A double murderer was expected to be let out of Risdon Prison for a morning excursion, but his leave was cancelled just days before.
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Marco Daniel Rusterholz was jailed for 45 years for murdering Angela Hallam and Joshua Newman at Ravenswood in 2012.
Rusterholz stabbed his victims multiple times, cut their throats and burned their bodies.
During the 2015 trial into the murders, the court heard Rusterholz admitted to a man he had killed “Ange Hallam and some fella” and had her hair and a boot in a bag.
The 53-year-old has been in custody for six years and is facing a minimum of 25 years.
He was approved for two and a half hours of supervised leave on Monday morning, but after inquiries made by The Examiner on Wednesday, the trip was cancelled on Thursday.
Joshua Newman’s devastated mother, Heidi El Ozone, first learned her son’s killer had been approved for leave on Tuesday.
“The first thing I felt was anger,” she said.
“Does my son get to go out anywhere? No, he is buried in a cemetery.”
It was understood Rusterholz was being released for educational and rehabilitation purposes.
But Mrs El Ozone said “you can’t rehabilitate that kind of evil”.
“I understand they try and rehabilitate prisoners, I am all for that, but that should be done on prison property,” she said.
“What right has he got to have a little drive around and explore the waterfront? It was the biggest insult.
“Some petty criminals can be rehabilitated, but a man who planned this, previously threatened my son days before his murder and sent someone to the house to make sure he was there, and as my son lay their bleeding out, he set him alight with petrol.”
Since the tragedy, Mrs El Ozone said it had been an ongoing nightmare for her and her family.
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When the 21-year-old was brutally murdered, he left behind his four-year-old son, who still asks about his dad daily.
“He has photos of him and he knows a bad man did something to his dad,” Mrs El Ozone said.
“I had to try and shield my children from the horror and explain what happened in an age-appropriate way.”
Last year, Rusterholz attempted to have his conviction overturned, but failed.
This year, Mrs El Ozone was forced to bury her son all over again after the rest of his remains were returned to her.
“I know my son is dead, I understand that, I saw him in the morgue, I have buried him twice, I saw photos of him a mother should never have to see of her child.
“I have a life sentence, I have no chance of appeal.
“All I want from this is for things to change for victim’s families.”
The Justice Department was unable to provide further details about the situation.
“For privacy reasons, the Tasmania Prison Service does not comment on the circumstances of individual prisoners,” a spokesman said.