( Due to current Govt. restrictions on ‘Gatherings’ due to Corona19 Virus Pandemic, some families may wish to have a Memorial Service / Wake with friends and family at a later date )
Funeral Parlour: ?
Buried at: ?
Memorial / Plaque / Monument located at: ?
Dedication date of Memorial / Plaque / Monument: Nil – at this time ( March 2021 )
MARTY is NOT mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance *NEED MORE INFO
FURTHER INFORMATION IS NEEDED ABOUT THIS PERSON, THEIR LIFE, THEIR CAREER AND THEIR DEATH.
Nothing further, than what is recorded above, is known about this person at the time of publication and further information and photos would be appreciated.
Time in Retirement from Police: 32 years, 7 months, 25 days
Awards: National Medal – granted 21 August 1989 ( Former Chief Insp. )
Police Long Service & Good Conduct Medal – granted
Commendations: 1/ Commended for his role in the search for Kevin John SIMMONS & Leslie Allen NEWCOMBE who escaped from Long Bay Gaol in October 1959.
2/ Commended for his role in the search under arduous conditions for William LITTLE, who was wanted for the murder of Sergeant 3/c C. E. HOWE ( # 8663 ) and Reginald HUNTER.
3/ Commended for his leadership, courage and devotion to duty at Bombala on the 25th and 26th May, 1978, when he took control of a Police operation designed to obtain the surrender of Wayne WHITE who was armed with a rifle and was defying all attempts to capture him. During this operation Constable 1/c L.T.D. BODDY ( # 14387 ) & M.W. CASEY ( # 15288 ) were wounded by shots fired by the offender, who eventually surrendered to Police.
Born: Sunday 4 June 1933
Died on: Monday 1 March 2021
Age: 87 years, 8 months, 25 days
Cause: ?
Event location: Karinya Palliative Care Unit, Berry, NSW
Event date: ?
Funeral date: Thursday 11 March 2021 @ 11am
Funeral location: The Chapel, Shoalhaven Memorial Gardens, Worrigee Road, Worrigee, NSW
( Due to current Govt. restrictions on ‘Gatherings’ due to Corona19 Virus Pandemic, some families may wish to have a Memorial Service / Wake with friends and family at a later date )
Dedication date of Memorial / Plaque / Monument: Nil – at this time ( March 2021 )
Eric EDGECOMBE with Sgt Sean PHILLIPS outside of Nowra Police Stn – 22 July 2020 INSPIRATION: Retiring Sergeant Sean Phillips with his first “boss”, former Chief Inspector Eric Edgecombe, who worked together in Cootamundra in 1987.
ERIC is NOT mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance *NEED MORE INFO
FURTHER INFORMATION IS NEEDED ABOUT THIS PERSON, THEIR LIFE, THEIR CAREER AND THEIR DEATH.
My first memories are of living in Bombala across the road from Eric and Marie.
Like Anthony, I too remember milking the cow ( Clarabel ).
A lovely, ornery old thing that would repeatedly kick the bucket over.
As a very small child however, I also remember being allowed to ride her around the paddock.
Eric (as well as Marie) was a constant and reassuring presence in my early years.
Gruff, cheeky, but with a heart of gold, I would usually find him tending to the garden (when I wasn’t in the kitchen trying to cadge baked goods from Marie).
I’d like to think those early years of being outside with him have helped fuel my enjoyment of getting out into the garden now. I’m fairly sure he was responsible for my entire family’s obsession with Backgammon, a game that always comes out whenever we get together. He was fiendishly good at it though. I always revelled in those rare occasions where I managed to take a game from him. I also like to think he was at least partly responsible for my love of old soul, jazz and blues music. Nina Simone was a particular favourite if I remember correctly.
Eric was always a strong and steady presence in our lives when we were growing up. He was like a grandfather to my siblings and I, at a time when we lived a long way from our actual grandparents.
Thanks for all the great times, strange pastimes I’ve picked up, and enduring life lessons.
I remember Eric very well, having worked with him as a young Constable at Bombala.
He introduced me to milking his cow whilst he was away, he told me it was a police cow and milking it was part of my duties, ha ha. I loved it so much I have never been near a cow since, I can’t recall how many times the #$+** thing kicked me.
He also introduced me to his bees, I recall driving out to their location with Eric one day and him telling me it was all good as they wouldn’t attack, several bees stings later I hid in the car. Needless to say I stay away from them as well.
He was a strict Sergeant with no middle ground, however he was a fair man, as I recall.
As a young Constable on my own in a new town I was often invited to join Eric, Marie and family at their home for a roast dinner.
Bombala was surrounded by many gravel roads in those days and accidents were common place, I know he and Marie offered accommodations to many a stranded traveller following a vehicle accident.
That was how they were and that is how I found Eric strict, but loyal and a concerned member of his community.
Nothing further, than what is recorded above, is known about this person at the time of publication and further information and photos would be appreciated.
Cal
2 March 2021
John Kevin BOURKE
| 23/03/2021
John Kevin BOURKE APM
AKA ?
Late of Crescent Head, NSW & Cedar Place Aged Care, Kempsey, NSW
NSW Police Training College – Penrith Class # 039
New South Wales Police Force
Regd. # 6837
Service: From 4 September 1950 to18 February 1989 = 38 years, 5 months, 14 days Service
Rank: Commenced Training as Trainee at Redfern Police Academy on Monday 4 September 1950
Probationary Constable- appointed 23 October 1950 ( aged 21 years, 8 months, 3 days )
Constable – appointed ? ? ?
Constable 1st Class – appointed ? ? ?
Detective – appointed ? ? ? ( YES )
Senior Constable – appointed ? ? ?
Leading Senior Constable – appointed ? ? ? ( N/A )
Sergeant 3rd Class – appointed 1 July 1967
Sergeant 2nd Class – appointed 1 May 1974
Sergeant 1st Class – appointed 1 December 1977
Inspector – appointed 6 November 1982
Chief Inspector – appointed ? ? ?
Final Rank = Inspector
Competed in the Commonwealth Games – Wrestling, Diving 10mtr Platform ( 1950 )( 5th position ), Water Polo – Mens – ( 1950 )( Gold )
Stations: ?, Traffic Branch – Redfern, Darlinghurst, North Sydney, Katoomba, CIB – North Sydney, Penrith Training College, Redfern Police Academy – Training Detectives & Cadets, Internal Affairs ( Secondment ), Senior NCO – Taree, Police Academy – Goulburn – Retirement
Retirement / Leaving age: = 59 years, 11 months, 29 days
Time in Retirement from Police: 31 years, 11 months, 29 days
Awards: Police Service & Good Conduct Medal – granted 7 November 1974
( Due to current Govt. restrictions on ‘Gatherings’ due to Corona19 Virus Pandemic, some families may wish to have a Memorial Service / Wake with friends and family at a later date )
Funeral Parlour: ROBERT B WALKER FUNERALS Kempsey,
South West Rocks & Districts
Ph 6562 4329
Buried at: Cremated
Memorial / Plaque / Monument located at: ?
Dedication date of Memorial / Plaque / Monument: Nil – at this time ( February 2021 )
JOHN is NOT mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance * NOT JOB RELATED
FURTHER INFORMATION IS NEEDED ABOUT THIS PERSON, THEIR LIFE, THEIR CAREER AND THEIR DEATH.
Constable John BOURKE NSW Police Motor cycle BG-723
Inspector John BOURKE – Goulburn Police Academy
BOURKE, John Kevin
JOHN KEVIN BOURKE APM
Passed away 16th February 2021
Aged 91 years
Late of Crescent Head.
Beloved husband of Lorna.
Loving father and father in law of Robert and Lee, Glenn, Michael (deceased).
Adored Pop of Daniel, Kate, Scott, Hannah, Misheal and to his
great grandchildren Nate and Isobelle.
Relatives and friends of John are invited to his funeral service at the chapel of Walkers Crematorium & Memorial Gardens Frederickton on Monday 22nd February 2021 commencing at 10.00am, then for cremation.
ROBERT B WALKER FUNERALS Kempsey,
South West Rocks & Districts
Ph 6562 4329
This was published 7 years ago
Bent police officer’s pre-emptive strike
The NSW Ombudsman’s investigation into the likely illegal bugging of more than 100 police officers faces one very substantial challenge.
It was called Operation Mascot and it started in January 1999. The ”white knights” of the NSW Police special crime and internal affairs unit (SCIA), along with the NSW Crime Commission, were chasing corrupt NSW police officers.
The ace up their sleeve was a corrupt detective, code named M5.
Worried about being confronted with his own corruption, M5 had made a pre-emptive strike. He voluntarily went to the crime commission in December 1998 and confessed his misdeeds. Early the next year, with SCIA and the commission working hand in glove, he was sent ”under cover” to covertly record his workmates, some of whom were close friends.
Judging by documents obtained by Fairfax Media, Mascot – which ran for more than two years – was not an investigation that built slowly.
