The daughter of a Queensland woman who was fatally stabbed in front of her young grandchild says her family is now left to navigate the horrific aftermath of the attack, following the sentencing of her mother’s killer.
A 16-year-old boy – who cannot be identified under Queensland youth justice laws – was handed a 16-year jail term on Thursday for the murder of 70-year-old Vyleen White.
White was stabbed in the chest outside the Redbank Plains Town Square shopping centre, west of Brisbane, before her car was stolen in February 2024.
The offender, now 17, pleaded guilty earlier this year to murder, unlawful use of a motor vehicle and three counts of stealing.
Despite his sentence, he could be released as early as 2033.
Appearing on Sunrise on Friday morning, White’s daughter, Cindy Micallef, said it was her family who would endure the true life sentence.
“Unfortunately with the … sentencing laws under the previous government this is what we’ve had to work with,” she said.
“Unfortunately that’s how it is and we’ve just got to try and work out the aftermath of this horrific experience.”
Speaking to 2SM, White’s husband, Victor Whyte, also said he wasn’t happy with the sentence, and believed a harsher penalty was warranted.
“I said from day one, a life for a life,” Whyte said.
“They should have been locking him up, throwing the key away, and just feed him through a trap door.”
Earlier Queensland Premier David Crisafulli told Sunrise the state’s attorney would examine whether an appeal was possible and push for a more severe sentence.
Micallef said she trusted Crisafulli to act, but acknowledged there was no certainty an appeal would go ahead.
“We are great friends with David, he’s a man of his word and this is the thing, we know he’ll do everything he can but at the same time there’s no guarantee on an appeal, so they will weigh up all factors,” she said.
“It’s just, is there anything ever enough for taking someone’s life in front of a child?”
She added that Chief Justice Helen Bowskill had considered all factors and remained within the constraints of the law when delivering her sentence.
The next step for the family is to now grieve properly and try to process what has happened.
“We know everything was done within the powers that were so it’s just a case of where do we go from here,” Micallef said.
“It’s decimated our family, every member of our family, not just dad and us daughters but the grandkids, the great grandkids.”
Images: 7News / Facebook
