A Murray Bridge family mourning their daughter’s murder have taken action after her former mother-in-law, jailed for helping cover up the killing, can now stay in Australia.
Young mother Jody Meyers was just 20 when she was killed by her partner Neil Archer following a heated argument at a family barbecue in August 2015.
Archer’s mother Margaret – who had been in Australia since 1965 but never became a citizen – was sentenced to six and a half years in jail in 2018. She pleaded guilty to a charge of assisting her son bury Ms Meyers’ body in her backyard. Margaret Archer used Jody’s bank card to steal $250 from her account and buy concrete that was used to hide Jody’s body beneath a garden shed.
Young mother Jody Meyers was just 20 when she was killed by her partner Neil Archer.
She also gave Ms Meyers’ family false hope that she was still alive by sending text messages from the young woman’s phone to her family.
After her conviction, the Department of Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs cancelled her visa and ordered her to be deported to the United Kingdom, but while behind bars she made an unsuccessful attempt to have that overturned.
She was released from prison in June 2022 and in February this year, the now 63-year-old successfully appealed the decision to have her deported, with the Administrative Appeals Tribunal of Australia (AATA) deeming her at “low risk” of reoffending.
The Tribunal’s ruling to allow Archer to remain in Australia – and the fact she is now free – has angered Ms Meyers’ family who have launched a change.org petition to have her removed from the country.
Killer Neil Archer. Picture: Gregory Higgs
Ms Meyers’ mother Lucyann Saler said knowing Archer was free to “roam around” the community had reignited memories and left family members “traumatised”.
Ms Saler’s family live in Murray Bridge in South Australia, just 30 minutes from Archer’s Mannum home and she fears they will cross paths with Archer.
“We feel like failures and are helpless and overwhelmed by the decision. We don’t know what we would ever do if we, or even the public, ran into Margaret,” Ms Saler said.
“She has been spotted in numerous locations and the thought of having her near Jody’s son, who is in my care, causes us anxiety and sleepless nights.
“It’s extremely unjust when people have been deported for much less serious things. Margaret isn’t an asset to Australia. It’s a disgrace.
“Laws are meant to be followed so how is anybody going to learn or take the justice system seriously if we keep downgrading rulings?
“Allowing these criminals to walk free amongst us with no care in the world is unfair.
“It’s time we stand up together and show these criminals that we will not tolerate this unjust system.”
Margaret Archer pleaded guilty to a charge of assisting her son bury Ms Meyers’ body in her backyard but has had her deportation order overturned.
The Administive Appeals Tribunal found Archer she had a close bond with her 26 grandchildren and heard she had moved to Australia with her parents when she was five years old.
“The Tribunal makes a determination that it would be in the best interests of the Applicant’s grandchildren, step-grandchildren and nieces and nephews that the visa cancellation is revoked,” it ruled – but ordered Margaret to have no contact with Ms Meyers’ young son.
“The three statements the Minister gathered from the mother, sister and half-sister of JM (Jody Meyers) made deeply affecting reading,” the Tribunal found.
“The Tribunal hopes that the Applicant is equally affected by what they make clear is the continuing impact on their lives today of her actions, and that she will give serious thought to her expressed intention of moving away from the community to help them have some small peace of mind.”
In her closing submission to the tribunal, Archer said all her ties were in Australia, not the UK.
“England is a foreign country to me,” she said.
“I know I have done wrong. That will live with me forever. If I could take it back, I would. I’ve lost a lot.
“If I go to England, I don’t think I could cope on my own. I love my family and I love my husband. Whatever I needed to do I would do – medical help, psychological help.
“My grandkids keep asking when I’m coming home. I can’t give them an answer. My son needs me.”