THE parents of a Melbourne woman murdered in Paris fear they will lose their house after being ordered to pay the legal bill to lock up the killer.

Kevin and Susan O'Keefe are awaiting a decision from the French Government on whether they are entitled to compensation.

The Ferntree Gully couple said the Australian Government had not helped them in the 11-year search for justice, and face a mounting legal bill because they are not French citizens.

Under French law, families must fund each prosecution but can qualify for their costs to be reimbursed.

Frenchman Adriano Araujo da Silva, 36, was sentenced to 30 years' jail after being found guilty this month of murdering Jeanette O'Keefe three days after a series of events left her alone and homeless.

The student, 28, was bashed, strangled and her body dumped in a carpark in Les Mureaux.

Police arrested the killer after an eight-year manhunt.

DNA under Ms O'Keefe's fingernails matched da Silva's after he was arrested for petty theft.

Mr O'Keefe said the Government "bent over backwards" to help the "Bali boy" on his drug charges but victims of crime got nothing.

"The Prime Minister called (the Bali boy) and offered him condolences, and our daughter (was) murdered and her killer - one of the worst cowardly criminals - (was) put behind bars and it will cost us a small fortune," he said.

"It's ludicrous the Government will help criminals overseas with their fees and that we get nothing."

Mrs O'Keefe said that even when legal documents and police papers were arriving in French, the Government would not supply a translator.

Mrs O'Keefe, who has battled cancer, depression and had hip surgery since her daughter's murder, said the family could not put the grisly death behind them.

"It's terribly stressful. I don't see why we should lose our house. We are victims and did nothing wrong."

A spokeswoman for the Attorney-General's Department said the O'Keefes were told in 2009 that financial help was limited

"The department's overseas financial assistance scheme primarily assists Australian citizens who are facing significant criminal charges in overseas courts: The death penalty or life imprisonment."

devica@heraldsun.com.au

Originally published as Billed for locking up their daughter's killer