MASS MURDER AND DECEIT

When he was 19-years-old, Sef Gonzales murdered three people in one day. The murders took place in the Gonzales family home in Sydney.

Sef Gonzales bashed and stabbed his 18-year-old sister to death and, after a struggle, he cut his mother's throat. He then waited for his father, a lawyer, to come home from work.

Around two hours later, as Teddy Gonzales opened the front door of the family home, Sef Gonzales plunged a knife into his father's back. Teddy fell to the floor, alive but paralysed with a sliced spinal cord. The teenager then killed his father by stabbing him repeatedly in the chest.

Sef Gonzales changed out of his bloodied clothes before driving off into the cold winter's night to meet a friend for dinner. Before he left, he sprayed the words, F… OFF ASIANS, on the lounge room wall.

It was Tuesday July 10, 2001.

It took several months but, finally, the police arrested Sef Gonzales who, since the killings, had been partying constantly, even paying a deposit on a new Porsche out of his expected inheritance.

On September 17, 2004, Sef Gonzales was sentenced to three life terms. He will die in jail.

Despite the unimaginable emotional pain suffered by the relatives of the murdered family, their faith sustained them. Even after he was sentenced, they still proclaimed their love for Sef Gonzales.

Teddy Gonzales and his wife were devout Catholics who migrated to Australia from the Philippines. After years of toil, they bought an old house which they demolished. In 1999, they started to build their dream home. Two years later, their dream ended in their murder.

Few of us can begin to understand this awful crime, let alone do anything about it. But we can understand what happened next. And something has to be done about it.

On August 31, 2004, the home was sold. The buyers are a Taiwanese couple who have migrated to Australia to be near their grandchildren. Like the Gonzales family, they, too, are deeply religious.

Their daughter saw the home advertised on the Internet and she arranged for her parents to see it. According to the buyers, the agent said, "The owners have moved out."

The buyers then went to their lawyer who did all the necessary legal checks. Everything seemed okay.

And so they agreed on a price of $800,000. They signed the contracts and paid $80,000 as ten per cent deposit.

A few days later they saw a newspaper headline, Death House Sold. In horror they discovered that their new home had been the scene of a notorious mass murder.

The agent had said nothing.

Well, of course, they are no longer interested. Not at any price. Even if the home was free-of-charge, they would never accept it. Never.

They went to their lawyer. And that's when their real horror began. They were advised that, technically, the agent had done nothing illegal.

Ah yes, they are now experiencing the difference between legal and ethical in the Australian real estate system. They are discovering the appalling state of consumer protection in our country. Right in the electorate of John Howard, the Prime Minister of Australia.

No, no, they pleaded. This can't be true. Someone help us, please. In Taiwan this couldn't happen. In most countries, there are laws against such deception. Surely the same applies here. Wrong.

They called the Department of Fair Trading and were reportedly told, "There's nothing you can do. Use your religion as a comfort. Try counselling. In a few years, you'll forget about it."

They called the agent, "Why didn't you tell us?" they cried. "How could you do this to us? We cannot buy this house."

The agent feigned surprise. "Oh, I thought you knew."

Legally, if the buyers do not buy, they will lose their deposit. When the home is resold, they will be forced to pay the difference between any shortfall in the price. This means if the home sells for $600,000, they will have to pay another $120,000 on top of their $80,000 deposit.

Such a blow will financially ruin these people. Emotionally, they are already wrecked and have been receiving medical treatment.

The buyers have reportedly been offered a solution. Go ahead and buy the home and sell it again without telling the next buyers.