He lost his daughter, 25, when she was bashed to death by the son a of a wealthy banker. Now this grieving father's sole mission in life is making sure her killer is NEVER released - so other families are saved from the same horror
- Henry Hammond, a 27-year-old homeless man, brutally killed Courtney Herron
- Hammond was charged with murder but found not guilty through mental issues
- He had been released from jail early by a judge following another brutal beating
- Hammond had been dumped on the streets and went on an ice bender
- Ms Herron's defence lawyer father has vowed to continue to fight for justice
The pain of losing a beautiful young daughter to a vicious crime is a torment known to a select few of unfortunate fathers across Australia.
It's a club defined only by the depth of misery shared by its members.
And John Herron is one of them.
In May last year, his daughter, Courtney, was bashed to death in a Melbourne park in the most horrific of ways.
John Herron clings to photograph of his daughter Courtney, who was beaten to death by Henry Hammond last year
John Herron and his daughter Courtney in happier times. She was savagely killed by Henry Hammond, who was found not guilty of murder through mental impairment
Courtney Herron was brutally killed by a man doctors say is not guilty of murder because he was mentally ill
On Monday, the man responsible for her savage and cowardly demise was found not guilty by a judge who accepted he was mentally impaired at the time.
It was a cruel blow to Courtney's already devastated family and particularly grinding for her dad, a criminal lawyer himself.
Mr Herron has now embarked on a journey for justice in a field he knows all too well.
He is adamant his daughter has been denied justice by Crown prosecutors he claims 'produced a white flag' at the earliest opportunity.
He now plans to take her case as far as it can legally possibly go.
'Are you going to kill me,' his daughter had asked before a nasty ice freak hit her over the head with a tree branch.
A witness later told police he believed Henry Hammond continued to go 'hell for leather' for at least 50 minutes.
Hours earlier, Hammond's victim had kindly offered him a cigarette and enjoyed a meal with a man who was a total stranger.
Yet, at the wave of two pens, Hammond could be spared spending the rest of his life in prison.
These pens were used by two doctors to make reports that a judge deemed were enough to find Hammond not guilty of Courtney's murder due to mental illness.
Instead of a prison cell, Hammond will be medicated, potentially 'cured' of his schizophrenia, and released back onto the streets where he was living rough when he became a killer.
In May last year, as Hammond remained at large, the pain felt by Courtney's mum was on display as she collapsed at the spot where her daughter was killed.
It was a harrowing scene of despair those who were there will never forget.
North of the city, among the leafy trees of Gisborne, Courtney's father grieved away from the eyes of the world.
The mother and grandmother of Melbourne woman Courtney Herron have thrown themselves onto the spot she was bashed to death and cried to the sky for answers
Courtney Herron's body is removed by police at Royal Park in May last year
Henry Hammond was found not be guilty of the murder of Courtney Herron but he is a stone cold killer of a young woman
In the following days he would release a photo of his daughter in happier times.
Much has been written about the troubled path Courtney herself had travelled in her final years of life.
She had smoked ice with her killer in the hours before he pulverised her.
Now happy snaps are all Mr Herron has to remind him of his precious daughter.
That, and the image of his little girl screaming in the dark as a man who may never face the full hammer of justice snuffed the life from her.
'I was just sick. I vomited listening to what happened to her,' Mr Herron told Daily Mail Australia.
'Because I can hear her. If you're a parent, you can hear your daughter's voice. You know your daughter, you know how she laughs and whatnot, or she cries when she's in trouble, I can hear that.'
Over the past year, Mr Herron has tried to convince the director of the Office of Public Prosecutions, Kerry Judd, QC, to push ahead with a murder trial against Hammond.
'For a year, all the (OPP) has done to me is sell me the thing about mental impairment. And when I objected to it, well, you know I try to reason with it, and I said I'm just objectively looking at this, my daughter was the subject of one of the most brutal killings in Victoria,' Mr Herron said.
But the OPP would not budge, telling Mr Herron Hammond 'did not know the nature and quality of the conduct' or 'did not know that the conduct was wrong'.
Ms Judd came to the conclusion after receiving a report on behalf of Hammond's defence by Dr Prashant Pandurangi - a consultant psychiatrist with the Victorian Institute of Forensic Mental Health.
