Sunrise host Nat Barr chokes back tears as she interviews sister of slain doctor Ash Gordon after verdict

Sunrise host Nat Barr has choked back tears while interviewing the sister of a slain Melbourne doctor, as she expressed her relief at a guilty verdict for the teen who stabbed him.

Doncaster-based Ash Gordon was stabbed and slashed 11 times in a bungled home invasion in January 2024.

A Victorian Supreme Court jury on Wednesday convicted a 17-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons due to his age, of murdering the GP.

Barr struggled to contain her emotions as she interviewed the doctor’s sister, Natalie Gordon on Sunrise on Thursday.

The host, who has interviewed Gordon several times since her brother’s death, praised her strength in the face of tragedy.

“You have been so strong through all of this. We’ve talked many times. I admire you for doing that, for coming on, and sharing through your tragedy. How are you doing?” Barr asked, tearing up.

Gordon, who was clearly moved by the question, replied: “I’m doing OK. I have beautiful little children to keep me going each day and I want to keep his memory alive.

“We were very close, and very similar.

“So, although I’m not as smart as him, I’m not a doctor, I can continue his work of wanting help people through his memory and making changes, and if that’s one thing that’s good that comes out of this, then I’ll be happy.”

Barr’s voice broke as she attempted to console Gordon.

“I can understand that. When someone close to you passes away, I can understand. We are so sorry,” she said.

During the interview, Barr asked Gordon how the family felt hearing the guilty verdict at the Victorian Supreme Court, following two days of deliberation.

“It was a huge relief. Honestly, we were really stressed during the process,” Gordon said.

“We didn’t know what way it was going to go, and the minute the jury said ‘guilty’, it was just like a massive weight off all of our shoulders.

“I would never want anyone to have to sit through something so gut-wrenching and insensitive. The entire process, it is not nice for the victims and the victim’s families.

“It’s really, really hard.”

Gordon was asked about what sentence she hopes will be imposed on the convicted killer, who was on bail when the attack happened.

“I would like to think life,” Gordon said, resolutely.

“You’ve taken life, you don’t deserve to enjoy any of your life.

“The reality, will he get life? Probably not. But we have just got to put a little bit of faith into the system and keep praying that they get the message.”

Gordon praised the community for their support since her brother’s death, and especially during the trial.

“Words of comfort from the community and friends are lovely,” she said.

“But there’s no words to describe the feeling we felt for the last two weeks especially. It was all brought back up, and it was really raw and we had to relive (the pain of his murder) every single day.

“You can’t explain how relieved but still heartbroken we are.”