Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
As we know well, twenty year old Keith Kiranoa has
been found guilty of murdering Darwin Bottle shop worker Declan Lavity.
Twenty witnesses, including police, forensic experts, and Kiranoa himself, gave
evidence during the eight day trial in the Supreme Court
of the Northern Territory. The jury began deliberations on Wednesday afternoon,
(00:21):
returning a unanimous verdict just before eleven o'clock yesterday. The
courtroom erupted with emotion when that verdict was handed down.
Declan's mother, Samara, joins me in the studio right now, Samara,
good morning to you, Thanks for your time.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Good morning, Katie, thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
Now, what was your reaction when you heard the guilty verdict?
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Massive? Massive relief, massive relief.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
Yeah, you know, I can't imagine really what the last
few days have been like for you, going through the
evidence as it's been handed down, hearing from the witnesses.
Can you talk me through some of what you have
felt over the last eight days.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
Agonizing, emotional pain, watching that footage time and time and
time again, and then have it broken down to frame
by frame and seeing every single thing that happened. There's
some images that I'm never ever going to get out
of my head, not ever.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
The strength that you've shown to be able to view
those images, I think is nothing short of phenomenal. I
cannot even begin to imagine what it's been like for you,
having to see those final moments.
Speaker 2 (01:43):
It's been hard, but I promised him that I would
be there for every single second. He can't be there.
He's got no way of representing himself. I'm his mum,
and I'll do that as much as I can the
rest of my life.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
Samara, Do you feel as though justice has been served?
Speaker 2 (02:05):
Absolutely? Yeah, definitely the right outcome occurred and we're really
really grateful that the jury we're able to see what
we could see. And yeah, we definitely feel like justice
has been served for Declan's been vindicated, but also that
(02:27):
the offender is now no longer alleged and is now
a convicted murderer, and we feel that's the right outcome.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
And you know, what are your feelings now that the
trial is over and knowing that that part of this
nightmare is over.
Speaker 2 (02:46):
It is a relief. It's been hanging over our heads
since the nineteenth of March. There's been so much back
and forth about Declan's role in all of it that
at the end of the day, it didn't matter.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
Who or what he was.
Speaker 2 (03:07):
He was targeted and just for being at work and
doing his job, refusing entry based on the no shirt,
no shoes policy, and for that he died tomorrow.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
You spoke about the pain that you felt when you
were when you were throughout the case because of the
knife that he had. How like, how has that been
for you reliving that and and and having to talk
about that exceedingly painful.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
I felt like it was my fault for a very, very,
very long time. And it wasn't until sort of the
last week or so when it came out in court
that everyone thought it was a box cutter, even to
the point that it wasn't until the end of October
(04:04):
last year that anyone even realized that the weapon that
Declan was able to use was his knife. The box
cutter was tested, and it wasn't until the testing from
that came back because Declan's knife was found folded in
his pocket. So to me, that shows that he literally
only used it to protect himself and defend both himself
(04:29):
and every other single person in that store.
Speaker 1 (04:32):
What's it must have been hard for you carrying that guilt.
Speaker 2 (04:37):
It's nearly destroyed me. I was very much like I
never specifically said, heye, carry a knife. I was just like, mate,
please just stay safe. And clearly that was for good reason.
Speaker 1 (04:54):
Are you touched on the fact that you have obviously
gone through You have watched that CCT footage from the
night of the tragedy. It was played to the jury.
You've spoken about how difficult that was for you. Is
there anything from those moments that you want to share with,
like with the audience, that you want people to know.
Speaker 2 (05:16):
I want people to know that Declin had no choice.
He was he was He was threatened with being stabbed,
and sadly it was simply due to the color of
his skin. Race should never come into any of it,
but he was targeted because he was white, and that
(05:38):
was said numerous times by the offender. He had no choice.
If he had turned and run for the back door,
he could have been stabbed in the back. Instead, he
chose to stand his ground, for which I am exceedingly
proud of him. He stood up to a criminal bully
who did not like that, and even though he lost
(06:02):
his life to us, he's a hero.
Speaker 1 (06:07):
Now. Kieran Oa is facing a minimum of twenty years
behind bar given the Northern Territories non parole period for murder,
and it remains to be seen as to whether he'll
make an appeal. What's your reaction to the possibility of
that happening.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
We haven't let ourselves go there yet. We're just still
trying to process the fact that he was found guilty
anything over and above that. Whatever happens after sentencing, we'll
deal with that as it comes. But for right now,
we're just happy knowing that we got the right outcome.
Speaker 1 (06:44):
Samara, do you feel as though you've got the closure
that you need?
Speaker 2 (06:48):
Partly having that hanging over our heads, we did not
realize how much it had affected us until it was
taken away. We knew it was murder. We saw that
on the CCTV, and we're just really glad that the
jury were able to see that too.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
I understand there was a lot of emotion in the
courtroom yesterday. Yeah, how how was that?
