Today I spent a great deal of time thinking about the trial of Arthur Freeman, the man who dropped his daughter Darcey off a bridge in Melbourne. The Jury found him guilty of Murder on Sunday and he now awaits sentencing which will most likely be life in prison.
Even now, I find it hard to read the events of the crime without getting emotional. The betrayal of trust of a loving child and ensuing terror that must have been felt.
The defence lawyer when opening at the trial asked the Jury to determine whether Arthur was 'Bad or Mad' and argued that he was mentally impaired at the time of the crime.
Obviously the Jury decided that they didn't agree. I don't envy the emotional and taxing experience all of them must have been through over the last few weeks.
I have found the whole case very taxing as well even though I didn't attend court or have to make a decision that the broader community was sweating on.
I found it taxing as I went to school with Arthur. I knew him pretty well at High school and University.
We knew him as Ardy, not Arthur Phillip Freeman the convicted murderer.
What I can't reconcile through all of this is that Ardy was pretty harmless at school and definitely was not a bad person. He wasn't even mad although one could argue that the sheer amount of bullying and rejection he received constantly could repeat itself on him later in life as he became an adult.
Life is littered with tragic stories of those who have been abused and bullied from a young age not coping as adults.
I enjoyed reading Patrick Carlyon's 8 page article in the Herald Sun today http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/more-news/trying-to-explain-the-inexplicable-how-could-a-dad-kill-his-daughter/story-fn7x8me2-1226029860679
It really brought out some interesting points and I was impressed at how he was able to get his information from such a broad range of people. Especially around what school was like. We literally had groups of thugs at our school, they would get the pack mentality, a bit like wild dogs and would make you feel very lonely and afraid if you were on the receiving end of it. They could do some terrible things.
As I said before, Arthur was not a bad or mad person growing up but obviously something happened along the way that led him to either one of those or both which drove him to do what he did.
Something inside tells me Arthur isn't a bad person but was very sick. It wasn't in his nature to hurt maliciously when I knew him. Maybe that changed but I guess I will never know, I haven't seen nor heard from him since 1997 when I finished University myself.
As I have seen photos of him in the news and on TV, all I can think of is that this isn't what was supposed to happen to my friend from school. We were supposed to go on to have careers and find happiness in life.
As the Jury deliberated over the 4 or 5 days it took them to find a verdict, part of me was hoping they would find that it wasn't his fault, that there was some strange kind of reason for this horror, but deep inside I realised that wouldn't be the case.
I have read many of the comments that people have posted, many compassionate, more angry and vengeful. I can understand both of these views and I am glad that people are horrified by the act that took place. It would worry me more if there wasn't a strong reaction.
What it did bring home to me though, is that the community needed closure on this horrific event as well. The verdict that came down will allow this to happen and people can move on. Justice according to Australian law has been satisfied.
As for me, I will always think of Arthur Phillip Freeman the convicted murderer not as he is, but as he was Ardy my mate from school.
Was he Mad? Bad? don't know, all I know is that this is just tragically sad.
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