Hakea Prison. Photo: SWI Fencing
Camera IconHakea Prison. Photo: SWI Fencing Credit: Supplied/Supplied

Murdered Perth prisoner ‘slipped through net’

AAPComment News

THE brother of a man allegedly bashed dead by at least eight other inmates at a Perth prison says he had mental health issues and should never have been there.

Alf Deon Eades, 46, was found injured in his cell at Hakea Prison on February 26 and died about two weeks later.

Raymond Bradley Cilli, Shane Bradley Riley, Liam Christopher McGlade, Cooper Clay, Clinton Alan Penny, Joshua Alexander Black, Shaun Kapene and Brandon Shaquille Taylor have been charged with his murder.

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Fears over bikies in WA prisons after inmate’s death

Stirling Gardens Magistrates Court.
Camera IconStirling Gardens Magistrates Court. Credit: Supplied/Supplied

After six of the men appeared in Stirling Gardens Magistrates Court on Wednesday, Mr Eades’ younger brother Tim Quartermaine said the family was distraught and heartbroken by his violent death.

He said his brother “slipped through the net” and the way mentally unwell prisoners are handled should change.

“He shouldn’t have even be where he was,” Mr Quartermaine told reporters.

“Alf had some problems – he’d been through a lot in the past.”

He said Mr Eades got on a self-destructive path after the death of his partner, who was the mother of his two children, and his own mother.

“The kids have been orphaned now,” Mr Quartermaine said.

“He didn’t recover too well from the loss of his partner, which was really concerning for us and the children.”

Mr Quartermaine said the family had a long road ahead.

“The kids are the strong point for us at the moment, give us strength.

“The fight for justice is for them and him.”

Mr Quartermaine would not comment on reports Mr Eades had called family before his death and expressed fears for his safety but said he may later.

Photo: Getty
Camera IconPhoto: Getty Credit: Supplied/Sergio Dionisio

Amid reports the bashing was linked to bikies, Corrective Services Commissioner Tony Hassall would not comment when asked if there was intelligence the Comanchero were recruiting in prison.

But he said when he attended Mr Eades’ memorial service, some Aboriginal prisoners expressed concerns about bikies.

“There had been issues with outlaw motorcycle gangs in the prison, which we knew about and we were managing,” Mr Hassall told 6PR radio.

He said a disruptive prisoner protocol was introduced a couple of months ago to address the small number of bikies causing trouble.

Cilli and Riley appeared in Armadale Magistrates Court on Tuesday and will next face court on July 3.

The other six accused are due back in court on August 28.