One of WA's worst repeat offenders, whose crimes include killing a pregnant woman and her young son and raping a woman in her own home, is set to be released from jail after decades in custody.
Kingsley Pickett, who's now in his 40s, has dozens of convictions against him, including two counts of manslaughter over the deaths of Margaret Blurton and her one-year-old son Shane.
Pickett was driving a stolen car and being chased by police when he crashed into the family's vehicle on Christmas night in 1991.
He was given a custodial sentence for the killings, but after his release in 1998, went on a five-day crime spree that included breaking into the home of a 27-year-old woman and raping her in her garden.
The offences were committed the day before he turned 21 and after his arrest, he took part in a riot at Casuarina prison.
He was given an indefinite jail term for those crimes, but it was overturned on appeal, and he was instead sentenced to 14 years and seven months' jail without parole.
Before his scheduled release, prosecutors applied for him be made a "high risk serious offender" which meant he would remain behind bars indefinitely.
As required by law, his case has been reviewed by the Supreme Court a number of times, but until today judges had ordered he should remain behind bars.
Supervision order imposed
Now Justice Anthony Derrick has found he can be released from custody on a five-year supervision order that has 45 strict conditions, including constant monitoring by the authorities.
Pickett will remain behind bars until next month when the release order will take effect.
The conditions of the supervision order include:
- GPS tracking to monitor his every move
- Regular reporting to police who are also able to search his residence at any time
- Allowing police access to his telecommunication devices and not delete any data
- A curfew
- Weekly counselling sessions
'Impressive' progress: psychiatrist
During his last review hearing, one psychiatrist testified that Pickett's progress since his last assessment was "quite impressive" and he now appeared confident that he could function in the community without offending again.
The psychiatrist said Pickett's assertions that he wanted to comply with the conditions of his release order appeared "earnest and genuine".
Pickett wanted the court to understand that he took full responsibility for his actions and felt "horrible inside" about his crimes, the hearing was told.
He said he was hoping for a chance to prove himself to the community and to the court.
In his ruling, Justice Derrick said he was satisfied the need to protect the community could be met by the 45 strict conditions of the supervision order.
"I am satisfied the proposed conditions are sufficiently extensive and stringent to enable the adequate management of the risk that [Pickett] currently presents to the community." His Honour said.
"I am satisfied that the respondent will comply with the standard conditions in a manner and to an extent that will ensure adequate protection of the community from the unacceptable risk of him committing a serious offence."