NSW:Hammer murder mum released from prison

AAP General News (Australia)
08-15-2011
NSW:Hammer murder mum released from prison

By Vincent Morello

SYDNEY, Aug 15 AAP - Eighteen years in prison have ended for Gunn-Britt Ashfield, the
woman who murdered her six-year-old son with a hammer and phone book while his siblings
watched.

The mother, 43, who changed her name to Angelic Karstrom while serving 18 years of
a 19-year maximum sentence was released on parole on Monday from the Dillwynia Correction
Centre, within the John Morony Correctional Complex northwest of Sydney.

Karstrom and her partner Austin Allan Hughes pleaded guilty to the 1993 bashing murder
of her son John Ashfield, which her four other children were forced to watch.

She exited the prison around 11am (AEST) wearing a black trouser suit and a white collared
shirt, and was escorted to a waiting vehicle by police.

Karstrom must comply with a number of parole conditions, including electronic monitoring,
drug and alcohol testing, curfews and ongoing counselling.

She is banned from living in or visiting the Illawarra and Hunter regions, where her
family lives, and may not be in the company of anyone under the age of 16.

At the family's request, she is prohibited from visiting the grave of her murdered son.

Karstrom is also banned from contacting Hughes, who was released in December 2009 after
serving 16 years for the crime.

Her daughter, Melissa Ashfield, 21, opposed her mother's release during a July hearing
of the NSW Parole Board.

In granting her parole, the board determined it would be better to monitor her in the
community for a year under strict conditions.

Ms Ashfield on Monday was aware her mother was scheduled for release but said she was
still upset about the outcome.

"I'm very angry," she said to AAP.

In July, outside the parole hearing, she recalled details of John's murder.

"Way before my brother's come home from school, it was a lot of tension, a lot of yelling,
a lot of flaring," Ms Ashfield said.

"And before you know it, my brother was the target.

"They started hitting him, punching him.

"They both took turns putting the phone book on his head, smashing it with a hammer.

"They both bashed him for two and a half hours.

"My brother's screaming, saying, `I'm sorry, I'm sorry,' and she kept going. She could've
easily said, `Stop.'

"But it went further. She let Austin put one of my dresses on my brother and mocked
him before ... he was dead."

Ashfield and Hughes pleaded guilty and were jailed for 21 years but had their sentences
reduced on appeal to 19 years, with a minimum of 14.

The parole board had denied Ashfield parole four years in a row from 2007.

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KEYWORD: ASHFIELD WRAP (PIX AVAILABLE)

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