$100,000 interview fee will go to lawyers'

August 2, 2004 - 11:19AM

A Sydney security guard who shot and killed a robber last week was not trying to profit from the tragedy - the $100,000 fee for selling her story will go to lawyers, her mother said today.

Karen Brown shot William Aquilina, 25, after he assaulted her and robbed her of a bag of money outside the Moorebank Hotel in Sydney's south-west last Monday.

Her mother, Beverley Brown, said she believed her daughter would be paid $100,000 by Channel Seven's Today Tonight program for an interview to be broadcast tonight.

"To my knowledge it is that amount of money ($100,000). I haven't actually seen a cheque or anything like that."

Beverley Brown said the money would be used to fund her daughter's defence.

"Why the family decided to accept the media interview, was to first of all to present Karen to the general public for the type of person she is and to finance her defence," Mrs Brown said.

"Because she's a worker and you know we do not have those sort of resources

.

"So the money she has received from the media interview will be put into trust, used solely for her defence and then if there's anything left over, people tell me that it probably won't even cover it ... but if there's any money left over, it will go to victims of crime to help other people.

"Karen never, ever planned to make money out of this dreadful tragedy."

Mrs Brown said her daughter was still very traumatised, but was physically recovering from the incident.

"We're all hanging in there, a bit traumatised at the moment," she said.

"Karen is still very traumatised, extremely emotional. As soon as she starts remembering or talking about the incident she breaks down and starts crying. So her emotional health is still very, very fragile.

"I can see by her face that her stitching and the sores there are starting to heal and her left eye is still causing concern.

"But she is physically, I suppose, starting to heal, but emotionally far from it."

Beverley Brown would not say where her daughter was spending the day or what she planned to do.

Karen Brown is reportedly in hiding. Her lawyers have said she would not comply with a police order to present herself for interview today.

Her barrister, Joe Busuttil, has said she would make herself available to police tomorrow at 11am as was previously agreed.

AAP

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/08/02/1091298617142.html