Father’s anguish as the savage killer of his daughter Courtney Herron makes bombshell late court move

The father of murdered Melbourne woman Courtney Herron has been rebuked by a judge in the Supreme Court of Victoria when his daughter’s killer tried to suppress media coverage of the case.

Grieving dad John Herron, who is also a criminal lawyer, appeared in court alongside lawyers acting for Daily Mail Australia on Monday to contest an application by his daughter’s killer to suppress his name from the public. 

Henry Hammond, 32, was charged with murder the day after Ms Herron’s body was found between logs by three dog walkers in Parkville’s Royal Park, just outside Melbourne’s CBD, in 2019.

The 25-year old had been beaten to death by Hammond with a tree branch before he attempted to bury her body under piles of foliage.

He was found not guilty of her murder due to mental impairment in August 2020 and has gone on to be treated at Melbourne’s Thomas Embling Hospital.

On Monday Hammond’s application to suppress his name from all media reports about his case was withdrawn at the last minute, turning the hearing into a formality.

But Justice Phillip Priest questioned Mr Herron’s right to be at the bar in court and his knowledge of the law.

He further criticised Mr Herron for failing to check the relevant legislation outlining whether or not he was allowed to address him. 

‘Answer the question,’ Justice Priest demanded. ‘You’re a qualified lawyer. 

‘If you’re going to come along here and ask to be heard, you should know whether you’ve got a right to be heard or not … I’m not sure why you’re at the bar table.’ 

Justice Priest also criticised a photo 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 a contempt of this court? You go to the page that has a picture of Mr Herron holding a photograph on his lap,’ Justice Priest said. 

The judge declared comments Mr Herron made at the time as ‘wrong’. 

‘The article then goes on to quote some remarks supposedly made by Mr Herron. I assume they’re accurate, but if they’re accurate, they’re highly inflammatory and some of it is quite wrong.’

Outside court, Mr Herron said as a lawyer he had a right to appear in court to argue against the suppression application. 

He described the withdrawal of Hammond’s application as ‘a win for the community’.

‘It haunts me that I have to read the evidence yet again of her injuries,’ he said.

‘But a very important thing that stays with me forever is what the police told me. 

‘It took her three minutes to die.’

‘It’s almost inevitable. Very few patients at Thomas Embling do that 25-year nominal sentence – probably a handful,’ he said. 

Last year, Daily Mail Australia revealed Hammond was enjoying meals in his victim’s favourite restaurant a little over two years after being placed in a psychiatric hospital for the criminally insane. 

‘He was photographed by friends of my daughter. So he’s out doing that. What he’s up to recently is up to Thomas Embling to reveal,’ Mr Herron said. 

Mr Herron said he was aware of Thomas Embling patients routinely enjoying unsupervised day release. 

‘I know that these people are out, particularly in that Fairfield area. They’re out there working unsupervised in the community,’ he said. 

Mr Herron said as a victim of crime, he was kept ‘in the dark’ about how and why Hammond wanted his name suppressed from the public. 

‘Hearing about the killer’s release third hand is just not good enough,’ he said. 

‘The safety issues for the community are unbelievable.’