In many ways Knowles’ death freed his small community. “We have lived in fear for 10 years. People talked of selling up and moving,” says one resident.
A resident holding a small party heard Knowles yelling “I hope you die” from the street. Locals drove and walked different streets to avoid him. Garage sales stopped and functions were planned to avoid the local powderkeg.
The 2016 census showed Kirkstall had become a family community, with a population of 366 that included 69 children under 10 years old. Ryan said when a local magistrate refused Knowles bail he “stacked on a turn in the court, which took five coppers to forcibly remove him but not before capsicum spray was used like fly spray”.
There are three reasons most of us obey the law: We don’t want to hurt people; we don’t want to be arrested; and we don’t want to go to jail.Which may be why that quiet Friday morning Cashmore snapped.Cashmore murdered two people, yet many locals see him as a victim, pushed beyond his limits by Knowles. “As far as I am concerned, he is a hero,” one says.
When locals saw flashing blue lights they knew police were heading to Knowles’ house. On the police computer his name raised flags for assaulting police, weapons, family violence and drug use. On February 12, 2020, Coroner Simon McGregor found Knowles responsible for Johnston’s death, asking the Director of Public Prosecutions to consider charging him.