Speaker 2 (07:21):
That was scary? That was really really scary. Like I
understand that his family were upset. Their reaction caused the
lot of the court house to go into lockdown. Threats
were made, insults were thrown, and we were genuinely scared.
(07:46):
We thought we were going to be assaulted, and assaulted
quite badly just due to their reaction. And like, I
totally get that they're upset and they're hurt, but that reaction,
it's just unacceptable.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
How are you and your daughter going today?
Speaker 2 (08:04):
Well, for the first time in fifteen months, I actually slept,
and I have not slept a full night since. Bridget
is very a lot more at peace being eighteen. She's
found it very hard to deal with. But yesterday afternoon
(08:25):
we had a celebrated, celebratory glass of champagne and we
all sat and we toasted Decline and there was just
a general feeling of finally we can breathe again.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
How do you want Territorians to remember your boy Funny?
Speaker 2 (08:42):
He was funny, he was so loving and his love
for animals dogs in particular. Yep, But yeah, just as
a really kind hearted young man who loved us, loved
his animals and just had the work at his feet.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
And Samaria, you're heading back to Cairns in the coming days. Yes,
we are.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
We're ready to go home. Yeah, it's been a long
couple of weeks and yeah, we need to go home now.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
Well, I really appreciate you coming in to speak with
us this morning. I cannot I can't even begin to
imagine how tough this has all been. And and yeah,
I really appreciate your time. And and I mean before
I let you go, are you how are you feeling?
You know, when you look at the state of the
of of what's gone on in the Northern Territory, you know,
(09:35):
over the last well year you've really pushed, you have
pushed in a lot of ways for the government to
take greater action when it comes to uh, you know,
to to crime. Like how are you sort of viewing
things as you are heading back to cans.
Speaker 2 (09:54):
I do think there is a stronger focus on sorting
crime out now, but the reaction that we got yesterday
in the courtroom sort of shows that there's still a
lot of work, a lot of work that needs to
be done. This should never have happened. The offender had
(10:14):
a significant criminal history and should never have been out
on bail, and we strongly feel that had he not
been out on bail, Declan would still be here living
his life the way he should be.
Speaker 1 (10:28):
Samara lavities. Thank you for your time this morning. I
really appreciate it, and well I don't know when we'll
talk again, but I appreciate all the time that you've
given us. Thank you very much.
Speaker 2 (10:38):
Thank you so much for having me and allowing me
to have a voice.
Speaker 1 (10:42):
Thank you. Thanks Samara,
As we know well, twenty year old Keith Kiranoa has
been found guilty of murdering Darwin Bottle shop worker Declan Lavity.
Twenty witnesses, including police, forensic experts, and Kiranoa himself, gave
evidence during the eight day trial in the Supreme Court
of the Northern Territory. The jury began deliberations on Wednesday afternoon,
(00:21):
returning a unanimous verdict just before eleven o'clock yesterday. The
courtroom erupted with emotion when that verdict was handed down.
Declan's mother, Samara, joins me in the studio right now, Samara,
good morning to you, Thanks for your time.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Good morning, Katie, thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
Now, what was your reaction when you heard the guilty verdict?
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Massive? Massive relief, massive relief.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
Yeah, you know, I can't imagine really what the last
few days have been like for you, going through the
evidence as it's been handed down, hearing from the witnesses.
Can you talk me through some of what you have
felt over the last eight days.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
Agonizing, emotional pain, watching that footage time and time and
time again, and then have it broken down to frame
by frame and seeing every single thing that happened. There's
some images that I'm never ever going to get out
of my head, not ever.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
The strength that you've shown to be able to view
those images, I think is nothing short of phenomenal. I
cannot even begin to imagine what it's been like for you,
having to see those final moments.
Speaker 2 (01:43):
It's been hard, but I promised him that I would
be there for every single second. He can't be there.
He's got no way of representing himself. I'm his mum,
and I'll do that as much as I can the
rest of my life.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
Samara, Do you feel as though justice has been served?
Speaker 2 (02:05):
Absolutely? Yeah, definitely the right outcome occurred and we're really
really grateful that the jury we're able to see what
we could see. And yeah, we definitely feel like justice
has been served for Declan's been vindicated, but also that
(02:27):
the offender is now no longer alleged and is now
a convicted murderer, and we feel that's the right outcome.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
And you know, what are your feelings now that the
trial is over and knowing that that part of this
nightmare is over.
Speaker 2 (02:46):
It is a relief. It's been hanging over our heads
since the nineteenth of March. There's been so much back
and forth about Declan's role in all of it that
at the end of the day, it didn't matter.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
Who or what he was.
