THE Barker family’s hands formed an unbreakable chain and each second seemed like forever until they finally heard the long awaited decision that would put the killers of their son and brother, Shane Barker, behind bars.
It took 14 years but on June 28, Cedric Harper Jordan, 71, and Noe- lene June Jordan, 68, of Swansea, were found guilty of killing their former son-in-law at his Campbell Town home on August 2, 2009.
The Jordans had wanted to prevent their daughter Rachel and granddaughter Sophie from having anything to do with Shane, following the couple’s bitter break-up.
Shane was forced to go through the courts to gain access to his daughter and defend unwarranted allegations of child abuse, while the Jordans tried everything to keep him away eventually resorting to murder to achieve their goal.
While the jury deliberated their verdict for nine hours over three days last week, Shane Barker’s brother Paul said online: “Can we all pray for this ex-postman, ex-service station worker and ex Roberts guns and fishing salesman, of Campbell Town, who was proud to have grown up in this great town he called home.”
Prayers were answered with a unanimous finding of guilty by the 12 jury members.
Following the trial Shane Barker’s sister, Nicole Garwood, simply said: “We finally got justice for Shane”.
On Tuesday, Paul and his mother Barbara talked to The Courier about finally being able to sleep easy at night, of having an enormous weight lifted off their shoulders, and how relieved they were knowing that just one juror going against the grain would have seen the Jordans walk free.
Paul, who lives in Launceston and works for Tas Independent Retailers, said his family were convinced the Jordans had committed the crime from day one, and had nothing but admiration for Tasmania Police and its team involved in investigating the case saying “they left no stone unturned”.
He broke down when he described the toll the drawn out case had taken on his family, especially his children who effectively lost their father while he tenaciously battled to have the cold case reopened.
And then the Barker family had to endure the daily stresses of being in court and giving evidence and facing Shane’s killers.
“Throughout the trial the Jordans showed no remorse. There was no reaction. Just hard faces and they had no qualms in giving us the death stare,” Paul said.
“After the guilty verdict they still didn’t react in any way, and we watched Rachel come out of the Supreme Court and she was left to walk to her car on her own also no tears, no emotion, and no support from anyone that says something and I’ll never forget it,” Paul said. “The Jordans had barely a handful of supporters throughout the trial, and we would have had at least 20 people in there with us every day some were people we didn’t even know and we were grateful for that.”
Barbara said that it was this same community support, in particular from the people of Campbell Town, which enabled her to stay strong.
Cedric Jordan ambushed her son and shot him four times outside his house in Campbell Town, not long after he’d had dinner at her house. He’d managed to stagger back inside but passed away soon after.
Barbara’s husband, Rob, would later die from a stroke during the excruciating 14-year-fight for justice that followed. And she has not seen her granddaughter, Sophie, now 19, since just after the tragedy.
She said the hardest part of the trial, besides having to sit through the autopsy report, was listening to the unfounded allegations made against her son, who she described as a loving and dutiful father.
“I think she’s been brainwashed but I hope that one day Sophie will reconnect with us, none of this is her fault, and we are waiting for that day because that would be one positive thing to happen,” she said.