A "pack of lies" — that is what the parents of Thomas Kelly say they were fed by Corrective Services NSW ahead of them giving their blessing for their son's killer, Kieran Loveridge, to be paroled.
Thomas was killed in King's Cross in 2012, the result ofa violent one-punch attack on a night where a heavily intoxicated Loveridge assaulted four other people.
Unsuspecting of danger and on his phone, Thomas was punched as Loveridge moved out from a wall, causing the victim to stumble and hit his head on the concrete.
As a pool of blood surrounded his 18-year-old victim, Loveridge ran away from the scene and Thomaswas taken to St Vincent's Hospital.
He died two days later after life support was switched off.
Loveridge has served 11 years of his 13-year, eight-month sentence, 10years and six months of which were for the manslaughter of Thomas.
He had initially been denied parole in March 2023 but just over a year later it was granted. He will re-enter Australian society at some point within the next week.
The family at that time did not support or oppose the release, according to a statement from the NSW Parole Authority, but wanted their son's killer to have a structured re-integration into society.
But now, the Kellys have told 7.30 they feel hoodwinked and lied to by those in corrections and the judicial system.
At the April parole hearing, they learned Loveridge had repeatedly been violent in prison, assaulting multiple people, including punching a bikie in the face.
Most recently in February, he was drunk and violent towards corrections officers.
Ralph Kelly says his family was told Loveridge was reforming and regretted what he had done to their son — but the facts of his time in prison say otherwise.
"It's hard to believe that the state parole authority think that he won't be a risk to the community — or a low risk, as they say," Mr Kelly told 7.30.
"Given that he had an outburst on the 27th of February it shows that he is still the same person that he was 12 years ago."
His wife, Kathy, felt that was underselling the incident.
"[It was] not just an outburst," she said.
"He was drunk in prison and was aggravated.
"We're talking a month-and-a-half ago. And we weren't aware of that when we put the submission forward saying that we supported the parole.
"We were doing the right thing, as far as we were concerned."
She said learning of Loveridge's behaviour in prison at the parole determination hearing was tough.
"But then to be told … [about the violent incidents] as the judge was basically summing everything up … it was disgusting.
"It was just appalling that that we've been kept in the dark about that, because we really went in with our submission and supported the parole on a pack of lies.
"Had we known that, we definitely would not have supported it."
Corrective Services NSW said its decision was considered.
"When deciding parole, the State Parole Authority considers whether offenders have shown a willingness and commitment to change their offending behaviour, including whether they have completed the Violent Offenders Therapeutic Program," a department spokesperson told 7.30
"Without parole, offenders would be released straight into the community with no supervision or monitoring, which poses a considerable risk to the community."
No remorse and 'likely to reoffend'
Asked if she believed Loveridge's expressions of remorse for killing Thomas, Kathy Kelly responded in the negative.
"Absolutely not," she told 7.30.
The Kellys say the latest incident was just one of many during Loveridge's time in jail and they don't want the families of other victims to experience the same level of shock, after potentially supporting parole for offenders.
They acknowledge that Loveridge did an extra 40 hours of community service and undertook programs to improve his behaviour during his incarceration, but say the time spent doing so was minor when weighed against his transgressions.
"He was literally very violent, and people are ending up in hospital because of his violence," Mr Kelly said.
The Kellys are concerned that upon his release Loveridge will reoffend despite a wide range of measures being placed upon him.
These include not being able todrink alcohol, contact Kelly's family or his co-offenders, nor visit the City of Sydney and Shoalhaven local government areas.
He is also barred from going to the suburb of Neutral Bay, and from having any contact with bikie gangs.
Kathy says that despite the best attempts of authorities to rehabilitate the 30-year-old, she doesn't think they can do enough.
"What has he learned? It's basically just been a bunch of boxes ticked," Ms Kelly told 7.30.
"My understanding is they don't provide them with jobs, how do they go out to the community and not reoffend if they haven't got the support to be actually even given some work when they get out there?
"He's going to go back out into society, he's going to have all these rules applied to him that he can't drink and he can't touch drugs, but it's only a matter of time.
"He can't be watched 24 hours a day, and he will be drinking and he will become violent, and he will reoffend."
Mr Kelly sees drinking as being a major problem for Loveridge.
"There's no question of a doubt that when he touches alcohol, the violence, the aggravation comes out, the violence comes out, and it's uncontrollable," Mr Kelly said.
"I think the key to his success in re-entering the community is to understand that he is like that when he touches alcohol."
Loveridge's attack on Thomas was one of several to take place in King's Cross around that time and contributed to changing the night time facade of Sydney as lockout laws were introduced in 2014, before being completely rolled back in 2021.
They were a result of not only Thomas's death but also the death of Daniel Christie in 2014, who on new Year's Eve 2013 was the victim of a similar incident just metres from the place Loveridge punched Kelly.
Brazilian man Lucio Rodrigues, painter Wilson Duque Castillo and Sydney man Calum Grant also died as a result of alcohol-fuelled violence in the area between 2011 and 2014.
Tragedy after tragedy
Regardless of what happens with Loveridge, the shadow of Thomas's death at 18 has hung over for the Kellysever since.
As hard as his death was to handle, another tragedy was yet to come.
Four years after Thomas died, his younger brother Stuart took his own life, also aged 18. His family say he was frequently bullied.
"I know that Kathy thinks about them every day, like I do," Mr Kelly said.
"It's something that never goes away.
"Losing two 18 year olds … it's a completely different world. The people that we've met have lost children, it's the same feeling, it doesn't leave you, you just have to learn to in some way to just carry on with that trauma and that grief.
"But the way that I do it is I go 'I had 18 years with them', which is great."
For Kathy, she hopes the day will come when her family can find peace, even with herself and Ralph now living in the UK, and daughter Madeleine still in Australia.
"It's been a very long and arduous journey," she said.
"I think we have a lot of healing to do to even understand each other, but we're trying and we're still together.
"Sometimes I wonder how, butnobody knows me better than Ralph and I also don't believe that anybody knows him better than me."
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