Psychiatrist-turned-author Donald Grant, left, is confronted at his book launch in Brisbane by Sonia Anderson, the mother of 22-year-old Bianca Girvan. Photos / Supplied
Psychiatrist-turned-author Donald Grant, left, is confronted at his book launch in Brisbane by Sonia Anderson, the mother of 22-year-old Bianca Girvan. Photos / Supplied
A heartbroken mother, whose daughter was murdered in 2010, has gatecrashed the launch of a book about her horrific death — accusing the author of withholding the woman's final words from her.
Sonia Anderson, the mother of 22-year-old Bianca Girvan who was strangled to death by her boyfriend, was filmed by Nine News interrupting the psychiatrist-turned-author Donald Grant at his book launch in Brisbane.
Screaming at Dr Grant, Ms Anderson accused the man of withholding information about her daughter's final words before she died.
Sonia Anderson confronts Dr Grant.
"I read in your book that my daughter wanted to say goodbye to her son and I didn't know that until you wrote it," she told Dr Grant.
"That's private, you should have come to me, you should have contacted me.
"For eight years, I've spent a lot of time with journalists, with television, with newspaper articles and magazines and you the psychiatrist are the one and only person that has caused me and my family deliberate distress."
The book, which details a series of interviews he conducted with Queensland murderers while they awaited trial, including Rhys Austin, the killer of Brisbane woman Bianca Girvan.
Ms Anderson said Dr Grant was trying to make a name for himself, and "make money" off her daughter's horrific murder.
"No one told me Bianca's supposed last words. How is this ethical?" she said.
According to the Courier Mail, Dr Grant wrote in his book: "(Austin) told me that Bianca had said, 'I want to say goodbye to my son', and that he'd replied, 'No, he'll know', before tightening his grip … until she stopped moving."
Shortly after the exchange at the launch, Ms Anderson's powerful words caused majority of the audience to leave the room.
Dr Grant, who has more than 40 years experience as a forensic psychiatrist, held a press conference shortly after, vowing to donate some of the profits to victims' families.
"I believe families deserve insight into why their loved ones were killed," Dr Grant said while reading from a statement.
Bianca Girven, 22, was throttled to within an inch of her life in an abandoned van at Mt Gravatt in Brisbane in April 2010, dying in hospital the following day. Photo / Supplied
"Families of victims should have access to expert reports."
In an interview with Nine News following the launch, Ms Anderson said while she knew the circumstances around her daughter's death — she wasn't aware of intimate and final details.
"I knew she had been strangled to death, I knew it took 10 minutes but I never knew the last words," Ms Anderson said.
"It's one of the most amazing, disgusting unethical things that I can imagine," she said.
In a statement to the Courier Mail, a Queensland Health spokesman slammed the veteran psychiatrist, saying the department "can't underestimate how serious an issue this appears to be".
Girven's killer, then-boyfriend Rhys Austin, was found by a court to be of unsound mind and subsequently sent to a psychiatric hospital, where he was interviewed by Dr Grant. Photo / Supplied
"On its surface it looks like a betrayal of patients, victims and their families, and the clinician's duty to do the right thing professionally," the spokesman said.
"We are incredibly distressed and are looking into the matter further."
