NCJ Number
121677
Journal
Australian Police Journal Volume: 43 Issue: 1 Dated: (1989) Pages: complete issue
Date Published
1989
Length
40 pages
Annotation
This article details the nature and sequence of evidence collection, interviews, and leads in the evolution of a 1978 Australian murder case, leading to an arrest and a guilty plea.
Abstract
The case began with the finding of the bodies of a man and wife in their home, with two young children alive and believing their parents were just asleep. The police were called to investigate when one of the children told a phone caller, "My Mommy's turning black." The article traces the police investigation from the initial police observation of the crime. The investigation involved a crime scene search, a post-mortem examination of the bodies, interviews with neighbors and acquaintances of the victims, ballistics examination of the bullets in the bodies and the shell casings found at the crime scene, contacts with gun shops to ascertain sales of the identified weapon, tire tracks at the crime scene, fingerprints, and following leads. The murderer proved to be an insurance salesman who fraudulently diverted the male victim's auto insurance premium to his own use. Crucial items of evidence that led to the suspect's arrest were the identification of a rifle in the suspect's possession as the murder weapon and eyewitness accounts of suspect meetings with the male victim.