RSA scene too painful for victim

By PATRICK GOWER

Susan Couch has been unable to bring herself to return to the Mt Wellington-Panmure RSA since William Bell bashed her almost to death and killed three of her colleagues a year ago.

Ms Couch told the Herald she was not ready to speak publicly about her miraculous recovery, saying "I've got a lot of other things to deal with right now".

It is understood that Ms Couch, a 37-year-old solo mother, will tell her story to a women's magazine in the new year, using the money for her son.

There were several discussions among medical staff and Ms Couch's family about turning life support off after the bashing she received on December 8 last year.

The police inquiry treated her case as a murder, not believing she would live. She was released from hospital on June 28, 6 1/2 months after the attack.

Ms Couch did not get to a memorial service at the RSA last Sunday, a year after the slayings.

The second-in-charge of the RSA inquiry, Detective Senior Sergeant Dave Pearson, liaised with Ms Couch through her recovery and pushed her wheelchair into court when she gave evidence at the trial. He sat nearby after the court granted her request he support her because she was afraid of Bell.

Mr Pearson said he had asked her why she did not go to the memorial service "out of human compassion".

"I know that one of the reasons she hasn't gone back to the RSA is the emotional trauma it would cause, but I don't know why she didn't go [to the memorial].

"She hasn't been well since the trial - it has put a lot of pressure on her - and I feel really sorry that she's had to go through that."

Mr Pearson said Ms Couch fell into a special category as a witness.

"You can't just ignore what has happened to Sue. We're not just policemen. You get to know someone like Sue and you see the recovery, you are dealing with her regularly, so there are, of course, a few human emotions on my side as well."

Ms Couch lost 75 to 80 per cent of her blood and still has difficulty speaking and walking as a result of her injuries.

As well as a skull fracture, lacerations to the head and brain damage, Ms Couch suffered two breaks to her right arm, a break to her left arm and a fractured cheekbone.

When she gave evidence, Ms Couch had to turn and point Bell out to the court.

She had told the court how she let Bell into the RSA after recognising him from a stint of work experience in the bar earlier in the year.

She also described how she and Mary Hobson were crying during the ordeal, but Bell merely laughed and taunted them saying: "Are you ladies crying?"

Ms Couch said Bell then told them: "You will tell it was me, won't you?"