Against the wishes of his victim’s family, a guy who strangled his ex-girlfriend with wire ties before packing her body in a cricket bag and dumping it in a unit block garage may soon be let out of prison.
After serving almost 19 years for the 2003 murder of Lyndsay van Blanken, William Harold Matheson will be released.
In January 2004, around six weeks after she vanished from Sydney’s eastern suburbs, her rotting bones were discovered.
On November 24, she was observed arguing with Matheson at Bondi Junction train station. She was last seen on November 30, when occupants of a Queens Park apartment building reported smelling something awful.
The young woman, who was then 18 years old, had recently broken off her relationship with Matheson, whom she had met when he had performed at her mother’s wedding two years previously.
The talented cellist was characterised as being dominating. After the romance ended, he reportedly grew infatuated and began stalking van Blanken. According to authorities, he eventually killed her out of resentment.
In 2006, he was found guilty of the crime and given a 25-year prison term with an 18-year non-parole period.
In a statement released on Friday, the State Parole Authority announced that Matheson had been granted parole after it had accepted the suggestions and opinions of the Serious Offenders Review Council and Community Corrections.
Matheson must be freed between May 26 and June 9, according to the authority.
He will be subject to stringent parole requirements, including as wearing an electronic ankle bracelet and staying away from specified regions of the state, such as Nambucca Shire, Hills Shire, and Coffs Harbour.
He is required to continue taking his psychiatric medicine and undergoing therapy, and he is prohibited from having any contact with the victim’s family.
Matheson’s initial plea for parole was turned down last year, but he has now been classified as having a low risk of reoffending.
James Wood KC, the panel’s chairman, stated that delaying or rejecting parole would increase Matheson’s likelihood of entering a mental institution.
“Release at the end of sentence or deferral of release without the opportunity of undertaking a sufficient period of support and supervision on parole… particularly in a case such as this… is likely to be counterproductive,” he stated.
The authorities expressed its sincere sympathies for Lyndsay’s tragic passing and noted the family’s and friends’ worries.
Corrections will keep an eye on Matheson round-the-clock, and he will be subject to continuous mental and long-acting injectable medicine treatment.
