Heartbroken family 'may never know why' loved one was 'stabbed' to death in Australia
The family of a man who was 'stabbed' to death in Australia has admitted that 'we may never know why he died' after complications in their fight for justice.
Royce Mallett, 30, from Haswell, County Durham, was the alleged victim of a knife attack in a motel car park in Albury, New South Wales, Australia, on July 8 last year.
Despite the best efforts of emergency services at the scene, the 30-year-old died at Albury Base Hospital hours later.
Royce and Caitlin had two children together. A daughter, Rose, and son, Roman (Image: UGC)
Speaking to The Northern Echo, Royce's mum, Felicity Mallett, has admitted that "a void has been left in all our lives" after the death of her son.
"We are all struggling - it happened all of a sudden - it's tough to think that he's gone, even all of these months later," she said.
Royce, who had moved over to Australia months before to provide for his partner Caitlin and two children, Rose and Roman, was with his friend, Carl Fisher, when the 'stabbing' took place.
David Summers-Smith, 28, of no fixed address, was arrested nearby and later charged with murder.
Royce and Caitlin had two children together. A daughter, Rose, and son, Roman (Image: UGC) He hasn't yet entered any pleas, but the charge against Summers-Smith has been downgraded to one of manslaughter.
Now, it has emerged from Australia that Summers-Smith could use the 'insanity defence' as part of his case.
On Monday (April 14), a mention hearing into the death of Mr Mallet was held at Crook Coroner's Court, County Durham.
At the hearing, it was said that the courts in Australia were waiting for a psychiatrist's report to be carried out before resuming legal proceedings.
Senior coroner of Darlington and Durham, Jeremy Chipperfield, said that "nothing can happen until a decision is made through legal proceedings over in Australia".
Mr Chipperfield also noted that a decision about the 'insanity defence' will be made by August 19 in Australia, by which point, they might be able to progress the inquest.
Now, Royce's mum has pleaded with the Australian police to get the answers needed about her son's death - but has admitted that "we may never know why he died', due to the situation happening with her son's alleged killer.
Royce Mallett was a father of two from County Durham (Image: UGC)
"We can't go through the healing process of the court case and the inquest in Australia and the UK until the decision has been made about the psychiatric report," she said.
"It may be 2026 until we get any news on the case, and even though I doubt we'll ever know why our Royce was killed.
"I'm annoyed - if I carried a knife, stabbed someone and hurt them or killed them, I'd expect to spend my life in prison."
Alongside the delays in the inquest and court proceedings, Royce's family are frustrated with "being kept in the dark" by the news of the case in Australia.
Mrs Mallett admits that she has lost her temper on numerous occasions about the lack of knowledge of the case, and now wants answers over her son's death.
She says her family "aren't coping" with the death, and believes these delays will add to more heartache for all his loved ones.
Royce and Caitlin have two children together (Image: UGC)
"We have waited long enough, and now to have no conclusion in sight is upsetting," said Felicity.
"The family aren't coping with Royce's death at all - it's hit the community and his close loved ones hard."
Despite the ongoing delays hitting his family hard, it's Royce's daughter Rose who has been affected by her dad's death the worst.
"She doesn't know her dad has died - she was too young to understand, and she thinks that he'll be coming back at any point, it's tragic," added Mrs Mallett.
"She has ADHD and thinks her dad has gone away for a while and will be back.
"Christmas was tough, she believed her dad would return for Christmas and Boxing Day."
Meanwhile, Royce's other child, Roman, doesn't speak, due to his age, and also doesn't know what happened to his dad.
Alongside the trauma of dealing with Royce's death, his mum says that her son's girlfriend Caitlin was targeted by online trolls recently, who used images of Royce for their Snapchat and Facebook profiles, which Mrs Mallett calls "sickening".
Royce had only been in Australia for a few months before the fatal stabbing (Image: UGC)
But, despite the ongoing heartache of the family, who managed to bring Royce's body back to the UK through the Government victim support scheme, and managed to give the 30-year-old a "good send off", his family want to create a legacy for Royce.
Felicity is continuing to fundraise to support the purchase of bleed trauma kits, which can help in a situation where a knife has been used.
Through this, she wants to provide community centres, pubs, and Royce's former school, Shotton Academy, with the kits, which can help stem the bleeding in an instance where a stabbing or serious injury has taken place.
A trust has also been set up in Royce's name, his mum said.
"I want justice for Royce, I don't want his death to be for nothing," she added.
"I don't think we'll ever know why Royce was killed."
Royce and Caitlin (Image: UGC)Mrs Mallett believes that the issue with knife crime is a societal and global one, and says that the availability and ease of getting knives play a "huge factor" in incidents of this kind.
She is currently campaigning to petition shops like Amazon, eBay and other online retailers about how easy it is to get a knife, especially for younger people.
This comes as The Northern Echo knife crime campaign continues to work with key agencies in the war against knife crime in the North East and further afield.
The Northern Echo Knife Crime Taskforce, which was launched in 2023, has worked with the families of Connor Brown, Chris Cave, Gordon Gault, Tomasz Oleszak and Jack Woodley, who are just a handful of those who have lost their lives in the North East over the last decade.
It is used as a place to hold open discussions between those impacted by murder, education specialists, and criminal justice professionals to provide 'joined-up thinking'.
Royce Mallett (Image: UGC)
Many of the measures called for by the task force, including tightening rules around access to knives, knife crime education and tougher sentences, are being considered by the Government.
"People are carrying knives because they are readily and easily available," Mrs Mallett added.
"Knife crime is common everywhere, both in the UK and abroad.
READ MORE:
County Durham dad Royce Mallett stabbed to death
"People go out to harm others. I think it's more in the news recently because of the Adolescence programme on Netflix, which poses a lot of questions in society.
"It gets you emotional because it's so real, and I've watched it so many times now - it hits so close to home - Royce's death was different, but the aftermath of the family is the same.
"There needs to be more checks in buying knives in shops and online - there needs to be documents for people to fill in.
"It doesn't feel like enough is being done here."
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