The mother of allegedly murdered schoolboy Cassius Turvey has become a pillar of strength for people around the nation,if not the world,who have also suffered in tragic circumstances.
Mechelle Turvey stands metres from where her son Cassius was allegedly attacked and killed to talk about her new role with WA Police.Rebecca Peppiatt
Cassius was just 15 years old when he was walking home from school in October and allegedly.
Now,Turvey has decided to turn her experience into something positive after being approached by WA Police Commissioner Col Blanch to help other families going through similar ordeals.
She accepted,she said,because she felt more should have been done for Cassius’ friends on the day he was attacked in Middle Swan.
“Part of[the reason I accepted] is to do with the boys,” she said told media just metres from where the incident took place on Patterson Drive,Middle Swan.
Mechelle Turvey stands metres from where her son Cassius was allegedly attacked and killed to talk about her new role with WA Police.Rebecca Peppiatt
“After the incident the boys were left to their own devices where the police and the ambulance had left and they had to find their own way home.
“So some of my suggestions would be to contact family or arrange for another group to be in their presence because they’re left with that trauma on the day.
“What do they do with it?”
Turvey said she “can’t fault the police” for how they dealt with Cassius’ case and praised homicide squad Detective Stephen Cleal,who she worked closely with in the aftermath of her son’s death.
She has refused to allow Cassius’ death to become a race row and wanted it to be clear her new role with WA Police would be for all victims of crime,no matter their ethnicity.
“If I can help other people,whether they’re Aboriginal or not,I really want to focus on that,” she said.
“I’m not just here for the Aboriginal community,I’m here for the community as whole,if I can help people navigate how they should be working with the police,how to better policing in WA,well,I’m down for that.”
The mum took the opportunity to tell reporters how much of a struggle Christmas was and how she had been comforted by the support of family and friends two months after Cassius’ death.
“Christmas was hard,” she said.
“Two spare chairs at the table this year for my husband and my boy,so it was hard for all of us.
“It’s hard to be joyous but there’s not much we can do with that but reach out to people and accept the support and love and having company has been a real big key for me. Having people around.”
The details of Turvey’s role within the WA Police has yet to be ironed out,but she said the position was a voluntary one where she would be working with new officers and new supervisors.
“I hope I can lift their higher focus off their operational needs,which they have to have,but come with a holistic approach,” she said.
“[Hopefully they can] take on some of my life experiences and just maybe alert them to how families are feeling and in maybe some of their questioning or their operational views they might be traumatising us even further,so that’s where I come in.”
Next week,Turvey will meet with City of Swan officials over plans for a memorial to Cassius to be erected in his memory in a Midland park where he used to play basketball.
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