An 81-year-old mother, grieving the brutal murder of her daughter and the tragic death of her husband, is facing a new year filled with dread as the man convicted of orchestrating the killing could be released from prison within weeks.
A Mother's Agonising Plea
Jan Garabedian has told The West Australian through tears that the potential release of Martin Graeme Coates "can't happen." Instead, she is renewing her desperate call for the British citizen to be deported from Australia. "I just don't want him out in Australia. I really believe that he should be deported," Mrs Garabedian said. "I can't imagine what it would be like having him released here. I really can't."
Her daughter, Clare Garabedian, was just 21 years old when she was lured to room 34 at the Great Eastern Motor Lodge in Rivervale in 1998. The young woman was injected with a lethal dose of heroin and then smothered with a pillow in a plot to eliminate her as a witness in a case involving Coates and his then-girlfriend, Amanda Kaylene Hoy.
The Brutal Plot for a "Hot Shot" Murder
The court heard that Coates paid $2000 to a contract killer, known only as "Mr X," to carry out the murder. When the initial heroin dose failed to kill Clare, Coates personally delivered more of the drug to the motel room. During the horrific ordeal, Clare struggled as Mr X forced the needle into her arm, while another man, Thomas Nicholls, smothered her.
Coates was originally jailed for life with a minimum non-parole period of 25 years. This was reduced to 23 years, backdated to February 2000, after a retrial in 2007. Nicholls, jailed for a minimum of 20 years, was released on parole in 2021. Hoy was released on compassionate grounds in 2018 as she was dying of cancer; she passed away three days after her 48th birthday.
Imminent Review Sparks Fresh Anguish
It is understood the Prisoners Review Board will again assess Coates in mid-January 2026 for either release on parole or permission to enter a resocialisation program. In 2023, the board recommended he join such a program, but the then Attorney-General John Quigley rejected the move.
For Jan Garabedian, the news of his potential release is "horrible" and reopens deep wounds. This time of year is already marked by the anniversary of the death of her husband, Gary, who drowned after his surfcat capsized off Mullaloo Point in January 1993.
"It's still raw, because it keeps coming back," she said. "If it was left in the past (it would be best), but to do this sort of thing, it just brings it back. You're back there where you were there and then." She added, "There's no such thing as closure in anything like this, but it can be left in the past."
A spokesman for current Attorney-General Tony Buti said: "The Prisoners Review Board is still to assess Martin Coates for a statutory review. Following this hearing the Board will then provide a report to the Attorney General for consideration."
As the review date approaches, a heartbroken mother's plea for justice and safety echoes, hoping the man who took her daughter will not be allowed to walk free in the community she calls home.
