Wednesday 8 June 2022 02:49 AM Renewed hope for Shandee Blackburn's family as Queensland launches inquiry into ... trends now
The family of a young woman stabbed to death in a frenzied knife attack metres away from her doorstep refuse to give up hope she will finally get justice after a series of systematic failings.
Queensland will launch a commission inquiry into its state-run forensics lab amid concerns the facility failed to test crucial forensic evidence in unsolved cases categorised as 'insufficient for further processing'.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has appointed former Court of Appeal president Walter Sofronoff QC to lead the inquiry into the John Tonge Centre after serious concerns were raised.
Monday's announcement has already prompted a Queensland Police review into 50 sexual assault cases as far back as 2018.
Potential problems with the lab first came to light as a result of a podcast series about the investigation into the tragic death of Shandee Blackburn.
The 23-year-old was stabbed more than 20 times while walking home from work in Mackay in February 2013 and left for dead metres from home.
Shandee's mum Vicki has welcomed the new inquiry into unresolved crimes as a coroner's inquest into her daughter's death is reopened.
The family of Shandee Blackburn (pictured have renewed hope she will finally get justice
'Right now we're very relieved that the government and everyone now, it's out in the open and everybody can see and hear what failures there are,' Ms Blackburn told the Today show on Wednesday
'We are yet to full understand the full extent of the failures. From what I understand, it goes a long, long way, back so it will be quite extensive.
However, this step now is the starting point and hopefully going forward, we can rectify the situation and all those people that have been denied justice through the failures of the lab will hopefully have their chance at justice.
Monday's announcement has given Shandee's family renewed hope she too will get justice.
Her former boyfriend John Peros, a champion amateur boxer, was charged with murder but acquitted in the Supreme Court in 2017.
In 2019 a coronial inquest into Shandee's death heard evidence not presented at Peros' murder trial
The following year, the coroner found she died from injuries sustained during an incident involving violence with Mr Peros, who has always maintained his innocence.
