Robert Smith: Man who murdered stepdaughter, 6, then stuffed body in suitcase and burned it may be released from prison
MOUNT DRUITT, SYDNEY: A man who stuffed his stepdaughter's body into a suitcase before setting fire to it in an attempt to conceal the six-year- old's identity will most likely be released from jail next month. For manslaughter and being an accessory to the 2010 murder of Kiesha Abrahams, a six-year-old girl, Robert Smith, is currently serving a minimum 12-year sentence.
Smith was imprisoned in 2013 alongside Kiesha's mother, Kristi Abrahams, who was found guilty of murder and sentenced to at least 16 years in prison. Kiesha died in her bed at their Hebersham home in Sydney's western suburbs after being knocked unconscious by her mother for refusing to put on her pajamas. After beating Kiesha, the couple chose to put her in the shower before putting her to bed, where she passed away.
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'We say no parole for child killers'
Notwithstanding the horrifying murder, the NSW State Parole Authority (SPA) declared its "intention to grant parole" and announced plans to release Smith as early as April 24, prompting demonstrations in Mount Druitt. Smith's former residence in Mount Druitt was mobbed by incensed locals who demanded that he be kept behind bars. "We say no parole for child killers," Alison Anderson, a protester said. She further added, "He hasn't served his time," reported 7News.
Others in the suburb got into a fight with counter-protesters who claimed he had already served his sentence. Smith's non-parole period is already over; thus, the SPA had to consider his release. The SPA must start determining whether a prisoner is eligible for release 60 days before that date and must render a final parole decision by three weeks before that prisoner's eligible release date. The five SPA members discussed Smith's prospective release, and they all agreed that they wanted to release him on parole, as reported by DailyMail.
What will determine the final parole decision?
The case is now scheduled for a public review hearing on April 4 that will take place in open court and provide victims or the state the chance to speak. The SPA said, "A final parole decision will not be made until the Authority considers all the available information before it, including any submissions that may be made at the review hearing," as per reports.
Abrahams and Smith, at the time, made heartfelt pleas for help, but authorities were not persuaded by their stories, and a protracted murder inquiry ensued. Police detained Abrahams and Smith in 2011, eight months after Kiesha was reported missing, as reported by the Guardian.
Smith kept Kiesha's body hidden in a suitcase inside a wardrobe
Following the discovery of human remains in the Mt. Druitt bushland on Kiesha's seventh birthday, Abrahams was charged with murder. Smith kept Kiesha's body hidden in a suitcase inside a wardrobe for five days before moving it to some nearby Shalvey wilderness. Then he doused her body in gasoline, set it ablaze, and buried the burned remains, as per reports.