Within a few weeks of M5 going to work, Justice Graham Barr of the NSW Supreme Court had approved a listening device warrant that allowed M5 to bug 119 people, almost all of them serving and former police.
An affidavit was presented to Justice Barr giving the reasons the 119 deserved to have their private conversations covertly recorded.
That affidavit has never been made public so what the judge was told is not known.
But one Operation Mascot affidavit has surfaced. It was granted on September 14, 2000, the day before the start of the Sydney Olympics. Justice Virginia Bell of the NSW Supreme Court – who is now a High Court judge – approved a listening device warrant that allowed M5 to bug 114 people. She approved the use of seven listening devices, some to be worn by M5, others to be placed in his house, car and briefcase.
Among those who were to be recorded were some who were corrupt. But dozens of others who M5 was legally allowed to record were honest police such as then Superintendent Nick Kaldas and Superintendent Bob Inkster. Kaldas is now a NSW Police Force Deputy Commissioner. Inkster is now, somewhat ironically, a senior member of the NSW Crime Commission which was a key player in trying to bug him more than a decade ago.
According to the warrant approved by Justice Bell, Kaldas and Inkster and the other 112 were suspected of a range of offences – money laundering, conspiracy, tampering with evidence.
Essentially, the accusation was that they were corrupt. The Herald makes no suggestion that either man was, or is, corrupt.
Justice Bell approved the bugging on the basis of a 57-page affidavit from the crime commission.
The Herald has seen a copy of the affidavit. It contains allegations of corruption against many police and is, in parts, quite detailed.
Justice Bell, who had been counsel assisting at the Wood royal commission into the NSW Police five years earlier, was told the affidavit was truthful and accurate.
But an investigation by the Herald has uncovered evidence that parts of the affidavit were either fabricated or wrong.
The documents and the evidence gathered by the Herald suggest that from 1997 to 2001 more than 20 NSW Supreme Court judges were lied to or seriously misled by some officers working within SCIA, which was set up in the 1990s by then commissioner Peter Ryan.
Which brings us to the affidavit of September 14, 2000, specifically paragraph 5.33, which comprises only 13 lines.
Much of the affidavit is taken up with details of conversations between M5 and some corrupt colleagues secretly recorded in police stations such as Manly and at pubs, clubs and farewell functions – often while M5 and his mates were engaged in marathon drinking sessions.
The paragraph reads: “On 10 December, 1999, [M5] unexpectedly met with former NSW Police inspector John Kevin Bourke in The Corso, at Manly. Bourke engaged [M5] in conversation regarding assistant commissioner Clive Small. Bourke used words to the effect, ‘I have the best brief on him’.”
The affidavit says Bourke went on to describe Small’s involvement in the corrupt “release of information” to another police officer which resulted in a drug trafficker escaping conviction.
The affidavit continues: “I suspect Bourke has information or evidence which he believes incriminates assistant commissioner Small.
”I suspect Bourke meant to indicate that he would use that information or evidence to protect himself, if necessary, from investigation or prosecution, or both.”
The Herald has tracked down and spoken with Bourke, who was for many years involved in detective training. He retired in 1989. After being read the allegation about his ”meeting” with the detective known as M5 on The Corso, as detailed in the sworn affidavit, Bourke said: “It is very simple for me to answer, that is all nonsense, poppycock, because it never ever occurred.”
In a subsequent email, Bourke said: “The name [M5] is not significant to me. I can confirm with absolute confidence I have never met any such named person on the Manly Corso at any time in my lifetime.”
He added: “I didn’t like Clive’s haircut and I thought he was a bit self-important. But I admired Clive Small for many reasons. I always found Clive a very trustworthy person in my dealings with him.”
He said the claim in the affidavit that he had the conversation was ”based on a fabrication”.
He said he was prepared to give evidence on oath that this was the case.
Bourke said he had no idea how his name could have been put in an affidavit or on a listening device warrant. He had never been contacted by anyone about the alleged meeting on The Corso or the ”allegations” against Small.
Small had a distinguished career in law enforcement. In the late 1970s, he worked on the Woodward royal commission into drug trafficking and then on a long inquiry into the collapse of the Nugan Hand Bank.
As an inspector, and despite considerable pressure from his superiors, he cleared former NSW Police superintendent Harry Blackburn who had been wrongfully charged with multiple rapes in an inept investigation by NSW Police. A subsequent royal commission into the Blackburn case proved him correct.
In the 1990s he was the commander of the taskforce that led to the conviction of backpacker murderer Ivan Milat. After the Wood royal commission into police corruption in the mid-1990s, he was appointed the head of crime agencies and, as such, was the boss of the major squads such as homicide. He was later chief investigator for the Independent Commission Against Corruption.
When the Herald first showed the affidavit to Small he said there was “something clearly wrong” with the document.
Late last week he told the Herald that to the best of his knowledge he had not seen Bourke since the early 1970s. He said he had never been interviewed or spoken to by anyone about the ”allegation” in the affidavit and had no idea which drug case was being referred to.
He said given Bourke’s categorical denial of the affidavit, “it would appear to me a criminal offence has been committed by one of more people or at a minimum, a serious misconduct”.
He said the allegations about misconduct within SCIA had ”been known to both the government and the opposition for about 10 years”.
“I would seek for the matter to be fully investigated immediately. I don’t want this buried for another two years while the ombudsman investigates.”
The Herald has also obtained NSW Police documents which cast doubt on another claim in the same affidavit presented to Justice Bell: that M5 and other officers ”verballed” or made up admissions by a career criminal, Craig Cant, one of three men charged in 1994 with a violent attempted armed robbery.
On page 7 of the affidavit, it says M5 and another police officer “fabricated an unsigned record of interview with Cant”.
The Herald has obtained a copy of M5’s own record of interview with Cant and the brief of evidence in the case. Cant makes no admission to the crime and, in fact, repeatedly denies knowing anything about it.
When M5 puts a number of allegations to Cant and asks if he has anything to say, Cant repeatedly answers “nothing”.
Asked what he wants to say about phone records which showed a call from a co-offender at 4am at the time and date of the offence, Cant replies: “Nothing. Look I don’t want to be rude but how much longer is this going to take?”
In a second interview, he repeatedly answers “no comment”.
The Herald showed a number of the documents to Small. He said it appeared the police, including M5, had evidence against Cant based on phone and motel records, his credit card and driver’s licence which were all admissible in court.
“In the interviews, Cant’s answers are neutral or denials. I don’t see what the ‘verbal’ could be.”
Charges against all three men eventually fell through because of the alleged police fabrications. One of Cant’s co-accused later went to work for SCIA. He told officers within the unit he and Cant and the other man had indeed committed the crime, which involved breaking into a home at 4am and putting pistols to the heads of a young couple.
How it unfolded
On December 16, 1998, an experienced but troubled NSW detective walked into the offices of the NSW Crime Commission in Kent Street and voluntarily admitted to numerous acts of corruption.
According to documents leaked to Fairfax Media, he was under intense pressure. Some colleagues had come under suspicion and the detective, who became known as M5, feared he was in the firing line.
Drinking heavily, “depressed and anxious”, the documents reveal he said he wanted to “unload”. He admitted to corruption going back to the late 1980s and named other serving and former detectives as bent.
But the confession didn’t have the cathartic effect M5 might have hoped for. In fact it made things worse.
M5’s psychiatrist, Michael Diamond, would later write: “It placed extra pressure on him because he had to keep ‘disappearing’ (from his normal police duties) in order to attend these interviews … he felt suicidal”.
According to Mr Diamond, M5 was in intense distress. A concerned relative had him admitted to a psychiatric unit at Manly, where he stayed for 10 days.
What happened next is remarkable. He was sent to work under cover by the ”white knights” in the NSW Police special crime and internal affairs unit (SCIA). They wanted scalps and M5 was ideally placed to produce them.
The documents reveal M5 was debriefed by SCIA in January 1999 – within days of leaving the psychiatric ward – and transferred to Manly detectives. An SCIA officer, Cath Burn, now a deputy commissioner, said M5 “volunteered” to go under cover and record his fellow detectives, some of whom were undoubtedly involved in corruption and later jailed.
But in advice to the human resources branch on September 16, 2003, a solicitor from the NSW Police legal services branch, Alan Bloomfield, recommended M5 be granted a ”hurt on duty” pension because he had been “forced” to co-operate.
Mr Bloomfield said: ”A memo from Supt [Cath] Burn states that he ‘voluntarily’ offered to assist, but in a practical sense, he did not have much choice.”
M5 kept working as a detective from early 1999 until mid-2001. He was also covertly recording his workmates.
The documents reveal that SCIA bugged M5’s house, car and briefcase, and had listening devices on M5.
Much of the recording was done in pubs, clubs and at functions – and during marathon drinking sessions.
When M5 couldn’t take it any longer, he sued for compensation in the form of a ”hurt on duty” pension.
