Gregory Davies, now 75, has pleaded guilty to the 1984 murder of 6-year-old Kylie Maybury
The killer and rapist of Melbourne schoolgirl Kylie Maybury is a ‘marked man’ in jail where he will likely die, his lawyer says.
Gregory Keith Davies, 75, pleaded guilty in May to the 1984 rape and murder of the six-year-old, ending a three-decade mystery over her death.
On Monday defence barrister David Gibson conceded a life sentence was appropriate.
‘It’s clearly offending that devastated that family and rippled out into the community,’ Mr Gibson told the Supreme Court.
Davies would be more than 100 if ever released: ‘The reality of his plea is that he dies in prison,’ the lawyer added.
Kylie Maybury, aged 6 (pictured), was murdered on November 6, 1984, while out at the shops
Davies (right) also sexually attacked at least 12 other children before and after the 1996 murder
Both defence and prosecution accepted Davies be jailed with a minimum term imposed. Prosecutor Mark Rochford SC described it as a significant and serious example of murder.
Kylie had walked 140 metres to the shops at suburban Preston East on Melbourne Cup Day in 1984 to buy sugar for her mother, but never returned.
Her body was found face down in a gutter the following day, having been raped, drugged and suffocated.
But her killer wasn’t identified until 2016 when Davies’ DNA was matched to semen on Kylie’s clothing and genitals.
Kylie’s mother Julie Ryan said the death wrecked her life and drove her to alcohol and pills.
Gregory Davies was arrested and charged in June last year with abducting and murdering Kylie
Kylie’s mother Julie said that she will never forgive Davies for taking her young daughter away
‘I haven’t stopped crying and I still cry for her,’ she said, in a statement read by the prosecutor.
‘It’s a pain you can’t describe the hole in your heart. You can’t heal the wound.’
Ms Ryan said Davies’ conviction will make her feel better when she visits the grave of her ‘little princess’.
Kylie’s uncle John Daniels said the crime deeply affected the family, with his father and brother committing suicide in the aftermath after being wrongly accused of the murder.
Kylie mother’s Julie Maybury n 1984 with her father John Moss, who later killed himself in 1985
Kylie’s sister Rebecca Phillips said she changed her name because of the stigma of what happened: ‘It ripped my whole family apart.’
Davies denied involvement in the murder for 33 years. In 1971, he was cleared of attempting to murder a 14-year-old due to insanity. He was held behind bars for 12 years.
Mr Gibson asked the judge to consider Davies’ injuries and possible need to be kept in protection.
Davies was attacked with boiling water on his groin in September, leaving 15 per cent of his body burnt and was a ‘marked man’ because of the notoriety of the murder, Mr Gibson said.
‘The reality is there is nowhere safe for him in the prison system,’ he added.
Davies will be sentenced in December after a pre-sentence plea deal hearing on Monday.
Davies was attacked with boiling water on his groin in gaol, burning 15 per cent of his body
It has been revealed that Davis also sexually attacked a dozen other children in the years before and after the murder.
Kylie’s murder case was cold until 2016 when the Victoria Police cold case squad had a fresh look at the murder.
Davies was previously jailed for two-and-a-half years in 1996 over sex attacks on six young girls. He knew and had ‘regular and easy access to’ all of 12 of his other victims, according to the Herald Sun.
A family member has since come forward and accused Davies’ mother Eileen of having ‘blood on her hands’ because she ‘knew her son was sexually abusing children for decades but never dobbed him in’.
‘A decision was made to keep his child sex offending quiet. That left him free to sexually abuse other girls, which he did for years,’ said the family member.
Davies also spent in jail over the sexually motivated 1970 hammer attack on 14-year-old Lucy Stasiewcz, for which he was found guilty of attempted murder and causing grievous bodily harm.
It has also been alleged that Davies sexually abused a further four children, but never faced court because police talked the children out of pressing charges ‘by saying it would be too traumatic for the children to go through the court process’.
Another two victims allegedly reached out to Davies’ daughter, explaining that they hadn’t reported the sexual abuse they suffered at his hands but wanted to confide in her.
After Davies’ arrest in 2016, one of the victims came forward and said that she would be prepared to press sexual assault charges against Davies ‘if it would help get him convicted over the Maybury murder’.
Davies has also sexually assaulted at least 12 more children, as well as attacking a 14-year-old
Despite the fact that he wasn’t charged over Kylie’s murder for almost two decades, ‘somebody very close’ to Davies reportedly told police in in 1997 that they should look at him as a murder suspect.
Davies allegedly doesn’t remember murdering the young girl, but told his daughter that he must have done it ‘because my DNA is a match to Kylie’s killer’s DNA’.
Kylie’s mother Julie said that she will never forgive Davies, adding: ‘I hope the other prisoners make his life hell and that he dies a painful death in jail.’
Julie Maybury spent her life hunting for the vile man who murdered and dumped her daughter
Davies’ daughter has reached out to all of her father’s victims as well as Kylie’s parents to apologise for his despicable behaviour.
‘I particularly want to say sorry to Kylie’s mother,’ she said on Sunday. ‘I can’t imagine what she’s going through. If it was my child I would be absolutely devastated.’
While Julie said that she does appreciate Davies’ daughter’s gesture, she will still never forgive Davies for taking the life of her beloved daughter.
Julie visited Kylie’s grave on Saturday in the lead-up to Davies’ sentencing and said Justice was ‘almost here’ for her girl.