Home and Away- What did Zane do to Heidi?
Why did Zane go to prison in Home and Away? His attack on Heidi, ten-year sentence and connection to Marilyn explained.
Zane's arrival in Summer Bay has brought the chance of a fresh start, but the crime that sent him to prison still hangs over him. Behind Marilyn's determination to help is a young woman whose life was changed by his actions.
At 17, Zane turned to theft to survive a troubled upbringing with a violent, alcoholic father. One night, breaking into a home, he didn't realise the family was inside. When the owner confronted him, Zane panicked and swung the baseball bat he'd brought with him after catching movement out of the corner of his eye striking the man's young daughter, Heidi.
She nearly died and was left with lasting injuries that still affect her today. He was sentenced to ten years in prison. Although Zane did not intend to hit her, that does not lessen the harm he caused.
His connection with Marilyn began through their correspondence while he was in prison, as her pen pal.
Since his release, she has helped him find work at the diner and somewhere to live at Summer Bay House.
Marilyn wants him to believe he can build a different future. Others have been less comfortable with his presence, particularly Alf, who worries about leaving Marilyn alone with him, even after agreeing to let Zane move in.
Zane's guilt also leads to a difficult question about contacting Heidi. Marilyn suggests writing a letter, believing it could give him a way to express his remorse, and Zane follows through.
Leah sees the situation differently and questions whether approaching the victim is the right thing to do her objection isn't abstract; she's speaking from her own grief, telling her husband Justin how she'd feel if her nephew Theo's killer tried to make contact with her.
Her concern shifts the focus away from what Zane needs to say and towards how that contact might affect the person receiving it.
The fallout goes further still: Zane later learns just how permanent Heidi's damage is, and finds a note among her family's paperwork reading "WE WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU."
Shaken, he ultimately decides to leave things well alone, tearing up the paperwork and handing it back to Marilyn.
That is the uncomfortable heart of his story. Serving a sentence has allowed Zane to leave prison, but it cannot undo what happened to Heidi.
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