In 2002 Mr Diamond, advising on M5’s claim for compensation, criticised SCIA’s decision to employ him under cover just after he had left a psychiatric institution.
M5 won his claim and it is understood he was also given an ex gratia payment. His payments are believed to total hundreds of thousands of dollars.
He told Mr Diamond he had been used by someone in SCIA to “settle old scores”. One of the “old scores” appears to have been then Superintendent Nick Kaldas. M5 was sent to see him five or six times. Mr Kaldas had had a serious disagreement with a senior SCIA officer, Superintendent John Dolan. Even police within SCIA were seriously concerned at the targeting of Mr Kaldas.
“I smelt a rat,” M5 told his psychiatrist. “I’ve done stuff you wouldn’t do to your worst enemy … I’ve been used.”
Operation Mascot
1350 boxes of documents (handed over by the NSW Police/Police Integrity Commission/NSW Crime Commission)
20 NSW Supreme Court judges (involved in approving the listening device warrants)
7 investigators (working for Operation Prospect)
$3.5m (extra money given to Ombudsman for inquiry)
114 serving and former police officers and civilians named in controversial listening device warrants approved by Justice Virginia Bell
1984 applications for telephone taps by NSW Police, PIC, Crime Commission in 2011-12
(source: Commonwealth Attorney-General’s report)
For the information of those of us who know Retired Chief Inspector Peter Lindwall from the Warilla days.
I sent Pete & Flo and email yesterday asking how they are because I expected to see Pete at Kevin Monks funeral and thought it strange he didn’t show.
Pete sent me the below message yesterday evening – but I have only just read it now.
He was a bloody great bloke and it is a shame to hear of this happening to him – so I will have to get down there in the early New Year for a coffee with him. ( this, unfortunately, didn’t happen but I did get to speak with Pete about 4 days before his passing, with a phone call ).
Hi Cal,
Unfortunately I’m not travelling too well my self at the moment.
I am sorry but I thought that you would have heard about this.
In December last year( 2019 ) I was diagnosed with Non Hodgkins Lymphoma. For the first half of 2020 I was receiving chemo at Wollongong Hospital. All appeared to be going well but after the treatment finished the chemo returned which wasn’t good. I started in a clinical trial at Prince of Wales, Randwick in September which also was going well, but follow up scans showed that the lymphoma had once again returned. There is no more treatment that I can have or the Doctors can do.
I’ve been in and out of hospital for the past twelve months. I came home from hospital on Christmas Eve and hopefully I won’t have to go back in.
I’m feeling okay, some pain around the back and hips, but I am on pain relief medication.
I’m sorry that you didn’t know about this I just thought that the word would have passed around.
It was certainly a shock about Kevin Monk, but unfortunately I wasn’t in a position to attend the funeral.
Feel free to pass this information on to anybody that you think should know.
My mobile phone number is 0409 247 685. It’s okay to give me a call.
Thanks for your concern Cal, we greatly appreciate it.
Regards
Peter
Deepest condolences to Pete’s wife, Flo, son Steve, family and friends.
Pete was a lovely bloke who cared for his troops and family. He was a bloke for whom everyone respected because of his nature.
Cal
27 January 2021
THURSDAY 7 SEPTEMBER 2017 LAKE ILLAWARRA RETIRED POLICE DAY AT LAKE ILLAWARRA POLICE STATION, OAK FLATS. Retired Chief Inspector Peter Lindwall & Supt. Zoran ?
THURSDAY 6 SEPTEMBER 2012 THE INAUGURAL RETIRED POLICE PIN CEREMONY AT OAK FLATS ( WARILLA ) ( LAKE ILLAWARRA ) POLICE STATION. RETIRED POLICE RECEIVING THEIR PINS AS A MARK OF RESPECT FOR THE COMMITMENT TO POLICING SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY OF NSW. Retired Chief Inspector Peter Lindwall and Supt. Wayne Starling
26 SEPTEMBER 2004 SEND OFF FUNCTION FOR FORMER SENIOR CONSTABLE GREG CALLANDER HELD AT WESTERN SUBURBS LEAGUES CLUB, UNANDERRA. Joe Mura, Kerryn Mura, Peter Lindwall, Paul Cole, Flo Lindwell, Paul Cole, at the first table.
At this time, I have only uploaded these three photos. When I get further time ( most probably Sunday evening ), I will upload the Live Funeral Stream and also the remainder of the photos taken at the Funeral and Wake.
380 turned out for Pete’s Funeral.
A fitting Tribute for a lovely man.
Cal
5 Feb 2021
“I wonder which footy team Pete supported?”
Peter Edgar POWER
| 23/03/2021
Peter Edgar POWER
AKA ?
Late of ?
NSW Police Training Centre – Redfern – Class # 088
New South Wales Police Force
Regd. # 10162
Service: From? ? Pre Oct 1961? to28 June 1988 = 26 ? years Service? ? ?
Rank: Commenced Training at Redfern Police Academy on ? ? ?
Probationary Constable- appointed 30 October 1961
Constable – appointed ? ? ?
Constable 1st Class – appointed 1 April 1967
Detective – appointed ? ? ? ( YES )
Senior Constable – appointed 1 April 1971
Leading Senior Constable – appointed ? ? ? ( NO SUCH RANK )
Sergeant 3rd Class – appointed 1 February 1978
Sergeant 2nd Class – appointed ? ? ?
Sergeant 1st Class – appointed ? ? ?
Final Rank = Senior Sergeant
Stations: ?, Scientific Investigation Section ( Det Sgt 3/c ), Radio Operations Group – Retirement
Retirement / Leaving age: = 56 years, 4 months, 1 day
Time in Retirement from Police: 32 years, 6 months, 18 days
Awards: National Medal – granted 2 November 1988 ( DetSenSgt )
1st Clasp to National Medal – granted 2 November 1988 ( DetSenSgt )
Born: Saturday 27 February 1932
Died on: Friday 15 January 2021
Age: 88 years, 10 months, 19 days
Cause: ?
Event location: ?
Event date: ?
Funeral date: Friday 22 January 2021 @ noon
Funeral location: South Chapel, Woronora Memorial Park, 121 Linden St, Sutherland, NSW
( Due to current Govt. restrictions on ‘Gatherings’ due to Corona19 Virus Pandemic, some families may wish to have a Memorial Service / Wake with friends and family at a later date )
Funeral Parlour: ?
Buried at: Cremated
Memorial / Plaque / Monument located at: ?
Dedication date of Memorial / Plaque / Monument: Nil – at this time ( January 2021 )
PETER is NOT mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance *NEED MORE INFO
FURTHER INFORMATION IS NEEDED ABOUT THIS PERSON, THEIR LIFE, THEIR CAREER AND THEIR DEATH.
Much loved Poppy of Zeke, Jed, Eden (dec) and Darcy.
A kind, thoughtful and gentle man who loved to make everyone
laugh.
He will be greatly missed.
A funeral service will be held for Peter on Friday 22 January 2021.
A livestreaming link to the service can be provided for those unable to attend.
Published 20 January 2021
St George & Sutherland Leader Tribute
Live Stream details being obtained.
Nothing further, than what is recorded above, is known about this person at the time of publication and further information and photos would be appreciated.
Cal
24 Jan 2021
Gregory Scott BROWN
| 23/03/2021
Gregory Scott BROWN
AKA ?
Late of ?
NSW Goulburn Police Academy – Class # DPP 08 ( 282 )
New South Wales Police Force
Regd. # 35179
Rank: Commenced Training at Goulburn Police Academy on Monday 8 January 2001 ( aged 24 years, 4 months, 29 days )( spent 3 months, 26 days with Academy )
Probationary Constable- appointed Friday 4 May 2001 ( aged 24 years, 8 months, 24 days )
Constable – appointed ? ? ?
Constable 1st Class – appointed ? ? ?
Detective – appointed ? ? ?
Senior Constable – appointed ? ? ?
Leading Senior Constable – appointed ? ? ?
Final Rank = Senior Constable
Retirement / Leaving age: = 38 years, 8 months, 20 days
Stations: ?, Blacktown ( 27 Division ), Quakers Hill Police Area Command – Retirement
Service: From? ? ? to30 April 2015 = 14 years, 3 months, 22 days Service
Awards: No Find on Australian Honours system
Born: Tuesday 10 August 1976
Died on: Friday 8 January 2021
Age: 44 years, 4 months, 29 days
Cause: ?
Event location: ?
Event date: ?
Funeral date: Friday 22 January 2021 @ 11.30am
Funeral location: ( Memorial Service ) – Melaleuca Station Memorial Gardens Chapel, 9394 Tweed Valley Way, Chinderah NSW
( Due to current Govt. restrictions on ‘Gatherings’ due to Corona19 Virus Pandemic, some families may wish to have a Memorial Service / Wake with friends and family at a later date )
Nothing further, than what is recorded above, is known about this man at the time of publication and further information and photos would be appreciated.
