By . Sally Lee . Bevan Meninga has walked free from jail after serving almost 23 years behind bars for the murder of a teenager on the Sunshine Coast. The 42-year-old, who is the brother of rugby league great Mal Meninga, was eligible for parole in 2005 but was kept in custody on low-security prison farm, Palen Creek Correctional Centre, at Rathdowney. Meninga, who was released just after 5am on Wednesday, was 20 when he was sentenced to life in prison for attacking 19-year-old Cheree Richardson in 1991. He was locked up on May 24, 1991. Scroll down for video . Murderer Bevan Meninga will be released from Palen Creek Correctional Centre in Rathdowney . Authorities approved his parole application after his mother moved to Brisbane from the Sunshine Coast to provide him with a place to live, reported the Courier Mail. The condition of his parole states that he cannot live on the Sunshine Coast where Cheree's family still resides. He will also undergo regular drug and alcohol tests after booze was found to be a factor in his brutal attack on 19-year-old Cheree, who was repeatedly hit with a tree branch. Queensland Premier Campbell Newman said he hoped Bevan Meninga's family and friends would support him in his rehabilitation. 'He certainly has done the crime and done the time,' he said. The victim Cheree Richardson who was killed at the age of 19 on the Sunshine Coast . NRL legend: Bevan Meninga is the brother of Mal Meninga who has supported his previous parole applications . The murder left the Sunshine Coast community in shock and despair when the teenager's lacerated body was discovered in an Alexandra Headland park. Meninga was arrested days later, after being found hiding in the ceiling cavity of a flat. At the time, he was also on parole for bashing a woman with a stake in her home. Meninga was sentenced to life in jail in August 1992 for the murder and in 2000 he fathered a child with a prison guard. A friend of Cheree's parents said John and Helen Richardson had left town for a while to escape the coverage on Meninga's release. It was reported that brother Mal is currently held up with his coaching duties with the State of Origin team. He has previously supported Bevan's parole application and even offered to take him in at his Brisbane abode. Bevan Meninga was released from prison just after 5 o'clock this morning. It is expected that he will live with his mother in Brisbane . Palen Creek Correctional Centre is about 100 kilometres south of Brisbane and accommodates 170 low security male prisoners .
The 42-year-old was released from Palen Creek Correctional Centre in Rathdowney just after 5am today .
Meninga was 20 when he was jailed for the rape and murder of teenager Cheree Richardson in the Sunshine Coast in 1991 .
It is understood to be a condition of his parole that he cannot live on the Sunshine Coast where the family of his victim still live .
By . Sally Lee . Bevan Meninga has walked free from jail after serving almost 23 years behind bars for the murder of a teenager on the Sunshine Coast. The 42-year-old, who is the brother of rugby league great Mal Meninga, was eligible for parole in 2005 but was kept in custody on low-security prison farm, Palen Creek Correctional Centre, at Rathdowney. Meninga, who was released just after 5am on Wednesday, was 20 when he was sentenced to life in prison for attacking 19-year-old Cheree Richardson in 1991. He was locked up on May 24, 1991. Scroll down for video . Murderer Bevan Meninga will be released from Palen Creek Correctional Centre in Rathdowney . Authorities approved his parole application after his mother moved to Brisbane from the Sunshine Coast to provide him with a place to live, reported the Courier Mail. The condition of his parole states that he cannot live on the Sunshine Coast where Cheree's family still resides. He will also undergo regular drug and alcohol tests after booze was found to be a factor in his brutal attack on 19-year-old Cheree, who was repeatedly hit with a tree branch. Queensland Premier Campbell Newman said he hoped Bevan Meninga's family and friends would support him in his rehabilitation. 'He certainly has done the crime and done the time,' he said. The victim Cheree Richardson who was killed at the age of 19 on the Sunshine Coast . NRL legend: Bevan Meninga is the brother of Mal Meninga who has supported his previous parole applications . The murder left the Sunshine Coast community in shock and despair when the teenager's lacerated body was discovered in an Alexandra Headland park. Meninga was arrested days later, after being found hiding in the ceiling cavity of a flat. At the time, he was also on parole for bashing a woman with a stake in her home. Meninga was sentenced to life in jail in August 1992 for the murder and in 2000 he fathered a child with a prison guard. A friend of Cheree's parents said John and Helen Richardson had left town for a while to escape the coverage on Meninga's release. It was reported that brother Mal is currently held up with his coaching duties with the State of Origin team. He has previously supported Bevan's parole application and even offered to take him in at his Brisbane abode. Bevan Meninga was released from prison just after 5 o'clock this morning. It is expected that he will live with his mother in Brisbane . Palen Creek Correctional Centre is about 100 kilometres south of Brisbane and accommodates 170 low security male prisoners .
bars for the murder of a teenager on the Sunshine Coast. The 42-year-old, who is the brother of was released just after 5am on Wednesday, was 20 when he was sentenced to life in prison for attacking 19-year-old Cheree Richardson in 1991. from Palen Creek Correctional Centre in condition of his parole states that he cannot live on the Sunshine Coast where Cheree's family Bevan Meninga was released from prison just after