The NSW government has admitted that it allowed two vulnerable foster children to live with a notorious triple killer — who now identifies as a woman — in a western Sydney home for months despite becoming aware of the situation in late December.
NSW Minister for Families and Communities Kate Washington made the astonishing revelation to 2GB’s Ben Fordham on Wednesday, saying “very poor decisions were made” and apologising for the “entirely unacceptable” lapse.
Reginald “Regina” Arthurell was removed from the home on Monday, hours after Fordham made the shocking revelation on his morning program that the outback serial killer had moved in with an elderly grandmother and two children, later confirmed to be foster kids aged 12 and 14.
“What you’ve uncovered is shocking and the scenario that these kids were in, it’s just not allowed and should never have been allowed,” a shaken Ms Washington told Fordham on Wednesday.
“It is entirely unacceptable for a vulnerable child in the care of the state to be living with a triple murderer, it should never have happened and I’m deeply apologetic for what has happened.”
Arthurell was released from prison in 2020 after serving a 24-year sentence for the brutal 1997 murder of his fiancee Venet Raylee Mulhall, 54, following two earlier manslaughter convictions for killing his stepfather, Thomas Thornton, 49, with a carving knife, and robbing and killing sailor Ross Browning, 19.
In 2021, it emerged that Arthurell had begun identifying as transgender and going by the name “Regina Kaye”.
An extended supervision order (ESO) on Arthurell expired in December 2024, with no application made to the Supreme Court to extend the monitoring period.
On Monday, the elderly woman’s daughter, going by the pseudonym Tina, told Fordham her mother had been living with Arthurell since late last year, alleging the serial killer was “brainwashing” her about going into business and using her superannuation.
She said her mother had met Arthurell while she was working at Westmead Hospital. The serial killer, who was a patient at the time, later moved in with her.
“I’ve been in contact with NSW Police and NSW Department of Corrective Services since February 12 about these issues,” she said.
Speaking to the Minister, Fordham said the children were the responsibility of the state of NSW and were “put in danger, there’s not a shadow of a doubt about that”.
“There are some complexities in the situation that I can’t share publicly to protect the privacy of the children involved, but the fact is something has gone terribly wrong here and I want to be as open and transparent and accountable as possible, I know that’s what everyone expects,” Ms Washington said.
“The department was made aware of the situation in late December and some very poor decisions were made at that time. I wish I could turn back the clock but I can’t, but thanks to you and 2GB, and it’s really regrettable that the family had to resort to raising it with you to see action.
“But I’m so glad that they did because now we have acted, and I want to reassure you and your listeners that the person is no longer living in that house.”
Fordham said the new details shared by Ms Washington were “even more worrying”.
“You’re now revealing that your department was tipped off about this in December?” he said.
“That’s my understanding, yes,” Ms Washington said. “I’m here to be open and honest about what we know so far. Since we became aware of it via your show … we have been trying to get to the bottom of exactly what’s happened here. I’ve also been speaking with the Secretary of the department of course, and we are both committed to getting to the bottom of how this happened.
“We are going to be conducting a review of the decision-making that led to this terrible situation and I can assure you that we’ll make whatever changes are necessary to ensure it doesn’t happen again.”
Fordham pressed, “I just want to be clear about this, so when the tip-off came through to your department, did they make clear that there were foster kids living with a serial killer?”
“We’ve still got to the bottom of exactly what we knew when, but that’s the information I’ve got right now, is that there was an initial report of some kind in December,” Ms Washington said.
“And that’s what this review is going to go through — the whole timeline, who knew what when, and who made what decisions when, because obviously it is very clear that very poor decisions were made through this process and we want to get to the bottom of it.”
“OK, but based on your understanding, the complaint or concern raised in December would have related to Reginald Arthurell?” Fordham asked.
“Correct,” Ms Washington said.
“Holy hell,” Fordham said. “And there was someone in the department who didn’t think, ‘Get the foster kids away from the serial killer,’?”
“Uh, correct,” Ms Washington said. “That’s what I’m thinking this review’s going to uncover … and as the Minister responsible for these kids, the buck stops with me on this.”
Fordham quizzed the Minister on Tina’s claims that her concerns had also been ignored by NSW Police and Corrective Services.
“That also is of great concern,” Ms Washington said. “That’s all going to form part of our review, because it would appear that there have been multiple system failures that have led us to this point.”
The Minister described it as the biggest mistake she had seen in her time running the child protection portfolio. “I couldn’t have been more shocked and horrified,” she said.
“I am running a very large system and we are doing everything we can to reform it, because when we came into government it was an absolute mess.”
A spokesperson for NSW Attorney-General Michael Daley said in a statement to news.com.au on Monday, “All decisions in relation to extended supervision orders are made after thorough consideration of risk assessments and all other relevant information, and with the primary object of the Act, which is the safety and protection of the community, in mind.
“This individual is not currently under an extended supervision order.
“Any concerns regarding allegations of financial abuse, or other concerns relating to the safety of other individuals, should be reported to the NSW Police Force.”
NSW Police declined to comment.
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