Cal
21 January 2021
Paul Christopher SCHREIBER
| 23/03/2021
Paul Christopher SCHREIBER
AKA Schreib’s
Late of Nowra Formerly of Goulburn, NSW
Brother to Kel SCHREIBER # 12911
NSW Police Training Centre – Redfern – Class # 191
New South Wales Police Force
Regd. # 20701
Rank: Commenced Training at Redfern Academy Police on ? ? ?
Probationary Constable- appointed 11 February 1983 ( aged 24 years, 6 months, 28 days )
Constable – appointed ? ? ?
Constable 1st Class – appointed 11 February 1988
Detective – appointed ? ? ?
Senior Constable – appointed ? ? ?
Leading Senior Constable – appointed ? ? ?
Final Rank = Senior Constable
Retirement / Leaving age: = ?
Stations: ?, Sydney Metro area, Wellington, Braidwood, Narrandera, Goulburn
Service: From? ? ? to? ? ? = ? years Service
Awards: National Medal – granted 6 June 1997 ( SenCon )
( Due to current Govt. restrictions on ‘Gatherings’ due to Corona19 Virus Pandemic, some families may wish to have a Memorial Service / Wake with friends and family at a later date )
Funeral Parlour: Murphy family funerals, 85 Plunkett St, Nowra, NSW
02 44230722
Buried at: ?
Memorial / Plaque / Monument located at: ?
Dedication date of Memorial / Plaque / Monument: Nil – at this time ( January 2021 )
PAUL is NOT mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance *NEED MORE INFO
FURTHER INFORMATION IS NEEDED ABOUT THIS PERSON, THEIR LIFE, THEIR CAREER AND THEIR DEATH.
Deepest sympathy to your family mate. Worked with you at Wellington late 80’s when you were the lock-up keeper. Many a good time had over a cold beer. R.I.P
Ingrid Schreiber Posted Jan 9, 2021 at 8:02 PM
Thanks so much for your message. The 80s seems like such a long time ago! Glad you have fond memories of our Dad, and thanks for sharing.
Schreib’s, so sad to hear of your passing. Enjoyed our time working together in Narrandera. Without doubt you were one of the best street Policemen I have had the honour to work with. A true genuine person and proud to regard you as one of my mates. Rest In Peace.
( Due to current Govt. restrictions on ‘Gatherings’ due to Corona19 Virus Pandemic, some families may wish to have a Memorial Service / Wake with friends and family at a later date )
Funeral Parlour: Guardian Funerals
Buried at: ? TBA
Memorial / Plaque / Monument located at: ?
Dedication date of Memorial / Plaque / Monument: Nil – at this time ( January 2021 )
LISA is NOT mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance *NEED MORE INFO
FURTHER INFORMATION IS NEEDED ABOUT THIS PERSON, THEIR LIFE, THEIR CAREER AND THEIR DEATH.
Condolences to her partner, Grant Gibson & his two children, family and friends.
Lisa was the eldest child of parents, Ian Roderick Parrish and Marilyn Ann Gibson and Stepmom Judith Parrish.
Sister to Jody and Amanda and Aunty to their children.
Mother of Dayna, Hunter, Kade and Tamsyn.
This was published 13 years ago
Officer who found Byrne’s body grilled
The policeman who found Caroline Byrne dead at The Gap has told a Sydney court that in almost 20 years of rescue work, he had not seen any other bodies so far out from the cliff face.
Senior Sergeant Mark Powderly ( # 14425 ) gave evidence at the committal hearing for Gordon Wood, who is defending the charge that he murdered his former girlfriend.
The body of the 24-year-old model was found wedged head-first in rocks at the bottom of The Gap at Watsons Bay, in Sydney’s east, on June 8, 1995.
Wood, who was stockbroker Rene Rivkin‘s chauffeur at the time, is accused of throwing her from the 29-metre high cliff.
Exactly where Ms Byrne landed is central to the case, but her death was initially treated as suicide and no photographs were taken of her body at the scene.
Sgt Powderley told Burwood Local Court he and Constable Lisa Camwell retrieved Ms Byrne‘s body from a crevice next to a pyramid-shaped rock.
The officer, who spent 19 years in the Police Rescue Squad, said he had recovered up to 20 bodies from The Gap but had never found anyone that far out from the cliff.
Research by physics expert Rodney Cross allegedly shows that Ms Byrne could only have landed at this point, 11.8 metres from the cliff face, if she was hurled using a spear throw.
But a different place was nominated as the point of impact in a 1996 police video, which was played to the court.
In the video, Sgt Powderley narrates from the cliff top as Constable Camwell indicates a place several metres from the pyramid rock.
Sgt Powderley said he “wasn’t really concentrating” when the video – intended to publicise the Byrne case – was recorded.
He had only realised in 2004 that it showed the wrong place.
“If we were there to do a Forensic Services assessment of the scene and pinpoint the exact location … things would have been done differently,” he said.
Sgt Powderley said he saw the video for the first time at the 1997 inquest into Ms Byrne‘s death, but did not notice the position was wrong because he “just wasn’t paying the attention to it that I should have”.
Police initially gave Prof Cross the wrong information about where Ms Byrne landed and he concluded she probably jumped, the court has been told.
Defence barrister Winston Terracini SC suggested measurements of the location had been “wrong for ages”, but were changed when police received a report “that doesn’t suit their purposes”.
Sgt Powderley denied having been asked by the detective heading the investigation, Paul Jacob ( # 18752 ), to reconsider the body’s location.
Earlier, Prof Cross told the court he had not considered information from 1994 about Ms Byrne‘s sporting ability when concluding she could not have jumped so far from the cliff.
Instead, he used reports from Ms Byrne‘s high school teachers that she had no athletic ability.
Mr Terracini asked why he had not taken into account the more recent information which, he said, showed Ms Byrne “excelled at a whole range of different sports” including basketball, swimming and aerobics.
“I presumed that that material was provided by Caroline Byrne herself,” Prof Cross said.
On 9 September 2008 the Daily Telegraph / AAP reported “Exact spot of model’s body ‘forgotten’”
It said a police officer who recovered the body of model Caroline Byrne has told a Sydney court she will never remember the exact location of the body. Senior Constable Lisa Camwell told the New South Wales Supreme Court a controversial 1996 video re-enactment was her best memory of the recovery operation.
Ms Byrne, 24, was found wedged head first in rocks at the base of cliffs at The Gap, in Sydney’s east on June 8, 1995. Her live-in boyfriend Gordon Wood is on trial for her murder. Sen Const Camwell was one of two police involved in retrieving Ms Byrne’s body. She was tasked with carrying a body bag and stretcher across to the recovery site.
The officer today told the jury her recollection of the morning was based solely on her own actions “which was carrying equipment and looking at the ground”. When she took part in a video re-enactment about a year after Ms Byrne‘s death, Sen Const Camwell said she determined the place she believed the body found was based upon an estimate of how long it had taken her to reach it that night. “Most of those large rocks found down the bottom there are mostly just large rocks to me,” she said. “I wouldn’t ever say I know exactly where her body was.”
Sen Const Camwell said she had no further involvement in the case until she was contacted about the video in 2004. She told the court the officer then in charge of the murder investigation said the position of Ms Byrne‘s body had become a ” significant issue ”, and where she had indicated on the video appeared to be incorrect. She agreed with Wood’s barrister Winston Terracini SC that her best memory of events was as recorded on the video.
The location of the body is essential to the Crown case that Ms Byrne was not pushed nor jumped, but was forcefully thrown to her death. Sen Const Camwell‘s partner Mark Powderly has told the jury the body was recovered from a different location which is consistent with the theory that Ms Byrne was murdered. The location indicated by Sen Const Camwell supports the hypothesis that Ms Byrne took her own life. The trial continues.
MICK BRUNETTA had heard a lot of screams during his 17 years of fishing at The Gap, but he had never heard anything like the one he heard on the night of June 7, 1995, he told a murder trial yesterday.
Mr Brunetta and his brother-in-law Norm Wano were not having much luck as they cast their lines into the darkness from the clifftop. About 11pm they heard what they variously described as a woman’s “freakish scream” and that she sounded “like someone who was panicked or scared”.
Mr Wano turned and said, “F— man, what was that?” and the pair continued fishing.
Gordon Wood, 45, has pleaded not guilty to throwing his girlfriend, Caroline Byrne, a 24-year-old model, from the cliffs at the notorious suicide spot in Sydney’s east.
Mr Wano said that he contacted the police 11 months later after seeing a re-enactment on television where police asked the two fishermen, who were potential witnesses, to come forward.
Wearing an olive-green bandanna over his dreadlocks and his sunglasses perched on top of his head, Mr Wano said that although he was not a keen fisherman, he often accompanied his brother-in-law.
