CW: Discusses a murdered Aboriginal woman, with her family’s approval.
❤️HER NAME IS: MAVIS STANLEY❤️
He abused her throughout the relationship and on her last day, he subjected her to abject horror, ending her life in a 15-minute fit of rage that dismantled her family forever’.
Her name is Mavis Stanley. She was only 47.
Mavis was murdered by her partner Andrew Charles Smith on October 27, 2024 in Bourke, NSW. Mavis was the 72nd of 106 women killed that year.
This week, the NSW Supreme Court ruled Smith was not criminally responsible – by reason of mental impairment – for her murder.
The judge said he was likely suffering schizophrenia with a delusional belief system when he murdered Mavis.
Regardless of this, the decision has shattered the mother-of-two’s family.
Mavis was a strong and proud Aboriginal woman who adored her family.
Since her murder, her children and other loved ones live in fear, always worried about the safety of the other women they love, the court heard.
“We are told it took 15 minutes of brutality using weapons to end my mother’s life,” Mavis’ daughter Jennah-Leigh Dungay said in her victim impact statement.
“Fifteen minutes to dismantle our family’s and friends’ hearts forever.
“When a woman has a daughter, she creates a version of her heart that walks in physical form.
“Her physical body you may have taken from us, but you will never take her spirit, soul and memory and laughter she left within each of us.
“So long as I breathe and live, she will speak and live through me.”
Mavis’ Aunt Cheryl – who raised her niece as her own daughter – told the court she could still hear Mavis laugh.
“I’m 72 years old and this is one of the hardest things I’ve had to do, to have to explain to the court how my beautiful daughter Mavis’s death affected me,” Aunty Cheryl said.
“Mavis was the rock, she was the one who made us happy.
“She was only 47 years old. Only 47 birthdays. Only 47 Christmases. Only 47 short years before you took her from me.”
MAVIS STANLEY MATTERS❤️
I’ve been campaigning for a Femicide Royal Commission over the past six months. The petition is almost at 150,000 signatures. Please consider signing and passing the petition to those in your circle. Every signature brings us closer to change.
