EXCLUSIVE Outrage as government department sends out tone-deaf sympathy message for alleged killer who died in custody days after teen's murder
The government department tasked with keeping the accused killer of a 19-year-old woman alive so he can face trial for her alleged murder has sent condolences to people 'affected by his death'.
The disgraceful message from Corrective Services NSW came after Adrian Noel Torrens, 53, died in custody three days after his arrest for allegedly murdering 19-year-old Audrey Griffin.
Torrens was found unresponsive in his cell at Silverwater Jail in Sydney 's west about 4.50pm on Thursday and couldn't be revived by paramedics and corrective services officers.
Police are not treating his death as suspicious.
A Corrective Services NSW spokeswoman said the death in custody had been reported to the state coroner and would be subject to a public inquest.
'Corrective Services NSW and NSW Police investigate all deaths in custody regardless of the circumstances,' she said in a statement.
'Corrective Services NSW extends its deepest sympathies to the family of Audrey Griffin at this distressing time.
But in a tone-deaf statement, the department also stated it 'sends condolences to any Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people affected by Mr Torrens' death.'
The statement came just hours after Ms Griffin's family was advised of his death as hundreds attended a beach vigil in her memory on Thursday night.
Torrens was arrested in Sydney on Monday – a month after Ms Griffin's body was found in Erina Creek on the NSW Central Coast.
Her death was not initially deemed suspicious because a preliminary autopsy indicated she had drowned.
Last week, detectives published Torrens' image in a public appeal to locate him.
Torrens admitted killing the 19-year-old to an associate not long after in a phone call obtained by police.
Another witness told police they recognised Torrens in the CCTV, and that he had told them 'he left her body in the mangroves'.
Torrens was on a court order when he allegedly murdered Ms Griffin on Sydney's Central Coast in March.
Ms Griffin had spend a night celebrating with friends at the Gosford Hotel on the night of March 22.
She left the pub at 2am and walked towards her father's house in Terrigal after unsuccessfully trying to get an Uber.
Friends followed her movements via Snapchat's SnapMaps feature, a live tracker of a user's whereabouts, which can be seen by selected contacts. She also sent them two videos while walking home.
Instead of arriving home, Ms Griffin crossed paths with Torrens.
Police quietly investigated the alleged link between the pair in the weeks following Ms Griffin's death.
They found Torrens' DNA under Ms Griffin's fingernails and discovered a mobile ping in the Erina Creek area on the same night from Torrens' phone.
Following this week's arrest, detectives were set to allege Torrens attacked Ms Griffin in the face and knocked her unconscious in the shallow creek – or that he held her underwater to kill her.
Many Australians were outraged by police's initial ruling that Ms Griffin's death was 'not suspicious.'
On Tuesday, a spokesperson for Brisbane Water Police District said investigators wanted to provide answers for the family and the community following the four week investigation.
'This has not sat well with us as investigators from the outset and that's why we stood up the strike-force,' the spokesperson said.
'There has been a number of lines of inquiry leading up to the arrest yesterday but, significantly, on Friday morning, we received information which transferred the case to a homicide investigation.'
Ms Griffin's mother Kathleen Kirby told Daily Mail Australia this week that she 'just wanted justice' for her young daughter.
She said her daughter was a fit, intelligent and beautiful young woman who 'had the world at her feet'.
Ms Kirby said the pair exchanged messages while she was in Gosford, and she told daughter she was proud of her and loved her very much.
News of Torrens' death came just hours after hundreds of mourners gathered to celebrate Ms Griffin's life at Terrigal Beach near her home.
In the evening, loved ones, strangers, teammates and detectives flooded the beach dressed in white.
Ms Kirby told the crowd sunset was Ms Griffin's favourite time of day.
'My heart is full. As full as it can be right now,' she told 9News.
'We need change, we need a lot of change.'
Her daughter's friend Anna Jenkins added: 'Anyone should be able to walk home at night and not be worried when they do that.'
At twilight, the gathering paused in silence to remember the 19-year-old.
Family and friends described Ms Griffin was a 'determined athlete, talented student and well-liked teenager'.
A fortnight before her death, the popular and sporty teenager had travelled to New Zealand to compete in the gruelling ANZCO half-ironman event, which she completed in just over six-and-a-half hours.
She was also preparing to begin a 10-week officer training course in April with the Royal Australian Navy after visiting Japan earlier this year.
Ms Griffin was visiting the Central Coast - where she grew up - to see her grandparents and invite her friends to a farewell party in Sydney the next weekend.
'She was the kindest soul to walk this earth and will always be in our hearts,' a GoFundMe for her family said.
Anti-violence against women campaigner Sherele Moody posted on social media 'there'll be no justice for Audrey Griffin' after Torrens' death.
'Like every single woman, 19-year-old Audrey had had every right to walk the street at anytime of day or night without some thug killing her,' Ms Moody posted.
'She had every right to live a long life full of peace and happiness.'
'She had every right to not be a victim of femicide. Male violence is an epidemic in Australia - we can't even have a night out without being killed.'
A spokesman for NSW Corrections Minister Anoulack Chanthivong said thoughts were with those who knew Ms Griffin.
'The minister for corrections acknowledges this very difficult time for the family and loved ones of Audrey Griffin, noting this case will now not be able to be prosecuted through the courts,' he said.
For confidential 24-hour support in Australia call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636.
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