Kay Nesbit is a
victim's rights advocate and public speaker in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
. Nesbit suffered a shotgun wound that eventually led to 57 operations to reconstruct her face. She later became a victim's rights advocate, public speaker and ran for office in
Victoria.
Biography
Nesbit grew up on a farm in
New Zealand near
Christchurch.
In 1977, she moved to
Melbourne.
Nesbit's flatmate had been trying to avoid her boyfriend.
Nesbit was shot on 11 September 1985 after she told Paul Terrance Mallinder via note that her flatmate didn't want to see him anymore.
[Kay Nesbit](_blank)
'' George Negus Tonight'', ABC Television, 24 September 2003. Nesbit survived the gunshot, but lost her jaw, part of her nose and her right eye. To help her out, more than $205,000 was raised on her behalf in 1986. The medical team at
Alfred Hospital
The Alfred Hospital, also known as The Alfred or Alfred Hospital, is a leading tertiary teaching hospital in Melbourne, Victoria. It is the second oldest hospital in Victoria, and the oldest Melbourne hospital still operating on its original site ...
who reconstructed her face used other parts of her body to repair her damaged face.
By 1993, she had completed 31 surgeries at Alfred Hospital. Eventually, she would have a total of 57 operations.
She has become an advocate for
victims' rights. Nesbit began to start public speaking and telling her story in 1999. She stood in the
2002 Victorian state election
The 2002 Victorian state election, held on Saturday, 30 November 2002, was for the 55th Parliament of Victoria. It was held to elect the 88 members of Victorian Legislative Assembly and 22 members of the 44-member Legislative Council.
The Lab ...
as an
independent but was not elected.
Nesbit's attacker, Mallinder, was found not guilty of "wounding with intent to cause
murder
Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...
" but guilty of "wounding with intent to cause
grievous bodily harm
Grievous bodily harm (often abbreviated to GBH) is a term used in English criminal law to describe the severest forms of battery. It refers to two offences that are created by sections 18 and 20 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861. The ...
" and sentenced to the maximum permissible 15 years in prison, which was reduced on appeal to 13 years with an 11-year
non-parole period
Parole (also known as provisional release or supervised release) is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by certain behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or ...
.
Court reduces jail term for Kay Nesbit gunman
'' The Age'', 28 August 1986. (Google News Archive
Google News Archive is an extension of Google News providing free access to scanned archives of newspapers and links to other newspaper archives on the web, both free and paid.
Some of the news archives date back to 18th century. There is a time ...
) He was released from prison after serving seven years.
References
Further reading
*
External links
Just Quietly - Make-Ups and Makeovers
(2001 video)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nesbit, Kay
Australian victims of crime
Living people
New Zealand emigrants to Australia
Year of birth missing (living people)