Calls for more to be done to protect victims of stalking
Prosecutors say the man who stalked and stabbed Melbourne woman celeste Manno to death ranks as one of Victoria’s worst killers and should be jailed for life. The victim's family and experts are calling on the state government to do more to protect victims of stalking.
Transcript
00:00 Louay Seiko is a killer who should be jailed for life.
00:05 That's what prosecutors told the Supreme Court today as the family of his victim sat through
00:10 their third day of distressing evidence.
00:13 Celeste Mano was subjected to a prolonged cyber-stalking campaign by Seiko.
00:18 He researched the floor plan of Ms Mano's house and in November 2020 used a hammer to
00:23 break in and stabbed her to death as she slept in her bedroom.
00:27 The prosecutor called it an unprovoked, savage and cowardly attack.
00:32 But Mr Seiko's lawyer argued a life sentence was too harsh because of his severe mental
00:37 illness and because there was a chance he could be rehabilitated.
00:41 The psychiatrist told the court it was likely Seiko would re-offend if he was ever released.
00:46 If he did return to stalking there'd be a high chance of violence, he said.
00:50 A life sentence is the harshest penalty in the Victorian court system and it'll be up
00:55 to a judge to decide the final sentence.
00:58 Since her death Ms Mano's family have campaigned for tougher stalking laws, saying she was
01:03 failed by the system.
01:05 Being able to actually investigate online offences and cyber-stalking, you know, it's
01:10 a specialty area and it's an area that police internationally struggle with.
01:14 There is an epidemic of stalking.
01:17 One in six women and one in 15 men have experienced stalking.
01:22 Two years ago the Victorian Law Reform Commission recommended making stalking laws clearer and
01:27 for more financial and legal support to be provided to victims.
01:31 The ABC understands the state government is still considering those recommendations but
01:36 is yet to put any of them into action.
01:38 Victoria Police are trialling a new screening tool which is designed to detect stalking
01:43 behaviour to try to keep victims safe.
01:47 A measure that's come too late for this family.
01:49 [BLANK_AUDIO]