The father of murdered Melbourne woman Courtney Herron has been reprimanded by a Victorian Supreme Court judge as his daughter’s killer attempted to suppress media coverage of the case.
Grieving father John Herron, who is also a criminal lawyer, appeared in court alongside Daily Mail Australia lawyers on Monday to challenge an application by his daughter’s killer to withhold his name from the public.
Henry Hammond, 32, was charged with murder the day after three dog walkers found Ms Herron’s body among logs in Parkville’s Royal Park, on the outskirts of Melbourne’s CBD, in 2019.
Hammond had beaten the 25-year-old to death with a tree branch before attempting to bury her body under piles of foliage.
He was found not guilty of her murder due to mental disability in August 2020 and received treatment at Melbourne’s Thomas Embling Hospital.
On Monday, Hammond’s request to have his name removed from all media reports about his case was withdrawn at the last minute, turning the hearing into a formality.
But Judge Phillip Priest questioned Mr. Herron’s right to be present in court and his knowledge of the law.
Attorney John Herron with his daughter Courtney Herron in happier times
Furthermore, he criticized Mr Herron for not checking the relevant legislation which states whether or not he is allowed to address him.
“Answer the question,” Judge Priest demanded. You are a qualified lawyer.
“If you’re going to come here and ask to be heard, you should know if you have a right to be heard or not… I’m not sure why you’re at the bar table.”
Judge Priest also criticized a photograph of Mr Herron holding a portrait of his murdered daughter which was published when details of the suppression application were revealed.
‘Can you explain to me why this is not contempt of this court? Please go to the page that has a photo of Mr Herron holding a photograph in his lap,” Judge Priest said.
John Herron outside the Supreme Court of Victoria on Monday
The judge declared that comments Herron made at the time were “incorrect.”
‘The article goes on to quote some comments allegedly made by Mr Herron. I assume they are accurate, but if they are, they are very inflammatory and some of them are quite wrong.
Outside court, Herron said that as a lawyer, he had the right to appear in court to argue against the suppression request.
He described the withdrawal of Hammond’s application as “a victory for the community.”
“It torments me to have to once again read the evidence of his injuries,” he said.
‘But something very important that I will remember forever is what the police told me.
“It took him three minutes to die.”
Henry Hammond beat Courtney Herron to death
Hammond has been spotted dining out on Thomas Embling’s release day
‘It’s almost inevitable. “Very few patients at Thomas Embling serve that nominal 25-year sentence, probably a few,” he said.
Last year, Daily Mail Australia revealed that Hammond was enjoying meals at his victim’s favorite restaurant just over two years after being committed to a psychiatric hospital for the criminally insane.
‘It was photographed by my daughter’s friends. So he’s out there doing that. “Whatever he’s doing recently is up to Thomas Embling to reveal,” Mr Herron said.
Herron said he was aware that Thomas Embling patients routinely enjoyed unsupervised day discharge.
‘I know these people are out, particularly in that area of Fairfield. “They are working without supervision in the community,” he said.
Herron said that as a crime victim, he was kept “in the dark” about how and why Hammond wanted his name suppressed from the public.
“Hearing thirdhand about the release of the murderer is not enough,” he said.
“The safety issues for the community are incredible.”