Chilling words written by a murder victim describing the death of a woman days before she was killed have been revealed by her family.
Shandee Blackburn’s family are calling for more evidence to be considered five years after she was brutally murdered in the street in Mackay, Queensland.
The 23-year-old was walking home from work on February 9, 2013 before she was stabbed more than 20 times and left in the road.
Shandee Blackburn, 23, was found stabbed more than 20 times in the street in Mackay on February 9, 2013
Her family have revealed the poem she wrote in the days before her murder describing the death of a woman
Shandee’s mother and sister have spoken out appealing to A Current Affair on Channel 9 for an inquest to be held.
The words penned by Shandee, who was a waitress, were found two-and-a-half years after her death by her mother, Vicki.
The poem, titled ‘Who Will Pick Up The Pieces?’, include lines and references to a woman dying after a ‘man has had his fun’.
It reads: ‘Who will pick up the pieces/After the deed is done/As she lies lifeless on the ground/After the man has had his fun.’
‘I think it just solidifies the fact that we need to get to the truth,’ Vicki said.
‘Her behaviour when she came home and when I read that poem [she seemed scared of something].’
Shandee’s mum, Vicki (left) and sister Sharna (right) say they think she was behaving strangely leading up to her murder
The words penned by Shandee, who was a waitress, were found two-and-a-half years later
Nobody has ever been caught for Shandee’s murder and the weapon was never found.
An 18-month investigation led to John Peros – Shandee’s former boyfriend – being charged by police in September 2014 but he was acquitted when the case went to trial.
Her family have now said they thought she had been acting strangely in the days before she was killed – just 150 metres from her front door.
Her mum says her daughter appeared reluctant to move back home to Mackay after staying with her sister, Sharna, on the Gold Coast.
‘She didn’t want to leave the home or do her usual things,’ she said.
Now, the family are left to deal with the grief and torture of not knowing what really happened to Shandee that night.
‘It’s always with you, it doesn’t go away,’ Vicki said.
‘Some days are easier to get through than others, but you just have to learn to do the best you can each day.’
Vicki says the grief of losing her youngest daughter has never gone away and says she just wants the truth about what happened
Police conducted an 18-month investigation into Ms Blackburn’s death and released this CCTV image of the murder suspect