Kristina Kuster says she is tired of trying to fight the justice system. 77970 Picture: JOE MASTROIANNI
By XAVIER SMERDON
THE wife of a convicted murderer has said she wants her husband to be set free so he can rejoin his family.
Kristina Kuster from Hoppers Crossing told Star that her husband Mark had left a gaping hole in her family when he was sent to prison 10 years ago.
Mark still has another 12 years left on his sentence but Kristina said she was determined to bring him home before then.
“I believe Mark’s innocent, I’ve said that from the start. There is always two sides to every story,” Ms Kuster said.
“I’m standing by my man, I believe in my man and I’m not going to give up on my man.”
Ms Kuster, who has raised her and Mark’s son by herself for the last decade, said people often failed to think about the families left behind.
“What gets me so mad is the justice system. Mark got 22 years for a crime he did just to protect his family and yet drink drivers who kill someone only get three or four years,” she said.
“I’m human just like everybody else and I’ve got nothing to lose any more. I’m tired of being a mum and a dad to my son.”
But CEO of the Crime Victims Support Association, Noel McNamara, said tougher sentences were something his group were fighting for.
“I do feel sorry for the families of people that commit murders but he will eventually come home to them. The person he killed will never come home to his family,” Mr McNamara said.
“If the judge said he should go to jail for 22 years, then it’s too bad so sad, that’s what we say.”
