Demi Hodge, 20, shares her true life story:
I pulled a chair up next to my pregnant sister, Jamie-Leigh.
My mum, Marie, patted her bulging bump.
“Not long to go now, love,” she said. “We’d better start thinking about buying you a stroller and all the other bits you’ll need.”
“Good idea,” Jamie-Leigh, 18, said, smiling.
“I can’t wait to be a grandma,” Mum added. She adored babies.
And she doted on Jamie-Leigh, my other sister Shanice, 15, and me.
Our poor dad, John, was outnumbered as the only bloke in the house.
We joked that if the baby was a boy, he’d finally have someone to watch the footy with.
Excitement about the baby spilt out of our family home and throughout our little street.
Our neighbours were buzzing about it.
Except one – Siobhan Russell. She and Mum used to be friends. But a bitter argument broke out when Mum loaned Siobhan $17 and she refused to pay it back.
It was all so petty. Now their little chats over the wall and the cups of tea they’d shared were a distant memory.
Instead, Siobhan, 31, would yell at poor Mum if they crossed paths in the street, and she’d even spread nasty rumours about her.
My beautiful mum.
One day, I was staying at a friend’s house when Jamie-Leigh texted to say Mum had had another run-in with Siobhan.
When I got home the next morning, I asked Mum what had happened. She breathed a big sigh.
“God, love, we ended up having a fight in the street,” she confessed. “I just want it sorted now.”
I hated that Mum and Siobhan’s spat had escalated to full-on blows.
I worried Mum would get hurt.
“I’m going over there now to speak with her,” Mum said. “I’ve got a jacket of hers that I’ve washed. It can be a peace offering.”
“I’ll come with you,” Jamie-Leigh said, waddling after her. “I don’t want you going there alone.”
As they left, I gathered up the plates and mugs, and started clearing the breakfast things.
But minutes later, I heard a bloodcurdling scream from the street.
Dropping everything, I dashed outside.
Just metres from Siobhan’s unit, I saw Jamie-Leigh wailing over Mum.
To my horror, she lay lifeless and covered in blood on the pavement.
Siobhan was also bloodied and her hand was gripping a knife so hard that her knuckles had paled.
Then it hit me.
She’d stabbed my mum.
Instinctively, I rushed over to Siobhan, grabbed her arm and wrestled the blade off her.
Then I collapsed to my knees at Mum’s side.
Clutching her hand, I fought back sobs.
“It’ll be okay, Mum,” I said, kissing her hand. “Just stay awake.”
By now a crowd had gathered and someone had called the ambos.
From left: Me,Shanice and Jamie-Leigh.
Knowing Dad was at a nearby shop, I staggered to my feet and ran to get him.
“Dad, it’s Mum, you have to come,” I said.
We sprinted back, and held Mum’s hand until the paramedics arrived.
I wanted to go to the hospital with her but the police needed to talk to us so we had to go to the station.
Meanwhile, they arrested Siobhan at her unit.
Jamie-Leigh told the police that Siobhan had emerged from her front door brandishing a knife and had proceeded to attack Mum with it.
We were midway through giving our statements when an officer told us to get to the hospital immediately.
“Your mum is in a critical condition,” he said.
They sped us to emergency. There, we were met by our distraught granddad.
“Demi, love,” he said, holding his hands out to stop us. “She’s gone.”
Screaming, I sank to the floor. My lovely mum couldn’t be dead. She was just 36.
Mum had been stabbed in the heart and had suffered several cardiac arrests.
I was inconsolable.
“She’ll never get to meet her grandchild,” Jamie-Leigh said.
Mum doted on me and my two sisters.
Word spread and we were flooded with sympathy cards.
Your mum was always such fun, one read.
I can’t believe this has happened.
She loved you girls so much, read another.
It was true – Mum was our guiding light.
Mum had always taken pride in her appearance so for her funeral we dressed her in her favourite outfit.
Her coffin was carried to You Are My Sunshine, which Mum sang to us as kids.
It meant a lot to hear all the guests at the funeral talking about how much they loved her.
As the eldest, I knew I had to be strong for my sisters after the funeral.
Jamie-Lee gave birth to a little girl who she called Kasie-Marie, after Mum.
Two months after Mum’s death, we faced Siobhan in court.
Giving evidence was harrowing, particularly for Jamie-Leigh, who’d witnessed the whole thing.
The court heard how Mum and Siobhan had fallen out over a $17 debt but that Mum had gone to Siobhan’s to make peace.
Only, Siobhan had emerged from her house with a knife and turned on Mum.
Initially, Mum fought her off, but then Siobhan plunged the knife into Mum’s chest and Mum collapsed in the street.
Unbelievably, she tried to say it was self-defence. It was an outrageous claim – Mum had gone to her, unarmed, to make peace.
Siobhan Russell was found guilty.
The jury found Siobhan Russell, 31, guilty of culpable homicide.
We’d wanted a murder conviction and knowing her sentence would be much lower as a result, we were devastated.
At the sentencing, the judge said there was no justification for Siobhan coming out with a weapon and called it an “unprovoked attack.” But then he went on to say it was out of character for Siobhan and she’d shown remorse.
She was given five-and-a-half years.
It felt like a slap in the face. Five years in jail seemed so trivial when she’d taken our mum away from us.
Siobhan would be out of prison before Kasie-Marie even started school.
Now, the only memories she’ll have of her grandma are the pictures we show her and the ashes that sit in my grandparents’ house.
To make matters worse, we’ve discovered Siobhan is allowed to appeal her sentence.
It seems completely unfair.
I rue the day that Mum ever lent that woman $17.
For the sake of such a pitiful sum of money, we’ve been robbed of something we can’t ever replace.
