15 The Two Intruders | We talk to Irma’s grandson
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Hello, I'm Annabel Crabb. Now, I wouldn't say I'm a hoarder exactly, but I do hang on to things. It's not just you and me. Australia's oldest library is crammed with stuff that isn't books. Terrible paintings, old menus, human hair. Is this history or hoarding? Come and have a rummage through the story of us told by our stuff. Search for the History or Hoarding podcast on ABC Listen or wherever you get your podcasts. ABC Listen, podcasts, radio, news, music and more.
What's it like to sit in court and hear the details of your grandmother's violent death and the excuses of the accused poured over in front of an audience? In this episode, we find out. I'm Stephen Stockwell. Welcome to episode 15 of The Case of the Two Intruders.
Irma Palacic's brutal murder rocked her family and has haunted them for 24 long years.
This wasn't the average robbery. The brutality of the attack shocked the community.
They were virtually tortured that night.
Violently assaulted before the two men ransacked the premises and stole cash and jewellery. My grandparents were beaten and my grandmother was left to die on the lounge room floor.
John Makita was in his 20s when his grandmother, Irma Palacix, was killed in 1999, and for decades after, he ran a campaign asking Canberrans who killed Irma. Now he knows, and after sitting in court for the trial which found two men guilty of Irma's manslaughter, I wanted to know what he thought of the process, the verdict, and also what his grandparents were like. John Makita, welcome to The Case Of... Thank you. And as well as John, we're also joined by ABC court reporter, Elizabeth Byrne. Welcome, Liz.
Hi, Stockie.
To get us going, I really want to start with kind of how the trial ended, you know, the verdict that was handed down relating to Steve Fabrizzi, Joseph Oconee, guilty of the manslaughter of your grandmother, Irma Placix, in 1999. John, are you happy with the verdict? This was a murder trial. Are you comfortable with manslaughter?
Oh, look, Stockie, I think from the family's perspective, we're just happy that there's a conviction of something. Yeah, we would have loved to have received a murder conviction for both of the offenders, but manslaughter to us is just good enough, I suppose, for now, because it's not the only charge that they've been found guilty of. So we're more interested in finding out what the actual sentencing is going to be for these two offenders, more so than what it actually means to murder versus manslaughter.
Yeah, we do have the sentencing coming August 24th. Something that I find often gets lost in trials are the people who are at the center of them. In this case, your grandmother and your grandfather, Irma and Gregor. Can you tell us a bit about who they were?
Look, I loved my grandparents so much. I had such a good relationship with them. I spent a phenomenal amount of time with them. Whenever I was sick or during the school holidays, I would always go to my grandparents. And so I have very fond memories of both my grandparents, more so my grandmother, because my grandfather would always go to work in the morning. He worked in the family carpentry business. But even on the weekends when I'd see him or if I was sick, you know, he was always quite jovial, always a bit of a joker with us kids and always very, very kind. But my grandmother to me was the most important person in my life.
What was the impact of Irma Palacic's murder on her family?
I listened to everything that she said. I took her advice and, you know, she really cared for everybody in the family. She was the matriarch of our family. And it was, yeah, it was terrible when suddenly she just disappeared from being that person for everybody in the family. They were generous. They loved their community. They loved going out. You know, some of the fond memories that I have with my grandparents was, especially when I was there on school holidays, was when I was sick, when they lived in Red Hill. It was, we'd go down at lunchtime or in mid-morning to the local shops and my grandmother would buy myself and if my brother was with me something sweet to eat and we'd always get a toy or something.
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Chapters
4 chaptersSpeakers
4 identifiedMore from The Case Of
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