John Herron has been denied justice after prosecutors accepted medical opinions that his daughter's killer was mentally unwell rather than a cold-blooded, drug fuelled maniac
Henry Hammond, 27, bashed Courtney Herron, 25, to death in a Melbourne park. He was found not guilty due to mental impairment
A young Courtney Herron. She was brutally killed by Henry Hammond, who will not face justice over the shocking crime
The doctor concluded Hammond - who had been on an ice bender - suffered from a schizophrenic illness, which while worsened by the use of illicit drugs, was not caused by them.
The finding was backed up by his colleague Dr Rajan Darjee - for the prosecution - who is also a consultant forensic psychiatrist with the same institution.
In what has since been branded a controversial move by the OPP, which typically uses experts from a different institution to that of the defence, the doctor agreed Hammond was not suffering a drug induced psychosis at the time of the cowardly attack.
Mr Herron believes the reports tied the hands of Justice Phillip Priest as he could only rule on what he had before him.
On Monday, Justice Priest accepted Hammond was not guilty of murder by way of mental impairment.
A defence lawyer himself, Mr Herron is exploring ways to have the decision overturned and send Hammond back to trial.
It poses a near impossible situation that if successful would ignite double jeopardy issues for Hammond.
Mr Herron told Daily Mail Australia his correspondence with Victoria's attorney general Jill Hennessy had been ignored.
As it stands, Mr Herron can not even gain access to the doctors' reports relied upon to convince the judge of Hammond's mental state.
Justice Priest further denied releasing the reports to Daily Mail Australia.
'I'm not the Crown, but the attorney general could possibly overturn it and order a new trial,' Mr Hammond said. 'They could also likely get Hammond on further charges.'
Mr Herron has lashed out at the OPP for abandoning the case against his daughter's killer and accused it of surrendering without a fight.
'I don't think the decision can be overturned, which is why the OPP rushed it through before public outrage,' Mr Herron said.
'The director (Ms Judd) wouldn't answer my questions and the attorney general won't even respond to me.'
Mr Herron said he would not rest until he obtained justice for his daughter.
'This will be a long war,' he said.
At the very least, Mr Herron hopes the Victorian State Coroner will hold its own inquiry into the case.
'Under section 52 of the Coroner's Act it would be mandated because there is an element of family violence with the previous victim so they would have to do it,' Mr Herron said.
Hammond had been released early from jail by the County Court for a violent attack on his then girlfriend.
Similar inquests by the coroner were held for murdered Melbourne woman Jill Meagher and Bourke Street killer James Gargasoulas, whose horrific rampage left six dead in January 2017.
'But now, a woman is killed like this, they don't want one. The coroner has not been in contact with me. And there is a petition going around as well,' Mr Herron said.
Courtney Herron in a treasured photograph shared by her father John
Director of the Office of Public Prosecutions, Kerry Judd, QC has been slammed for failing to pursue a murder conviction against Henry Hammond
Jill Meagher (pictured) was murdered in 2012 by Adrian Bayley, who had been free on appeal bail and parole. Big changes to Victoria's justice system were promised, but never eventuated
Adrian Bayley had been free on appeal bail when he murdered Jill Meagher in 2012
'The spin doctors know that the oxygen has been burned up by COVID at the moment.'
Mr Herron said the system failures related to his daughter were worse than those that led to Adrian Bayley murdering Ms Meagher in 2012.
Bayley had been on parole after serving a sentence for a series of violent rapes when he assaulted a man.
He had been on appeal bail when he raped and murdered Ms Meagher.
'Bayley had served his time. This guy was released early. So it's actually worse. It's worse than Jill Meagher and they've learned nothing since then,' Mr Herron said.
As it stands, Hammond will spend an undetermined amount of time within the walls of Victoria's Thomas Embling Hospital for the criminally insane.
'He could get out on day release. He could get out in 10 years. He could get out in five. He could be out in far less and is this guy going to kill another person?' Mr Herron said.
'He is unbackable odds to commit crime against another woman.'
The OPP had not responded to Daily Mail Australia at time of going to publication.
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