Erin Pearson

Accused killer driver William Swale’s diabetes will be the focus of an upcoming court hearing into the deaths of five patrons sitting outside a Daylesford hotel.

Courts are often accused of being out of touch with the community, so there’s an argument for Erin Patterson facing justice on her home patch. But her case has a long way to go.

James Swan Palakamannil sobbed as he recalled to a courtroom the night his wife took her life and those of their two young girls in a fatal act of family violence.

Survivor and campaigner Stewart Carter – who watched the man who abused him walk free from court – is calling on the state government to back the state opposition’s bill.