Steroid rage killer to be deported

September 11, 2006

A killer who kicked and punched a woman to death in a Sydney stairwell will be deported to his native Britain on his release from jail.

Steven Anthony DeSouza, 34, has cancelled his Federal Court challenge to Canberra's decision to revoke his permanent and absorbed-person visas on character grounds.

DeSouza, who used his abuse of steroids as a defence for his crime, is seeking parole after being jailed for a minimum 12 years for the bashing murder of 21-year-old Fiona Harvey, in Kings Cross in May 1994.

The Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs (DIMA) cancelled his visa and said it planned to deport him if he was given parole after his minimum term expired on May 9 this year.

DeSouza, who remains in custody at the John Moroney Correctional Centre, then launched a Federal Court challenge to the deportation order, claiming he had lived most of his life in Australia.

But it's understood DeSouza struggled to pay his legal bills, and the Federal Court said he had filed a notice of discontinuance last Wednesday.

A DIMA spokeswoman said DeSouza would be deported if he was granted parole when his application was heard next month.

"We understand that this person has withdrawn his Federal Court appeal," a DIMA spokeswoman said.

"Upon release from prison, Mr DeSouza will be an unlawful non-citizen and ... is required by law to be held in immigration detention and removed from Australia as soon as possible."

Earlier this year, Ms Harvey's brother, Tim Harvey, said he wanted DeSouza as far away as possible.

"Even if he is deported, they (DeSouza's family) can still see him. When I want to go and see Fiona, I've got to look at a plaque that sits on a piece of grass," he told Macquarie Radio.

In June, convicted paedophile William John Gallagher was deported to Scotland after serving jail terms for sex offences.