Penelope Pratt, 27, was hiding in bushes on November 28, 2010 as she begged an emergency service operator to send police to a house in the eastern suburb of Boronia.
But the operator never referred the call to police.
Audio of the call has revealed Ms Pratt became increasingly distressed as she argued with the operator, who refused to help if she did not explain properly why she needed police assistance.
Ms Pratt’s body was later found dumped in the Dandenong Ranges National Park.
She had been shot three times in the face, stabbed in the heart and her throat had been cut over a $160 drug debt.
James John Potter, 26, was yesterday jailed 24 years for her murder. His co-accused Aaron Anthony Gibson, 33, was earlier jailed for 22 years with a minimum of 19 years.
Ms Pratt had twice called triple-0 for help on the night she was killed.
The first call was disconnected and audio of the second call reveals she became increasingly frustrated with the emergency services operator.
She can be heard breathing heavily as she pleaded an operator to send police because she was being threatened by “three violent offenders”.
“Trust me, you want to get to this address,” she said.
She later warned: “You’re going to get me bashed.”
She told the operator she was unable to speak louder because she was in the vicinity of being heard.
“They were supposed to give me money I was owed,” she said.
But the operator refused to send police until she explained in detail why she needed them.
“Do you want me to send police or not? Then you need to answer my questions,” she said.
The Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority (ESTA) has since confirmed her call was never referred to police.
Ms Pratt’s family is now reportedly planning to sue ESTA for compensation.
ESTA spokeswoman Rosie Mullalay said the operator involved had since been disciplined but still worked for the organisation in a different role.
“The call-taker did not follow our standard operating procedures and Penny Pratt didn’t get the empathy and the support that she needed from the call-taker,’’ she said.
‘‘The focus of the call was to control [the conversation], which is also important in order to get people help. But she did not provide [the empathy needed] and we absolutely acknowledge that.”
Sources: Nine News, Fairfax
Author: Fiona Willan, Approving editor: Henri Paget
Source Article from http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/2012/10/31/10/07/murdered-mum-begged-operator-for-help
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