Jari Wise was murdered by his partner on February 29, 2020. The Tasmanian police did not investigate or charge his partner for his murder. It’s been over 2 years. For detailed information about the story see the #Justice4Jari website here and my interview with Jari’s mother Faith here.
This series of posts looks at similar cases in Australia where someone has been hit and killed in a hit and run. The aim is to see how the police typically respond along with the courts, community, media and Government. This should expose the gender and race bias and the sheer incompetence of the Tasmanian authorities in their management of Jari’s case.
Here is a case to compare with Jari’s:

Victim/s:
Kyralee Clark
Perpetrator/s:
Nilsson Smyth
Relationship of P & V:
Passenger and acquaintance of the driver.
Location:
Wodonga, Victoria, Australia.
Circumstances:
Smyth reached speeds of up to 180km/h as he led police on a cross-border chase on December 4, 2011, that ended with him losing control of and crashing a car.
Police Response:
Nilsson pleaded guilty to the charges culpable driving causing death, reckless conduct endangering life, failing to stop a car at the request of police, unlicensed driving and exceeding the prescribed concentration of alcohol
Consequence:
Mr Smyth received a nine-year prison sentence for his role in the fatal accident and served a non-parole period of six years before being released on probation
Government Response:
A coronial inquest into the death of Kyralee, who was killed in a cross-border police chase, was suspended. The coroner suspended the inquest until a police investigation and any criminal charges are finalised.
Notes in regard to comparing with Jari’s case:
Kyralee was a mere acquaintance of Nilsson. She was a passenger in his vehicle. She asked to get out and he continued to speed and evade police. He did not stop and let her out as she requested. Shortly after he crashed the car and she died as a consequence. It’s a pretty clear case of manslaughter.
Nilsson was remanded in custody and charged immediately. A full investigation was done and a coronial inquest was ordered to expedite the investigation.
He was sent to prison for 6+ years.
Jari’s case is far more severe than this one. Melissa stated she was going to murder Jari. She had assaulted him on numerous occasions. Similar to Kyralee, while Melissa was hunting down Jari, he sent her a text message requesting her to go home and leave him alone. Melissa ignored his request. She found him and executed him.
A coronial inquest was ordered by the AG to hasten the investigators efforts. They charged Nilsson with several crimes which specifically detailed Kyralee’s death. The Tasmanian police and Tasmanian AG failed to do this for Jari.
Articles/Sources:
- https://www.bordermail.com.au/story/1781781/nilsson-smyth-sentenced-to-9-years-jail/
- https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-05-23/reckless-driving-killed-person-went-to-jail-prevent-young-men/101079616?utm_medium=social&utm_content=sf256585405&utm_campaign=fb_abc_news&utm_source=m.facebook.com&sf256585405=1&fbclid=IwAR3VgbKq9t3VeKIS0MXOiNInPsanNNO9GnQINYiuHvwH9A7j88Mt1n5QeVU
- https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/girl-pleaded-to-get-out-of-chase-car-20111205-1ofox.html
- https://www.9news.com.au/national/crash-teen-begged-to-get-out-of-speeding-car/6f05aa17-db3b-4258-ab4d-d56f94e96a87