Tom Meagher has said he became “obsessed” with murderer Adrian Bayley following his wife Jill’s death in 2012.
Drogheda woman Jill’s disappearance in her new home of Melbourne made global headlines two years ago before it was discovered that the 29-year-old had been raped and murdered by Bayley, who was on parole for previous offences at the time.
Husband Tom has since become a strong campaigner in relation to violence against women and told Radio 1’s Today With Sean O’Rourke that he developed an unhealthy obsession with his wife’s killer following her brutal killing.
“For me, it became an obsession to figure out what was going on with him – and with the system that allowed him to be on the streets. Focusing on him as an individual was damaging in a way, too much of an obsession, but I got through that and over it,” he said.
The widower has called for a change in attitudes towards sexist or sexually aggressive comments about women and called on men to make their discomfort with these sentiments known in order to break the cycle.
“It’s a call to men to end violence against women, to talk about these issues and discuss issues around this issue. Men are the primary perpetrators, so we need to address men and the wider culture. Shine a light on something that has been swept under the carpet.”
Meagher also added that he could never forgive Bayley, revealing that when he thinks about the serial rapist “I wish him harm”.
“That is not a pleasant thing to say or a pleasant thing to feel. But it’s the truth.”
