Gus Kennedy: Family of Kallaroo murder victim want siblings allowed access to crime compensation

A twin who lost his brother to a shocking murder is fighting to overturn the State’s crime compensation laws after his request for a payout was denied. Gus Kennedy was just 24 years old when he was stabbed to death by his friend Nathan Cherrington in a drug-fuelled rage in a Kallaroo home back in January 2021. In December 2022, Cherrington was sentenced to life in prison with a 17-year minimum. But the life sentence did little to help the Kennedy family’s grief, the grief they say has been compounded by the fact that Gus’ identical twin brother Felix was denied access to compensation for being a victim of crime. The Criminal Injuries Compensation Act enables victims of crime to apply for compensation for injury or loss as a result of an offence or alleged offence. The maximum payout is $75,000, while the average given to applicants in 2022/23 was $15,803. Siblings of murder victims are not considered “close relatives” under WA’s criminal injuries compensation scheme, which has now prompted Gus’ family, and their lawyers at Slater and Gordon, to push for change. A close relative is defined in the legislation as “a parent, grandparent or stepparent of the victim, a spouse or a de-facto partner of the victim, or a child, grandchild or stepchild of the victim”. Gus’ parents Mick and Lisa’s claim has been accepted, but Mr Kennedy said the decision to refuse his son any compensation was unjust and unfair. “Gus and Felix shared identical DNA. It seems unfair to us, silly even that grandparents have entitlements to compensation under the scheme, but an identical twin sibling does not,” he said. “Gus and Felix literally could not have been closer. (They were) peas in a pod. “(It is) impossible to quantify what Gus’ loss has meant to us as parents, and even if I were eloquent enough to put it in words, I would not. Very few people would understand, thankfully. But for Felix? My word, how can his loss be dismissed? “His lifelong mate, the mate he learned to walk and talk right next to, the person he went through all childhood and adolescent experiences with and into young adulthood, side by side, and then whoosh, virtually half of himself (was) savagely wiped out in an eye-blink.” The coronavirus pandemic compounded their grief with border closures, meaning the family was stuck overseas when Gus was murdered. Once they arrived back in Australia, they had to quarantine for 14 days before they were finally able to identify Gus and organise his funeral. In his victim impact statement, tendered to the Supreme Court during Cherrington’s sentencing hearing, Felix said losing his brother was “something I still can’t, and probably never will, fully comprehend”. “His loss is a pain I don’t think I can ever recover from ... it never goes away,” he said. Jackson Pannam, from Slater and Gordon lawyers, said the family’s plight had highlighted a gap in WA’s criminal compensation legislation. “For siblings to be excluded under the Act to benefits appears to be an unfair oversight that needs to be amended,” Mr Pannam said. “It’s a great scheme and we understand the State must draw the line somewhere, but when the law doesn’t take into account someone in Felix’s position, it seems like changes need to at least be considered.” In a statement, Attorney General John Quigley said his heart went out to the Kennedy family. “The loss of any life in such circumstances is tragic, but to lose a sibling and that irreplaceable bond is unimaginable,” he said. Mr Quigley noted a review of the Criminal Injuries Compensation scheme was tabled in late 2019 — a review which did not recommend expanding the scheme to include siblings. “The Department of Justice has been tasked with preparing advice on options for reform in response to the review. That work is ongoing,” he added. “I have asked the Victims of Crime Commissioner to reach out to the Kennedy family to discuss what options may be available to them.”