'Her death was not in vain': DV royal commission about to be handed down
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Victoria Stewart was one of four women killed in a single week in 2023.

“I just needed a hug from her. I needed one of her hugs,” daughter Tara Songer, who now wears a necklace etched with her mother’s fingerprint, said.

Victoria Stewart was one of four women killed in a single week in 2023. (9News)

“I know she fought to the very end. Because when we got her phone back it was completely smashed. She tried to fight. She tried.”

Clifford Neumann is currently serving more than two decades for the frenzied, planned murder of Stewart in Morphett Vale. 

“He’s an absolute monster,” Songer said.

“He’s taken away one of my main reasons to keep going. And for a while there I was worried that life wasn’t worth living because she was gone.” 

Stewart’s death was one of many that sparked loud calls for change. 

Now, the findings from the landmark Royal Commission into Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence are about to be handed down. 

Days out from the release of South Australia’s landmark Royal Commission into Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence, the loved ones of a mother of five who was murdered by a jealous man in Adelaide say they hope her death won’t be in vain. (9News)

“There’s been some shocking stories. I mean, this Royal Commission was born out of unimaginable tragedy,” Commissioner Natasha Stott Despoja said.

“The lack of, the dearth of… support services for children and young people has been staggering,” she added. 

“So that has shocked me. But I have to admit, a lot of things have been disarming and haunting.”

The report is scheduled to be presented to the Governor on Thursday, with the State Government expected to release the recommendations to the public early next week.

“If anything good comes out of Vick’s death… then I’m hopeful this is the start of it,” Stewart’s brother, Douglas Jones, said.

Commissioner Natasha Stott Despoja said there had been some shocking stories. (9News)

“I want her to know we are doing something about it,” Songer said. 

“That her death was not in vain.”

This article was produced with the assistance of 9ExPress.
Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).
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