Index Event'? Every statement like this diminishes the true horror and brutality of what happened.'
Campaign for Systemic Change
Biddy's parents, who are separated, now campaign together for victims' rights reforms. Supported by Advocacy Australia, they are calling for parliamentary inquiries into both the NSW DPP and the MHRT. A petition backing their cause has garnered over 40,000 signatures.
'They got it 100 per cent wrong. It's in the detectives' view. I think it's in the Australian public's view,' Mr Porter stated in a previous interview. He fears the killer will eventually walk free, stating, 'She's effectively paid to be in jail... any member of the Australian public would not sit well with that.'
The family must endure a review hearing before the MHRT every six months. A coronial inquest into Biddy's death is scheduled for next year, offering a potential avenue for further scrutiny of the case and the systems that followed.
