Colleen and Gary Viall’s stomachs tightened with nerves as a knock sounded on their front door. And when Gary slowly swung the door open to greet two police detectives, he knew his beloved daughter was never coming home.
“It’s a parent’s worst nightmare,”Gary says of that day on 8 october last year. “I knew before I opened the door.”
This is the first time the Viall family has spoken out about the tragic death of Melissa (23) on that dark night that changed their lives forever. The family chose to keep their immense pain private until after the High Court case that followed the deaths of Melissa and Kane Wright (19).
A jury found Darin Gardner (25) guilty of two counts of murder for the deaths of Melissa and Kane, in Pakuranga, Auckland, last october. Gardner was also found guilty of two charges of grievous bodily harm and two charges of injuring with intent.
Anton DeGraaff (25) was also found guilty of two charges of injuring with intent.
A fight that broke out in the car park of Pakuranga’s Tabu bar was the catalyst for the tragedy. Gardner drove a car through the crowd of people gathering around the brawl. Melissa went to the aid of a friend who had been hit by the vehicle and was administering first aid when the vehicle did a U-turn and ploughed into the crowd a second time.
Melissa was hit and thrown 15 metres by the force. She died at the scene.
“She didn’t deserve to go that way,” Colleen says of her only daughter, who’d taken a first-aid course the day before the tragedy. “I know she’s never coming back. I’ll never see her grow old and I won’t have any grandchildren. I’ve got to bypass those things and carry on with life.”
Gary, Colleen and their son Dean and daughter-in-law Sacha sit around the kitchen table immersed in the different stages of grief. Gary (59) shakes his head in disbelief, while Colleen stares out the window. Dean and Sacha both sit quietly.
“Melissa was a lovely girl,” Colleen (58) says. “She was loud and noisy and constantly talking to her friends on the phone. But she was so kind-hearted. She wanted to help everybody.”
The tragic death of Melissa, who was nicknamed ooo by her brother Dean (29), has affected the hundreds of people that loved the early childhood teacher with the friendly nature. Tears well in Gary’s eyes as he recalls unique aspects of his daughter’s bubbly personality, such as her toy cow collection and her love of shoes and handbags.
The family has spent the past year trying to make sense of Melissa’s untimely death. “Everybody is dealing with things at a different pace,” Dean says. “It has brought the four of us closer together.”
“I’ve thrown myself into my work,” Colleen adds. “I’m not grieving like a lot of people are, because I’ve put up a block.”
“The grief comes in waves and every now and then I feel a massive sense of overwhelming loss,” Dean says. “That’s usually when I break down. But the next day, I’m able to start dealing with life again.”
Having to cope with Melissa’s tragic death and subsequent court case hasn’t been easy for the Viall family. Sacha was the only one who managed to sit through the two-and-a-half-week hearing.
“Now the court case is over, it will give everyone freedom to go back to the grieving process,” Sacha (33) says. “I felt as if Melissa was away on holiday, but going to the court has made her death a reality.”
Colleen still has Melissa’s mobile number in her phone. “She would constantly call me,” Colleen remembers. “She’d walk in the house and be very loud. I’d say, ‘For goodness sake, keep your voice down!’ And she’d reply, ‘I’m not talking loudly’.”
In Melissa’s short life, she packed in a lot – including overseas travel to Sydney, Melbourne and America. The St Margaret’s College student from Christchurch, where the family lived for more than 14 years, left school to follow her passion for childcare.
The highly organised student got a diploma in early childhood education, worked in an Auckland crèche then became one lucky family’s nanny for four years.
Instead of being eaten up with constant bitterness, the Vialls want to use Melissa’s death to help others, despite the sadness they have to live with every day.
“This particular case has affected many people’s lives,” Gary says.
“There are four life sentences in this room alone,” Dean adds.
“We would like to thank all the professional people, such as the rescue services who worked on the case. We also wish to thank all our family and friends, our lawyers and the amazing police. And we want to send a big thank you to the people who witnessed something so horrific but still testified in court.”
Gary and Colleen gifted donations they received to Manukau Institute of Technology, which covered the cost of new computers to equip the ‘Melissa Viall Project Room’. And some of Melissa’s friends and former colleagues have set up a scholarship programme for third-year early childhood teachers. Each year, Gary and Colleen will choose the winner of the $6000 scholarship.
Also, Melissa’s old school, St Margaret’s College, has placed a plaque in its memorial garden for their standout former student. The family take comfort in the fact that Melissa’s legacy will live on but nothing can help them get over their grief and fears.
“I find driving very hard these days,” Colleen confesses. “I haven’t told anyone this until now, but when I’m behind the wheel, I think a car is going to hit me. I feel afraid whenever I’m in traffic.”
“Crossing the road is a big deal for me now because I’m waiting to be run down,” Sacha reveals. “I feel like it’s going to happen to me now, because it happened to somebody I loved.”
Dean adds: “The reality is, any of us can be murdered in the blink of an eye. The saying, ‘wrong place, wrong time,’ really is poignant.”
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