He said he had heard the scream about 11pm and, “It wasn’t a scream of happiness. It was like a scared scream.”
He said that later three men had come by calling out the name “Caroline”. Upon being told of the scream, Mr Wano said, one of the men had said, “On no, she’s done it, she’s done it.”
Mr Brunetta, who gave evidence with the assistance of an Italian interpreter, said that he recalled seeing a lone man calling out “Caroline” and that later that night that same man, who had blond hair, had come back with two other men. After telling the group of the scream, they asked to borrow his torch.
Mr Brunetta said his torch was not very good because the battery “was a bit flat”.
He agreed that in his 2004 statement he had said that when he saw the men trying to shine the torch to illuminate the bottom of the cliff, he had said, “There’s no way that man will be able to see anything because the torch is not strong enough.”
The two fishermen stayed on until dawn watching the police recover Ms Byrne’s body. Mr Brunetta said no one had ever taken him back to The Gap to try to pinpoint the exact location of where Ms Byrne had landed.
Also yesterday, a police witness contradicted another on critical evidence against Wood.
One officer told the jury that she would never be able to pinpoint the exact location of the body, which is vital to proving that Ms Byrne’s death was murder.
The jury has heard conflicting evidence about where the body was found, with senior retrieval officer Mark Powderly testifying Ms Byrne was some 10 metres from the cliff face.
But his partner, Senior Constable Lisa Camwell, yesterday told the court she believed Ms Byrne was in a crevice closer to the shore.
No measurements or photographs were taken on the night of her death.
A 1996 video re-enactment of the rescue operation shows Senior Constable Camwell pointing to a spot, which is referred to as the “exact location” of Ms Byrne’s body.
The officer yesterday said she had estimated the site based upon how long it took her to reach the body on the night of the retrieval, and the video showed her best recollection of events.
“Most of those large rocks found down the bottom there are mostly just large rocks to me,” she said.
“I wouldn’t ever say I know exactly where her body was.”
During the trial, the Court was told of some uncertainty regarding the actuallocation where the body was found. Senior Constable Lisa Camwell, one of theofficers who retrieved Byrne’s body in 1995 gave evidence that she had in 1996participated in a video re-enactment in which she indicated the body’s location.She gave evidence that in 2004 she was contacted by an officer in charge of themurder investigation (Sergeant Powderly) and told that the position of MsByrne’s body had become a significant issue. She was told that the body positionshe had indicated on the video now appeared to be incorrect. Media reportsduring the second trial suggested the location of the body was an essentialcomponent to the Crown case that Ms Byrne was not pushed nor jumped, butwas forcefully thrown to her death [The12]
2.4.3.3
Deliberation and verdictAfter five full days of deliberation on 21 November 2008 they found Wood guilty.On 3 December 2008 Wood was sentenced to a custodial sentence of 17 years,with a minimum time in prison of 13 years. Wood lodged an appeal to theconviction.2.4.4Inquests, Investigations and TrialsTwo inquests were held into Byrne’s death by New South Wales State coronerJohn Abernethy, with Wood claiming it was suicide. The second inquest in 1998delivered an open finding. That same year, Wood left Australia.Police investigations continued from 2000 onwards as “Strikeforce Irondale“with hundreds of witnesses interviewed and resulting in a brief of evidencerunning to more than 350 pages. Caroline’s father Tony Byrne continued to pressfor action from the investigation eventually enrolling the assistance of New SouthWales politician Fred Nile who raised questions about the investigation in StateParliament up till 2004.In 2004 scientific reports relating to the physics of a body falling/jumping/beingprojected from the cliff produced by Professor Rod Cross were the principalelements of new evidence which encouraged the Crown to push for a trial ofGordon Wood. In March 2006 the New South Wales Director of PublicProsecutions Nicholas Cowdery QC agreed with police that there was enoughevidence to charge Wood with Byrne’s murder. Wood was detained in London inApril 2006, extradited to Australia and released on bail by a Sydney court on 4May. On 6 July 2007, Wood was committed to stand trial for the murder of Byrne.The first trial started on 21 July 2008 with Mark Tedeschi QC appearing for theCrown and Winston Terracini QC defending Wood. On 6 August 2008, JusticeGraham Barr declared a mistrial because of the alleged contact that a member ofthe jury had with 2GB radio host Jason Morrison. The juror, who remainedanonymous, claimed that some of the jurors were planning a secret night visit tothe crime scene (the Gap) being organised by a particular juror who was a “bully”and who had “already decided that Wood was guilty.” Justice Barr ruled “I had todischarge the jury … because some jurors disobeyed my instructions andmisconducted themselves.”The second trial commenced on 25 August 2008 and for the first time in NewSouth Wales court history a panel of 15 jurors was sworn in instead of the usual12 to provide some contingency.
Caroline Byrne (8 October 1970 – 7 June 1995), an Australian model, was found at the bottom of a cliff at The Gap in Sydney in the early hours of 8 June 1995. Her then boyfriend Gordon Eric Wood (b. 1962), who at the time of her death was chauffeur and personal assistant to businessman Rene Rivkin, was convicted of her murder on 21 November 2008 and spent three years in Goulburn jail. He was acquitted of the conviction in February 2012.[1][2]
Events of 7 June 1995
The Gap at Watsons Bay, location of Byrne’s death.
Born on 8 October 1970,[3] Byrne had been in a relationship with Wood since 1992. She was a model but principally worked as a modelling instructor for Sydney deportment and etiquette educator June Dally-Watkins. On 7 June 1995, she failed to turn up for work and for an appointment with a psychiatrist. There were three claimed sightings of her near The Gap at Watsons Bay that afternoon and evening, in the company of two men, one of whom matched Wood’s description. Two of the sightings – at 1 pm and 3 pm – were by local cafe owners, Craig Martin and Lance Melbourne. In 1998 John Doherty, an Irish artist who had been out of the country in the intervening years, came forward to say that around 8.30pm that evening he too had seen Byrne outside his studio window arguing with one man while another man stood nearby.[4]
Wood denied being present at Watsons Bay that afternoon. Evidence was sworn at both inquests by Wood’s friends Brett Cochrane and Nic Samartis that they lunched with him briefly around 1:15 pm in Potts Point before he was called away after a call from Rivkin.[5]:206 Wood claimed that he was asked by Rivkin to chauffeur prominent lobbyist and ex-federal minister Graham Richardson to an appointment and then spent the afternoon doing regular chores for Rivkin before going home around 7 pm. The Richardson alibi was compromised by Richardson when he was interviewed by police in 2001, when he advised that he had lunched that day with rugby league administrator Peter Moore.[4]
Wood’s movements in the afternoon have never been reported prior to the late evening, when Wood said he awoke on his couch having fallen asleep in front of the television and was immediately alarmed that Byrne was still not home. Wood has said he did not know Byrne’s whereabouts but was led by what he termed “telepathic communication” to The Gap. He had first driven to the beachfront car-park at Bondi Beach where he and Byrne had spent much time and then to a favourite park at Camp Cove where they had often picnicked. Heading back from Camp Cove he spotted Byrne’s white Suzuki Vitara parked in a lane at The Gap. It was when running about the cliff-top and shouting her name that Wood encountered two rock fishermen who verified his appearance around midnight.
Wood then rang Tony Byrne and Caroline’s brother Peter. He drove back into Sydney city and collected them and all three then went to the Gap and scoured the cliff-top. Peter Byrne later gave evidence that at about 1am Wood claimed to have spotted her body at the base of the cliff using torchlight. Byrne himself said he could see nothing and nor could the police who arrived soon after with police torches. The night was dark and the cliff misty. Peter Byrne claimed it was difficult to see the rocks below the cliff, let alone a body. The contention whether Wood had claimed he could see something in the darkness figured in much media speculation over the years and formed a key part of Crown evidence in the 2008 trial. In 2011 the Appeal Court felt that the Crown had presented speculation in this area posing as evidence. This was one of the grounds resulting in Wood’s 2011 appeal being upheld.
The identity of the second man supposedly sighted by Melbourne and Martin with Wood in Watsons Bay earlier in the day has remained unclear. With evidence contradicting the likelihood that the man was either of those whom the police considered in investigation (Byrne’s modelling agent Adam Leigh or Rivkin associate Gary Redding) the Crown chose to pose speculation without evidence on either during the trial and drew criticism from the trial judge and later the appellant judges.
Media interest
Byrne’s death was accepted as a suicide by local Rose Bay Police and others. No photographs were taken of the location of her body’s landing point.
In 1996, Byrne’s father begin to agitate against the notion of suicide such that from 1997 onwards the case and circumstances of Byrne’s death were regularly examined in Australia’s national newspapers and reported as “one of Sydney’s unsolved crimes”. The death of a beautiful model at one of Sydney’s notorious suicide spots, the connection to the flamboyant and newsworthy Rivkin, and a net of witnesses and commentators which included some prominent Sydney identities all added to the intrigue of the case.
