Northern Territory News, Friday, July
26 2002
These boys are killers and
I'm proud of them
Mother defends shotgun pair as 'heroes'
By EDWIN EDLUND
Original NT News caption reads: 'Honest
young men' ... Ms Ford with Shane Mulhall (left) and David Parker.
A crab fisherman jailed in Alice Springs for manslaughter was branded
a "hero" by his mother yesterday. Mother-of-eight Janelle Ford,
41, said her son Shane Robert Mulhall saved the lives of his family and
the Boorroloola community by killing Troy Butcher at Wearyan River on
the Gulf of Carpentaria in February last year.
Mulhall, 20, and his friend David Vincent Parker, 24, were sentenced in the Supreme Court last week to a five-year jail term but could be paroled by the end of next year. Ms Ford, who described Parker as a stepson, said the pair had no choice but to shoot Butcher with shotguns after he had harmed and threatened to kill the pair and their families on numerous occasions. "I would say they are heroes," she said. "They were out on bail for a year and did nothing wrong. "They went to every court appearance and walked back into Booroloola for court and a few people shook their hands and said they were heroes in the town because a lot of people feared for their lives. "They are honest young men and you wouldn't call them killers, they are victims themselves."
Ms Ford said Butcher was a "nut" who tried to blow up the Booroloola Hotel while it was occupied by 150 people in July 2000. Justice Riley noted this incident in his sentencing remarks and said Butcher unscrewed the hose of a gas cylinder near the hotel kitchen and created a dangerous situation. A disaster was averted but Butcher made it clear at the time he wished he had "lit the gas himself to make sure the job was done". "Had he done so or had the gas been ignited from some other source the result would have been devastating in terms of human suffering and property damage," Justice Riley said. "Police were informed of Mr Butcher's conduct but it seems that no prosecution or other action resulted."
Mum applauds boy's actions
Ms Ford said Butcher could have killed Mulhall and Parker if they did not beat him to it because Butcher was a violent man who had harmed many locals and tourists in the past. "If people knew what the boys went through they would understand they didn't have a choice," she said. "When I found what had happened I was relieved because this guy was a nut." Ms Ford said the lives of Mulhall and Parker had improved since Butcher's death. "I saw the boys in prison in Alice Springs and I was rapt when I saw them," she said. "They looked healthy. They weren't distressed anymore over being frightened. "They weren't black under the eyes and they were eating food."
