A notorious bank robber who gained nationwide infamy after carrying out a series of armed robberies over a 10-year spree is reportedly about to fulfill his dying wish of legally committing suicide.
The ‘Bicycle Bandit’, Kym Allen Parsons, 73, is in a health facility near the Flinders Medical Center in Adelaide, where he is expected to end his life with an approved voluntary assisted dying (VAD) kit by South Australia Health.
The development comes a day after Supreme Court Justice Sandi McDonald sentenced Parsons to 35 years behind bars for his “morally reprehensible” actions.
Parsons was originally scheduled to be sentenced this Friday, but the hearing was moved up four days as Parsons is seriously ill with late-stage terminal cancer and is expected to die within days.
Parsons was reportedly transported in a white correctional van from the Adelaide Detention Center to hospital, where he was surrounded by loved ones on Tuesday night. nine news reported.
Authorities remained silent about the operation, citing security reasons.
After years of denials, Parsons finally pleaded guilty this month to 10 counts of armed robbery, one count of attempted armed robbery and firearms charges for crimes committed between 2004 and 2014.
Through tears he read a statement in which he admitted to being the masked and armed bandit and promised to return the money. He had stolen $358,976.90, attributing his actions to “illogical and irrational” thinking.
‘Bicycle Bandit’ Kym Allen Parsons (pictured), 73, is in a health facility near Flinders Medical Center where he is expected to end his life with a voluntary assisted dying kit approved by SA Health.
The incident comes just days after Parsons, a former police officer and firefighter, received a 35-year sentence for his robberies.
But his defense attorney’s pleas for clemency did not convince some of his victims.
One of the traumatized victims of Parsons’ robbery spree asked him to stay behind bars for the rest of his life, saying not to do so would be “getting away with murder.”
The former bank worker, who has stage four cancer and may have less than a year to live, said Parsons should spend the rest of his life, however short, behind bars.
“People can say I’m inhuman, I don’t care… the law is the law, a sentence is a sentence, and he has to be held accountable,” she told Advertiser.
‘You did wrong and not just once… it was 10 fucking times, almost 11… you are where you belong and you should not have access to your VAD equipment while you are there.
“Parsons pleaded guilty, but he won’t serve his full sentence…if he has his team, then he has a way to give himself a way out and basically get away with it.”
Parsons robbed banks by parking a bicycle outside and entering with his face hidden by a helmet or balaclava.
If the teller did not give him the money, Parsons became more threatening and sometimes shot.
Parsons was first caught on bank security cameras in the South Australian town of Mannum in 2004, and attacked 10 banks in the state over the next five years before disappearing from view.
In 2011, the same man is suspected of suddenly reappearing robbing banks in Sydney.
He would ride his bicycle to the branch he intended to rob, park his bicycle in front (sometimes he even carried it with him) and enter the bank wearing sunglasses, a bicycle helmet or a hat to hide his face.
Once at the counter, he would point the gun, usually a Russian AK-47-style semi-automatic rifle, at the bank employee and present the bag to be filled.
If those demands were not met, he would become increasingly threatening and fire at least three times.
During a robbery in Balaklava in 2008, Parsons used the rifle to threaten a police officer who responded to the robbery alarm.
In total, Parsons stole about $358,000 over the course of his decade-long crime spree.
Judge McDonald said some of Parsons’ victims had suffered trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder from his actions.
“In sentencing him, the important thing is that there be a public denunciation of his conduct,” he told Parsons on Monday.
He said he saw “no real explanation” for his crimes but accepted his guilty plea was motivated by “remorse”.
He has made the decision to try, in some way, to atone for his behavior by pleading guilty.
“He has attempted to give his victims some answers, some closure, in circumstances where, in all likelihood, he would have died long before there was any real prospect of a trial taking place.”
South Australia passed its VAD laws in 2021 and eligible terminally ill patients can access the procedure from 2023. The procedure is available to prisoners.