Offset Alpine speculation
Attention was particularly heightened by the still unproven speculation of a connection with Rene Rivkin’s financial activities. The day before Byrne’s death, Wood and Rivkin were interviewed by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission about the Offset Alpine fire of 1993 and the true ownership of share parcels traded in Offset Alpine owned by nominees related to Swiss bank accounts.[5]:203 Tony Byrne claimed that Wood had indicated to his daughter that the fire was a set-up for insurance purposes.
Ultimately in 2001 Rivkin was charged with insider trading (of Qantas shares) and his eventual conviction in 2003 had a devastating effect on his mental stability, culminating in his 2005 suicide.[6] However the ASIC investigation into share trading in Offset Alpine and the true beneficiaries proved an epic that outlived Rivkin, commencing in 1995 and continuing from 2005 with a focus shifted to Graham Richardson and Trevor Kennedy until eventually closed without outcome by ASIC in 2010.[7]
Peripheral celebrities
Adding to this intrigue was a list of celebrities with a peripheral involvement in the case. Byrne’s medical doctor who had referred her to the psychiatric appointment she did not keep on 7 June was television celebrity physician, Dr Cindy Pan.[5]:205Graham Richardson‘s diarised luncheon appointment that day (which caused him to question whether he may have been chauffeured anywhere by Wood) was with rugby league identity Peter Bullfrog Moore at Sydney’s Hilton Hotel and was set up to broker a peace deal in the Super League war which deeply divided Australian rugby league at that time. Wood always claimed that he had driven Moore from a noon meeting with Rivkin to what may well have been a lunch, though the press and (later) the Crown ignored this possibility. Moore died in July 2000 a year prior to the Strikeforce Irondale interview with Richardson, thus preventing corroboration of the luncheon timings and Rivkin too was dead before the trial.[8]
Byrne’s close friends included entertainer Tania Zaetta and actress Kylie Watson, a Home and Away cast member. It was the amateur sleuthing around Watsons Bay armed with photographs of Byrne in the weeks after her death which had Dally-Watkins and Watson uncover the Martin/Melbourne sighting lead.[5]:206 Other celebrity witnesses who figured in the case at some point included businessman John Singleton, journalist Paul Barry and paparazzo Jamie Fawcett.
Inquests, investigation and trials
Two inquests were held into Byrne’s death by New South Wales State coroner John Abernethy, with Wood claiming it was suicide. The second inquest in 1998 delivered an open finding. That same year, Wood left Australia.
Police investigations continued from 2000 onwards as “Strikeforce Irondale” with hundreds of witnesses interviewed and resulting in a brief of evidence running to more than 350 pages. Caroline’s father Tony Byrne continued to press for action from the investigation eventually enrolling the assistance of New South Wales politician Fred Nile who raised questions about the investigation in State Parliament up till 2004.[9]
In 2004 scientific reports relating to the physics of a body falling/jumping/being projected from the cliff produced by Professor Rod Cross were the principal elements of new evidence which encouraged the Crown to push for a trial of Gordon Wood.[10] In March 2006 the New South Wales Director of Public Prosecutions Nicholas CowderyQC agreed with police that there was enough evidence to charge Wood with Byrne’s murder.[11] Wood was detained in London in April 2006, extradited to Australia and released on bail by a Sydney court on 4 May. On 6 July 2007, Wood was committed to stand trial for the murder of Byrne.
The first trial started on 21 July 2008 with Mark Tedeschi QC appearing for the Crown and Winston Terracini QC defending Wood. On 6 August 2008, Justice Graham Barr declared a mistrial because of the alleged contact that a member of the jury had with 2GB radio host Jason Morrison. The juror, who remained anonymous, claimed that some of the jurors were planning a secret night visit to the crime scene (the Gap) being organised by a particular juror who was a “bully” and who had “already decided that Wood was guilty.” Justice Barr ruled “I had to discharge the jury … because some jurors disobeyed my instructions and misconducted themselves.”[12]
The second trial commenced on 25 August 2008 and for the first time in New South Wales court history a panel of 15 jurors was sworn in instead of the usual 12 to provide some contingency. [12]
Trial evidence
Presentation of the Crown case
Following the aborted first trial Tedeschi, as Crown Prosecutor, presented the Crown case over a nine-week period from 26 August until 24 October 2008. Over 70 witnesses were called and the jury heard hours of audio and video evidence including taped interviews with Rivkin and Wood.[13]
Witnesses called by the prosecution included Pan, Richardson, Watson, Zaetta, Singleton, Fawcett, Bob Hagan and sports journalist Phil Rothfield. Tony Byrne, Peter Byrne, Dally-Watkins and her daughter Carol Clifford appeared. Doherty and Cochrane gave evidence via video link up from overseas. Police witnesses included Tracey Smit ( ProCst # 61020 ) and Paul Griffiths ( # 23770 ? ) (officers on scene), Sgt Mark Powderly ( # 14425 ), Sgt Neville Greatorex ( # 16136 )(who gave evidence on police procedures), Snr Const Lisa Camwell( # ????? )(who retrieved the body) and the first investigating officer of the case Sgt Craig Woods ( #22599 ? ) of Rose Bay who had first dismissed the death as suicide and who gave evidence that in the first weeks Tony Byrne too accepted the suicide verdict and was explicitly against the idea of an inquest. Another ex-policeman to appear was Byrne’s former boyfriend Andrew Blanchette ( # ????? ). At one stage Justice Barr counselled Blanchette that he ought consider taking legal advice before answering a particular question. Sensationally on his second day in the witness box, Blanchette admitted that early that morning he had phoned another witness – Melinda Medich, his girlfriend and a minor at the time of Byrne’s death – before she was due to give evidence later that day. Blanchette was reported to police by Medich who had not heard from him for a number of years. Blanchette denied that he had been attempting to influence her evidence.
Location of the body
Retired University of Sydney physicist Associate Professor Rod Cross spent two days in the witness box. Over a six-year period Cross had produced six reports on the case – with his initial findings being quite different to the later findings presented in the trial.[10] Although formally qualified in the field of plasma physics, Cross had experience working with biomechanists regarding sports research and had published and refereed many papers on biomechanics;[14] he was therefore proposed by police investigators as a forensic expert in fall dynamics. Between 1998 and 2004 Cross’ reports all concluded that Byrne could have jumped to her death, as he was told that Byrne’s body had been found at a distance of 9 metres (30 ft) from the cliff.[15] In 2005, when he was recontacted by the police that the position of the body was in fact farther away (11.8 metres (39 ft)), he conducted experiments which informed his speculation that Byrne could not have jumped that far and must have been thrown.[5]:210[16] The required launch speed, from the top of the 29 metres (95 ft) high cliff, was 4.5 m/s (see range of a projectile[17][18]), and the available runup distance was only 4 metres (13 ft) – although appeal submissions in 2011 called this into question. Cross tested eleven females from the New South Wales Police Academy and found that they could dive and land head first (in a swimming pool) at about 3.5 m/s after a 4 metres (13 ft) runup. A strong male could throw a 61 kilograms (134 lb) female at 4.8 m/s after a runup of only 2 metres (6 ft 7 in) or 3 metres (9.8 ft).
During the trial the Court was told of some uncertainty regarding the actual location where the body was found. Senior Constable Lisa Camwell, one of the officers who retrieved Byrne’s body in 1995 gave evidence that she had in 1996 participated in a video re-enactment in which she indicated the body’s location. She gave evidence that in 2004 she was contacted by an officer in charge of the murder investigation (Sergeant Powderly) and told that the position of Ms Byrne’s body had become a significant issue. She was told that the body position she had indicated on the video now appeared to be incorrect. Media reports during the second trial suggested the location of the body was an essential component to the Crown case that Ms Byrne was not pushed nor jumped, but was forcefully thrown to her death.[19]
Suicide history
The court heard that Caroline’s mother Andrea Byrne had committed suicide in March 1991 after she became depressed following a breast enlargement operation that went wrong.[20] Terracini also read to the court a letter Tony Byrne had previously provided to police in which he claimed that Caroline had made an attempt on her own life via overdose in 1992. In court Tony Byrne denied that Caroline had on that occasion intended to kill herself and instead was making “a cry for help”. At another stage of the cross examination, he claimed to suppose that had Caroline wanted to kill herself she would have copied her mother’s method rather than jumping from a cliff.[21]
Byrne’s doctor, author and television personality Cindy Pan, gave evidence that she had seen Byrne for two years before her death and had specifically discussed Byrne’s depression with her in the weeks leading up to her death. Dr. Pan told the court Byrne said she had felt depressed for about a month and the condition had worsened in the week leading up to their appointment on 5 June 1995. Pan said the model told her she could not put a finger on what she was unhappy about.
