Content warning: this article contains details of violence.
It was a horrific tragedy which rocked the nation. On September 4, 2014, John O’Brien left his wife Bianka and baby son Jude asleep in their Rozelle apartment.
Just a short time later he returned to find his family and their home – gone.
Their Darling Street apartment, their neighbours’ apartment and the shopfronts beneath had been deliberately blown-up by store owner Adeel Khan in an attempted insurance scam.
Bianka, baby Jude and their neighbour Chris Noble were murdered in a blaze from an intricate system of ten petrol containers Khan set throughout the convenience store below, connecting them with strips of petrol-soaked material.
The fire flattened the store and adjacent apartments – John was left with nothing but the clothes he was wearing that day and, heartbreakingly, a few charred rubber ducks belonging to Jude, which were salvaged from the wreckage.
Khan was convicted of the murder of Noble, the manslaughter of Bianka and baby Jude, and sentenced in the NSW Supreme Court to a minimum of 30 years in 2016.
Despite the suffocating grief John experienced in the months and years after losing everything, his strength and the support of many has seen him rebuild life with his new wife, police media advisor Michelle Minehan, and their child.
Now, a dinner in honour of Jude and Bianka is being held to raise funds for Grace’s Place – a world-first residential trauma recovery centre for children affected by homicide.
The Homicide Victim’s Support Group, who are building Grace’s Place, “helped me with constant support and guidance,” John writes in a personal letter explaining his fundraising effort for the organisation.
The event will “celebrate the lives that passed and help us build a brighter future for others left behind and devastated by the effects of horrific fires,” John writes.
The dinner will be on 5 March at Doltone House in Sydney. Please buy your tickets and support John, the HVSG and help to build Grace’s Place.
Homicide Victim’s Support Group – call toll free 1800 191 777 any time of day or night.
Lifeline – 13 11 14
