Relatives of three children murdered in Bowraville have walked out on State Government representatives after learning that a crucial review of the long-running case has not delivered the justice they have fought for.
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Colleen Walker, 16, Evelyn Greenup, 4, and Clinton Speedy-Duroux, 16, were murdered in similar circumstances between September 1990 and February 1991, but no one has been convicted of the crime.
Their families had hoped that a long-awaited review of the case by former judge James Wood, following a parliamentary inquiry last year, would pave the way for a re-trial.
They hoped Mr Wood would recommend that changes be made to the State's double jeopardy laws, so that the case could be re-tried - for all three murders at once - using evidence that was not available at previous trials.
But after waiting more than a year, the review has provided more disappointment for relatives, with Mr Wood on Friday recommending against a change to the laws.
"I conclude that it is premature to amend section 102 [of the laws] without knowing how the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal will apply it," Mr Wood said in the report .
He said the changes campaigned for by the families had the "potential to destabilise the principle of finality in prosecutions, which will impact on defendants and the community's confidence in the courts".
"In my view the existing legislation appears to serve its policy objectives," he said.
As soon as the representatives of NSW Attorney General Gabrielle Upton informed the families of the news in a small classroom in Bowraville on Friday, they immediately stood up and walked out, leaving the representatives to address a room full of empty chairs.
The mood among the approximately 45 relatives quickly changed from shock to grief and then anger.
"What's gotta change [before the laws are amended] - another kid murdered?" Evelyn Greenup's aunt, Michelle Jarrett, said after walking from the classroom.
"I'm so tired of this mob. They have got absolutely no heart.
"They're kicking black fellas."
The families of the victims and many in the Bowraville community have consistently demanded a retrial under laws which allow an acquitted person to be re-tried if new evidence emerges.
They say that important leads were not explored by police at the time and have not been heard by a court.
Detectives from the unsolved homicide squad who took over years after the crimes, say subsequent investigations uncovered significant coincidences that link all three murders.
But two former Attorneys General have elected not to pursue a re-trial. They cited legal advice that an acquitted person can be retried only if there is fresh and compelling evidence which has not already been "adduced" in court.