“I was trying to explore with her what she might be depressed about, but she was not really able to identify any one specific thing,” Pan told the court. She said Byrne told her she “had the same thing three years ago” and had been put on medication, which had helped. Pan said Byrne denied having thoughts of self-harm and she referred her to a psychiatrist, obtaining an appointment for 4 pm on 7 June.[22]
Presentation of the defence
One defence witness, Prof John Hilton, a forensic pathologist, was called during the Prosecution case, due to his later unavailability. Otherwise Terracini commenced the defence case on 27 October 2008 calling another physics expert Prof Marcus Pandy, a electromechanical engineer who conducted experiments on running and jumping speeds of two females. Only a handful of defence witnesses were called – two forensic pathologists, one psychiatrist, Prof Pandy, a stunt diver, and Wood’s sister Jacqueline Schmidt – and the defence case concluded within a week.
With the trial drawing to a close, the jury made a number of requests of Justice Barr that included a visit the Gap for a third time; for a transcript of Doherty’s evidence; and for video footage of Pandy’s running experiments.[23]
Deliberation and verdict
For the first time in New South Wales court history, a ballot was used to select the three jurors who would stand down so that twelve of the sitting fifteen would deliberate to a verdict. After five full days of deliberation on 21 November 2008 they found Wood guilty.[24][25] On 3 December 2008 Wood was sentenced to a custodial sentence of 17 years, with a minimum time in prison of 13 years. Wood lodged an appeal to the conviction.[26]
Appeal
Wood’s appeal hearing commenced on 22 August 2011 in the Criminal Court of Appeal before Chief Judge at Common Law Peter McClellan, Justice Megan Latham, and Justice Stephen Rothman. Wood’s barrister Tim Game SC submitted that the jury’s verdict was unreasonable and not supported by the evidence. His submission spoke of nine grounds for appeal. One was that the trial miscarried by reason of the prejudice occasioned by the Tedeschi’s closing address. Others related to criticisms of Barr’s directions to the jury.
Early media reporting of the appeal focused on Game’s submission that the scientific evidence used to convict Wood and presented by Associate Professor Cross was flawed. A photograph was presented in the trial and purported to be taken in 1996 showing that scrub near the fence line had limited Byrne’s possible run-up to the jump, supporting an argument that she would have needed to have been thrown to achieve the horizontal distance from the cliff wall that her body travelled. The appeal judges heard and the Crown acknowledged that the photo was in fact taken in 2003 and that photo’s quality meant that a shadow might have appeared to be scrub. The appeal judges heard that a 1996 colour photo which showed that there was no scrub limiting the run-up was available to the Crown during the trial but that the Crown had chosen to introduce the blurrier, non-contemporaneous, more ambiguous image.[27]
Game’s submission, consistent with so much of the trial evidence, concerned matters relating to the exact positioning of Byrne’s body at the base of the rocks and the orientation of her legs and torso and leading to questions regarding the contended launch point and the assumptions and assertions made by Cross in his pre-trial studies and reports and his trial evidence. Day two of Game’s submission focused on the police’s changed view between 1996 and 2005 as to Byrne’s landing spot and specifically trial evidence given by Sergeant Mark Powderly used to justify the reconstruction.[28]
The Criminal Court of Appeal delivered their opinion on 24 February 2012 acquitting Wood of Byrne’s murder and ordering his release from jail.[1] The appellate judges delivered a unanimous decision that there was insufficient evidence beyond reasonable doubt that Wood murdered Byrne and that the jury’s verdict was not supported. They dismissed the Crown evidence as being critically flawed and ruled that the possibility of her suicide ought not have been excluded.[1][2]
Justice McClennan described Cross’ experiments as “unsophisticated” and in the summation of his decision said that he was not satisfied by either of the two motives presented by the Crown.[1] Regarding the motive submitted by Tedeschi that Byrne had information about Rivkin’s business dealings that Wood was trying to hide, McClennan said “The exploitation of public rumour and the use of mere innuendo to compensate for inadequate evidence of motive is not consistent with the obligations of a prosecutor to press the Crown case “to its legitimate strength” by reliance upon credible evidence”.[2]:para 305 McLennan was also troubled that the notion Byrne may have been unconscious when she left the cliff top was introduced by the Crown late in the case.[2]:para 277 He described Tedeschi’s suggestion, first made in his closing address and mentioned at no other time in evidence, that a “shot-put” action was used to despatch Byrne as “an invention of the prosecutor…for which there was absolutely no support in evidence”.[29] McClennan also expressed some doubt as the reliability of evidence concerning the claimed sightings of Wood and Byrne at Watson’s Bay on 7 June 1995 noting that some of these witnesses had come forward years after the event and the initial investigations; he raised concerns that the Melbourne/Martin first identification of Wood and Byrne was based on a specific photos shown to them by Dally-Watkins rather than from being picked from a selection. Tedeschi was criticised by McClellan for presenting reasoning that was “dangerous” and “entirely without foundation”. Tedeschi contributed to the alleged miscarriage with his “50 killer questions” which took an “impermissible course” in asking the jury to consider rhetorical questions dealing with matters that had not been presented with in evidence.[29] McClennan ruled that he was not persuaded that Sgt Powderly’s evidence regarding the changed landing position of the body was entirely reliable.[2]:para 317
Wood was freed from prison on 24 February 2012; having served three years two months in Goulburn Correctional Centre, following an initial month in Parklea prison. Three weeks later the new New South Wales Director of Public Prosecutions, Lloyd Babb SC, issued a press release simply announcing that “the OPDD will not appeal the Court of Criminal Appeal’s judgement in the matter of R v Gordon Wood . No further comment will be issued”.[30] This was 24 hours after meeting Tony Byrne and attending the Gap with him – a meeting which Byrne described as ‘fruitful’.[31]
Post-appeal
Wood left Australia after his release from prison and spent time in the United States and Britain. In 2014 he brought defamation actions against the Sydney radio stations 2GB and 2UE, Channel Seven Sydney, and The Daily Telegraph[32] which were all settled out of court in his favour for undisclosed sums.[33]
In 2016 Wood sued the state of New South Wales for millions of dollars plus costs for malicious prosecution and wrongful imprisonment, based on a number of grounds including a “hopelessly corrupted” and “ridiculous” police case against him.[34] In a witness statement filed as part of his lawsuit against the state, Mr Wood said that during his three years in Goulburn Jail he lived in constant fear of guards who dished out “therapy” and was king-hit (a term widely used in Australia, meaning a very hard punch, usually delivered to the head, that is completely unexpected) and knocked unconscious in the prison yard by an infamous rapist and killer.[35] The suit was dismissed on 10 August 2018, with Wood receiving no compensation.[36]
( Due to current Govt. restrictions on ‘Gatherings’ due to Corona19 Virus Pandemic, some families may wish to have a Memorial Service / Wake with friends and family at a later date )
Funeral Parlour: ?
Buried at: ?
Memorial / Plaque / Monument located at: ?
Dedication date of Memorial / Plaque / Monument: Nil – at this time ( December 2020 )
DENNIS is NOT mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance *NEED MORE INFO
FURTHER INFORMATION IS NEEDED ABOUT THIS PERSON, THEIR LIFE, THEIR CAREER AND THEIR DEATH.
Here is a brief history of the development of Police Bank.
1970-79
Rapid Growth of Services
The Credit Union employed its first full time administration officers in 1970 to meet the growing demand for services. By late 1971, membership had reached 2,583 and deposits grew by over half a million dollars from the previous year. By 1972 the organisation was lending nearly $50,000 per month.
Appointed Representatives Bob Dines became Chairman in 1970 with Arthur Sharp taking on the General Manager role the following year, a position he would hold for over a decade. Ian Pettit, Terry Seery, John Gorman, Bob Page, Merv Taylor and Alan Dahl joined as Directors in the early to mid seventies. Alan Dahl was elected Chairman in 1975 with the auditing firm, Nicholls & Thomas (Kevin Thomas principal), appointed in the same year.
Around this time the Credit Union appointed Dennis Neate as a ‘Field & Promotions Officer'(the forerunner to our Business Development Officers of today) to increase awareness of Police Credit Union across the state.
Pedal car from childhood restored for 91-year-old owner
Murray Trembath
Patricia (Patsy) Browne, 91, couldn’t believe her eyes when daughter Yvette Graf took her on a surprise visit to the Sutherland Shire Toy Restoration Centre at Jannali.
Waiting to be picked up was the toy pedal car Mrs Browne adored as a child, beautifully restored to its original condition by volunteer Dennis Neate, a retired policeman and former panel beater.
The pedal car, which was made in 1929 – the same year Mrs Browne was born – was a present from her grandfather Herbert Cato, who was a car dealer, mechanic and served petrol at Cato’s Garage in Clare, South Australia.
The car was painted light green, the same as Mr Cato’s Buick.
Mrs Browne, of Caringbah South, has very strong memories of pedalling her little car around the large garage and parking it next to her grandfather’s vehicles within white lines, which he had painted on the concrete floor specially for her.
