A man who strangled his ex-girlfriend, stuffed her body in a cricket bag and dumped it in a car park has been granted parole.
It was more than six weeks before her body was discovered after residents at an apartment block in Coogee, in Sydney’s Eastern suburbs, complained of a foul smell.
In 2006 Matheson was sentenced to 25 years with a non-parole period 18 years, and was refused parole at his first application last year.
Earlier this week Van Blanken’s mother pleaded with authorities to keep her daughter’s killer behind bars.
Cynthia van Blanken told A Current Affair she’s convinced Matheson “will do it again” if he’s let out.
She spoke of how Matheson was stalking her daughter before he killed her, and neighbours reported seeing him standing out the front of their house in the middle of the night.
On November 24, 2003 the teenager was seen having a fight with Matheson outside her work building before catching the train home that day.
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He was waiting at the station and after that, she was never seen again.
Van Blanken missed Christmas Day, but Matheson had called her family that day from her phone.
“He was just saying, ‘I hope you’re having a nice day on Christmas, even though you don’t know where Lyndsay is’, and he knew where she was,” Cynthia said.
Matheson will be released from prison between May 26 and June 9, will wear an electronic bracelet and be monitored 24 hours a day.
He is banned from any form of contact with the victim’s family and must continue to comply with psychiatric medication and treatment.
Matheson is also banned from visiting the Nambucca Shire, Hills Shire and Coffs Harbour local government areas.
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