Speaker 2 (03:07):
He was targeted and just for being at work and
doing his job, refusing entry based on the no shirt,
no shoes policy, and for that he died tomorrow.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
You spoke about the pain that you felt when you
were when you were throughout the case because of the
knife that he had. How like, how has that been
for you reliving that and and and having to talk
about that exceedingly painful.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
I felt like it was my fault for a very, very,
very long time. And it wasn't until sort of the
last week or so when it came out in court
that everyone thought it was a box cutter, even to
the point that it wasn't until the end of October
(04:04):
last year that anyone even realized that the weapon that
Declan was able to use was his knife. The box
cutter was tested, and it wasn't until the testing from
that came back because Declan's knife was found folded in
his pocket. So to me, that shows that he literally
only used it to protect himself and defend both himself
(04:29):
and every other single person in that store.
Speaker 1 (04:32):
What's it must have been hard for you carrying that guilt.
Speaker 2 (04:37):
It's nearly destroyed me. I was very much like I
never specifically said, heye, carry a knife. I was just like, mate,
please just stay safe. And clearly that was for good reason.
Speaker 1 (04:54):
Are you touched on the fact that you have obviously
gone through You have watched that CCT footage from the
night of the tragedy. It was played to the jury.
You've spoken about how difficult that was for you. Is
there anything from those moments that you want to share with,
like with the audience, that you want people to know.
Speaker 2 (05:16):
I want people to know that Declin had no choice.
He was he was He was threatened with being stabbed,
and sadly it was simply due to the color of
his skin. Race should never come into any of it,
but he was targeted because he was white, and that
(05:38):
was said numerous times by the offender. He had no choice.
If he had turned and run for the back door,
he could have been stabbed in the back. Instead, he
chose to stand his ground, for which I am exceedingly
proud of him. He stood up to a criminal bully
who did not like that, and even though he lost
(06:02):
his life to us, he's a hero.
Speaker 1 (06:07):
Now. Kieran Oa is facing a minimum of twenty years
behind bar given the Northern Territories non parole period for murder,
and it remains to be seen as to whether he'll
make an appeal. What's your reaction to the possibility of
that happening.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
We haven't let ourselves go there yet. We're just still
trying to process the fact that he was found guilty
anything over and above that. Whatever happens after sentencing, we'll
deal with that as it comes. But for right now,
we're just happy knowing that we got the right outcome.
Speaker 1 (06:44):
Samara, do you feel as though you've got the closure
that you need?
Speaker 2 (06:48):
Partly having that hanging over our heads, we did not
realize how much it had affected us until it was
taken away. We knew it was murder. We saw that
on the CCTV, and we're just really glad that the
jury were able to see that too.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
I understand there was a lot of emotion in the
courtroom yesterday. Yeah, how how was that?
Speaker 2 (07:21):
That was scary? That was really really scary. Like I
understand that his family were upset. Their reaction caused the
lot of the court house to go into lockdown. Threats
were made, insults were thrown, and we were genuinely scared.
(07:46):
We thought we were going to be assaulted, and assaulted
quite badly just due to their reaction. And like, I
totally get that they're upset and they're hurt, but that reaction,
it's just unacceptable.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
How are you and your daughter going today?
Speaker 2 (08:04):
Well, for the first time in fifteen months, I actually slept,
and I have not slept a full night since. Bridget
is very a lot more at peace being eighteen. She's
found it very hard to deal with. But yesterday afternoon
(08:25):
we had a celebrated, celebratory glass of champagne and we
all sat and we toasted Decline and there was just
a general feeling of finally we can breathe again.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
How do you want Territorians to remember your boy Funny?
Speaker 2 (08:42):
He was funny, he was so loving and his love
for animals dogs in particular. Yep, But yeah, just as
a really kind hearted young man who loved us, loved
his animals and just had the work at his feet.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
And Samaria, you're heading back to Cairns in the coming days. Yes,
we are.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
We're ready to go home. Yeah, it's been a long
couple of weeks and yeah, we need to go home now.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
Well, I really appreciate you coming in to speak with
us this morning. I cannot I can't even begin to
imagine how tough this has all been. And and yeah,
I really appreciate your time. And and I mean before
I let you go, are you how are you feeling?
You know, when you look at the state of the
of of what's gone on in the Northern Territory, you know,
(09:35):
over the last well year you've really pushed, you have
pushed in a lot of ways for the government to
take greater action when it comes to uh, you know,
to to crime. Like how are you sort of viewing
things as you are heading back to cans.
Speaker 2 (09:54):
I do think there is a stronger focus on sorting
crime out now, but the reaction that we got yesterday
in the courtroom sort of shows that there's still a
lot of work, a lot of work that needs to
be done. This should never have happened. The offender had
(10:14):
a significant criminal history and should never have been out
on bail, and we strongly feel that had he not
been out on bail, Declan would still be here living
his life the way he should be.
Speaker 1 (10:28):
Samara lavities. Thank you for your time this morning. I
really appreciate it, and well I don't know when we'll
talk again, but I appreciate all the time that you've
given us. Thank you very much.
Speaker 2 (10:38):
Thank you so much for having me and allowing me
to have a voice.
Speaker 1 (10:42):
Thank you. Thanks Samara,
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