“I used to be able to go backwards easily when parking it,” she recalled.
“I used to check the readings as I knew one should. There were transfers on the dashboard for fuel level, battery charge and speedo.”
Mrs Browne said the pedal car had been “almost around the world since then”.
“It’s been shared with everyone in the family and now it’s back with me.
“Yvette had it last and I noticed it was missing.
“I thought someone might be trying to fix it up, but had no idea of what she was organising.
“Then, one day she said to me, ‘I am going to take you out on Saturday and you have wear something that’s better than your gardening clothes.’
“It was a wonderful surprise and I am very grateful.”
Mrs Browne’s recollections of the car of her childhood were written down, along with her mother’s other memories, by Ms Graf and guided Mr Neate, who also did a lot of independent research.
“It had strong celluloid windscreen with a transfer on the corner, a fake light on one side and a magnificent horn with a trumpet and rubber squeeze tube,” the notes said.
“I think it had a new bumper bar and a pedal set up which included the two rods to the rear wheels.
“There was a mascot on front of the bonnet, some sort of cross, I think. It was a soft moss green with thin strip paint lines on the ventilators, at side of engine, and also along the bonnet body and the outer ridges of the mudguards and wheels.”
Sutherland Shire Toy Restoration Centre, which is operated by volunteers, reopened in June in an amended arrangement after the COVID-19 shutdown.
Takings have recovered to the extent that the centre recently gave $10,000 to charities assisting with food support because of Covid.
There have been many great artists and observers, from Da Vinci to Darwin, who have drawn nature from life by observing it in its natural habitat. Here we have a previously undiscovered collection of life drawings of NSW cops in their natural surroundings (you really need to read this in a voice that sounds like Sir David Attenborough). Many thanks to Kade May for loaning these excellent drawings by her father Senior Constable Dennis Neate.
Colin William Hugh NAPIER
| 23/03/2021
Colin William Hugh NAPIER
AKA Col
Son of Colin NAPIER ( B: 16 Dec 1903 – D: 26 Feb 1989 ) who was born in the Police Stn, Johnshaven, Benholm, Kincardineshire, Scotland. He married Louisa Jena MARSHALL in 1936 in NSW
Late of ?
It’s nice to be nice
NSW Police Training Centre – Redfern – Class # 088
New South Wales Police Force
Regd. # 10187
Uniform # 4099
Rank: Commenced Training at Redfern Police Academy on ? ? ?
Probationary Constable- appointed 30 October 1961 ( aged 24 years, 3 months, 15 days )
Constable – appointed 30 October 1962
Constable 1st Class – appointed 1 April 1967
Detective – appointed 2 November 1967
Senior Constable – appointed 1 April 1971
Leading Senior Constable – appointed ? ? ? ( N/A )
Sergeant 3rd Class – appointed 1 February 1978
Sergeant 2nd Class – appointed ? ? ?
Sergeant 1st Class – appointed 30 June 1986
Final Rank = Detective Senior Sergeant
Retirement / Leaving age: = 54 years, 11 months, 29 days
Stations: Parramatta ( 18 Division )(GDs)( 4 December 1961 – 18 August 1963 )( ProCst – Cst ),
Granville ( 18 Division )(GDs)( 19 August 1963 – 2 August 1964 ), Granville ( 26 Division )( GDs )( 3 August 1964 – 1 November 1964 ),
Vice Squad ( 20 Division )(2 November 1964 – 26 July 1965 ), Parramatta ( 18 Division )( Vice Squad )(27 July 1965 – 1 June 1966 ),
Bankstown ( 19 Division )( C.I. Duty )( 2 June 1966 – 6 February 1967 ),
Liverpool Dets ( 22 Division )( 2IC to Bert EDWARDS )( 7 February 1967 – 13 March 1969 ),
C.I.B. ( 20 Division )( Vice Squad )(14 March 1969 – 11 April 1972 ),
( *28 Division )( C.I. Duty )(12 April 1972 – 20 May 1978 ) * 28 Division was the Water Police at Dawes Point in 1978. In 1988 28 Division was then allocated to Mt Druitt.
Liverpool ( 22 Division )( C.I. Duty )(21 May 1978 – 12 April 1980 ),
Newtown ( 5 Division )( C.I. Duty )( 13 April 1980 – 20 June 1981 ),
Fairfield ( 34 Division )( Det Sgt )( 21 June 1981 – 17 July 1982 ),
Liverpool ( 22 Division )( C.I. Duty )( 18 July 1982 – ? )
Records were then computerised.
Merrylands GDs – Retirement ( 14 July 1992 )
Service: From? ? 1961 to14 July 1992 = 31 years Service
Awards: National Medal – granted 6 November 1980 ( Det Sgt )
1st Clasp to National Medal – granted 2 November 1988 ( Det SenCon )
Born: Thursday 15 July 1937 at Strathfield, NSW
Died on: Friday 18 December 2020 surrounded by family
Age: 83 years, 5 months, 3 days
Cause: Cancer = Prostate
Event location: Home of his daughter.
Event date: Suffering terminal cancer in October 2020
( Due to current Govt. restrictions on ‘Gatherings’ due to Corona19 Virus Pandemic, some families may wish to have a Memorial Service / Wake with friends and family at a later date )
Funeral Parlour: ?
Buried at: Col, unselfishly, donated his body to science
Memorial / Plaque / Monument located at: ?
Dedication date of Memorial / Plaque / Monument: Nil – at this time ( December 2020 )
” anyway, the fish was thissss big “
COL is NOT mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance *NEED MORE INFO
FURTHER INFORMATION IS NEEDED ABOUT THIS PERSON, THEIR LIFE, THEIR CAREER AND THEIR DEATH.
Back row, left to right: Det. SenCon RJW King, Det Cst 1/c K.A. Barr, Det Cst 1/c R J Seery, Det SenCon P.B. Scott, Det Cst 1/c P.W. Gould Front row. Det SenCon B.A. Brown, Det Sgt 2/c J. Waldmanis, Det Sgt 3/c C.W.H. Napier, Det Sgt 3/c D.E. Pike
Col with Peter GOULD
Col had been suffering from a rare Cancer which failed to show up on tests.
As a result, Col donated his body to science in the hope of helping to cure Cancer.
Cal
David Ritzau
Yesterday celebrating the life of Colin William Hugh Napier, firstly at the Anglican Church Guildford, and the for the rest of the day and evening at one of Col”s favourite spots at the Guildford Leagues Club with Steve Ryan and Anthony Field where we spent time remembering:
Fairfield Detectives 1980’s: Detective Senior Sergeant Colin William Hugh Napier wasn’t just our boss, he was our Leader, our Mentor, our Protector, our Motivator, our Mate, and for us younger Detectives our virtual dad during working hours. We’ve lost a good one. R.I.P. Col and I bet you are already at the bar enjoying a beer with Rod. Thank you. We’ll never forget you.
Prior to employment with NSWPF – Col had been an a shop assistant for 3 weeks, Labourer for 3 months, member of the R.A.A.F. for 6 years, A Clerk for 14 months and a Copy boy for 14 months.
He enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force on 28 April 1955 as an Aero Engine Fitter.
He was Discharged ( from the R.A.A.F. ) ” Termination of period of enlistment ” at the Rank of Aircraftman with a trade as an Engine Fitter.
His proficiency was satisfactory and Conduct was exemplary.
On the 9 January 1962 he was Commended with Constable D.W. Gibbens for keen observation when, on seeing a motor car at Westmead on 9 January 1962, of similar description to one believed to be used in connection with the commission of crime, they followed the vehicle, and after a chase, in which it was abandoned, the three occupants decamping, arrested one of the offenders and found stolen property in the vehicle.
Subsequently, the other two offenders were arrested by Police and all three charged with stealing.
Sign: N.T.W. Allan – Commissioner of Police
At the time of joining NSWPF he was 5′ 11″, 12 Stone in weight, hazel eyes, brown hair with a medium complexion and was Married.
He attained 74% at completion of Training Class 089A at the Police Training Centre ( Redfern )
He completed a three day course in Civil Defence Oct / Nov 1962.
He satisfactorily passed his typing test on 17 August 1962 at 20 w.p.m.
Successfully completed Sergeant Course # 4, Class 4 of 1979 with 82.4%
He passed his Constable 1/c examinations on 22 September 1964.
He failed his first attempt at the examinations for Sergeant 3/c on the 15 May 1975 but passed them on the 13 May 1976.
He passed his Sergeant 1st Class examinations on the 10 May 1983.
He completed his Detective Course on 26 October 1966 and was Designated ‘Detective’ on 2 November 1967.
He completed his Solo Motor Cyclist course on the 12 April 1962.
He completed his General duty utilities and light trucks ( Bull Wagons – F100s ) on 29 January 1964.
He completed his High Speed ( Automatics ) course on 17 November 1970.
He completed his 4 wheel driving course on the 15 May 1978.
