Help Me Protect My Family & my Mum — A Daughter’s Fight for Justice, Family & Home

Hi, my name is Dee, and I’m writing this with a heavy but determined heart.

I never imagined I’d be here, asking for help. But after nearly three years of fighting for justice, protecting my family, grieving unimaginable betrayal, and pouring every cent I have into legal fees — I need support to protect the most selfless woman I know: my mum.

A Woman Who Gave Her Life to Her Family

My mum and dad were together for over 30 years — a lifetime. They met in the 1980s and built a life between PNG and Australia. My mum never worked a day in a traditional job, but she ran our home like a fortress. She raised four children — with unwavering love, structure, and care — and welcomed everyone in with a warm meal and a full heart.

Anyone who knows my mum knows: she would give you her last dollar, cook for you without asking, force you to eat seconds and take food home and offer to clean your house without complaint. She is our rock. She has devoted her entire adult life to caring for others — her husband, her children, her grandchildren and anyone who she has met, she calls family.

And now, she’s at risk of losing everything.

The Day Our Lives Changed Forever

On 26 January 2023, my world cracked wide open. My brave young niece — came to me and told me that my father had been sexually abusing her for nearly two years. The abuse happened when he would visit us from PNG and stay in our home.

I was shattered. I was full of grief, rage, confusion. My whole world shattered in this moment.

When I confronted my father, he quietly dropped his head down and began to cry, as he quietly whispered “I don’t know why I did it.”

I’ll never forget that moment. It changed everything. He was my absolute world and his faint whispers ripped out my heart.

I did what no daughter should ever have to do. I told him he was no longer welcome in our home. I booked him an Airbnb and then personally drove him to Newcastle to speak to his family to relocate. I stood strong for my niece, our family, and the truth. But it didn’t end there.

⚖️ From Grief to Legal Warfare

Instead of remorse, we were met with threats. My father hired lawyers and tried to take the house from my mother — demanding either $750,000 or full ownership of the family home. My mother, who had nothing to her name and no income of her own, was suddenly at the centre of a legal attack by the man she loved and cared for her whole life.

We got her a lawyer. After 12 months of back and forth, we went to mediation.

One day — 12 hours long — cost us over $20,000.

We couldn’t reach an agreement, and the matter moved towards court.

All the while, my niece bravely gave her video interview to police, wrote her victim impact statement, met with multiple Child Protection officers as they took photos and evidence, and stood taller than any child should ever have to

All whilst her main fear was that she had "broken up her grandparents" — her heart full of guilt that never belonged to her. The love and courage she’s shown throughout this will stay with me forever.

Trying to Heal While Carrying the Weight

In the midst of the chaos, my husband Levi and I planned our wedding. It became a place of healing — a reminder that my family could still be strong, that love hadn’t left us. It brought us together during a time of unimaginable pain. It also gave me clarity.

I changed my last name to my mother’s maiden name. I will no longer carry the Davey name.

Reyes resembles strength and courage, everything my mother is.

The Court, The Sentence, The Aftermath

On 16 January 2025, my father pled guilty in the Brisbane High courts. Child Protection officers pushed for max sentencing

And what did he receive? A three-month sentence.

His lawyers argued for leniency because of his age, alcoholism, clear criminal record, and skin cancer treatment.

No one spoke of the harm to my niece. Her trauma. Her childhood. Her voice. Her lifelong sentence

We later learned that before going to jail, he quietly signed a new will. We didn’t know this yet.

A few weeks into his incarceration, we heard through extended family that he had died in custody.

No one told us — we had to piece it together ourselves.

My sister and I drove to tell my mum.

She howled for hours — in pain, in betrayal, in confusion.

She kept asking: "Why did he do this to me? What did I do wrong?"

Watching her collapse into that kind of grief nearly broke me.

️ One Final Blow – The Fight for Her Home

We thought the pain might ease, we could slowly move on. That we could finally start to heal.

But recently, we were hit again.

My father's nephew — Mark Davey — who we barely know, lodged the death certificate claiming my dad was unmarried and childless.

We found out yesterday that my father’s new will left the entire estate — including the family home — to Mark Davey, Patrick Davey, and Grass Davey. These are the very people my mum had fed, loved, cared for, and treated like her own family for more that 30+ years.

Now they are trying to take the only thing my mum has left — the roof over her head and the home where my sister and her children also live.

Why I’m Asking for Help

I have spent over $50,000 in legal fees protecting my mother.

I’ve gone through mediation, court filings, and endless hours with lawyers.

I have nothing left to give but my fight — and I will not stop until my family can rest.

My Niece needs to know that I will fight this for her.

But now, I need help.

We are raising funds to:

• Cover legal fees to contest the will and fight the application.

• Stop the house from being taken from my mother

• Help support my sister and her children, who will also lose their home

• Make sure my niece knows we will never stop fighting for her

This has been the most traumatising and exhausting time of our lives.

I’m putting my pride aside because my mum deserves peace, and safety, and justice.

My mum raised me to be strong, to speak truth, and to protect what matters.

My niece deserves to move past this and finally heal.

My mother gave everything to others. It’s time she is protected and her voice is heard.

️ Thank You

If you’ve made it to the end of this story — thank you.

If you’ve ever met my mum, you know what kind of person she is. She doesn’t deserve this. No one does.

Every donation, every share, every kind message makes a difference.

We’re not just fighting for property — we’re fighting for justice, for healing, and for the future of my niece still living in that home.

With every ounce of strength I have left.

I will fight for my mother & my family— the woman who raised me to be strong, to stand up for what is right, and to never back down from the truth and for my My niece who sees me as her superwoman.

If you can't donate I ask kindly that you share this on. We are trying to reach $30,000 for anticipated legal fees. GoFundMe auto updates the goal in segments.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

– Mrs Diana Grace Reyes

( On behalf of my mother Divine and my Reyes family)