Former Police Chief Calls For Immediate Investigation
By Bruce Grundy (12.10.2003)
Former Queensland Police Commissioner Noel Newnham has called on the current Police Commissioner and the Crime and Misconduct Commission to carry out an immediate investigation into the apparent failure of police to interview a man found at the scene of a killing in Brisbane in 1990.
Twelve years after the incident, the man, Brendan Ryan Turbane, confessed to killing his cousin, Leonard James McAvoy. Turbane was sentenced last month.
At his trial two weeks ago it was revealed that despite being found at the scene with the victim (who died shortly afterwards from a shotgun blast to the chest) and suffering a shotgun wound himself, Turbane was never interviewed by police.
Counsel for Turbane, Mr Hunter, told the court Turbane was "quite stunned that no-one came and spoke to him about what had happened". He had been hospitalised for two months after the shooting while recovering from a serious shotgun wound to his lower left leg.
Mr Hunter also revealed that although Turbane was the subject of a "care and protection order" at the time, no one from the Department of Family Services had ever attempted to talk to him about the killing.
A young woman this week confirmed that a person of the same name had been among a group of boys from the John Oxley Youth Detention Centre who had been taken on an outing into the bush with her in 1988 during which she had been assaulted and raped.
Records held by The Justice Project show that the police did not interview any of the boys involved in that incident.
Former Police Commissioner Noel Newnham said the apparent failure of the police to interview Turbane over the shooting was "appalling".
"If that is so, the current Commissioner and the Crime and Misconduct Commission must conduct an immediate investigation to ensure that those responsible are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law because there appears to have been an appalling breach of the most fundamental of police duties," Mr Newnham said.
"Several people must have known that this matter was miscarrying wildly and yet did nothing about it," he said.
At the time of the incident Mr Newnham was Queensland's Police Commissioner.
It was revealed at the trial that when police and ambulance officers arrived at the scene of the shooting in Newmarket on the night of 1 September 1990, they found McAvoy with a severe gunshot wound to his chest. Subsequent forensic analysis revealed that a shotgun had been fired at him from a distance of less than three feet. Wadding from the cartridge had been found in the wound caused by the blast.
Close by police had found Turbane and a double-barrelled shotgun.
Witnesses told police that within a second or two of the first shot there had been another. Both men had fallen where they had been shot.
The court was told that twelve years later Turbane had turned himself in to police in Dutton Park and confessed to the killing.
(His action followed within a matter of weeks a CJC investigation into a story that had appeared in the press about what had happened to the girl on the John Oxley outing).
The police subsequently charged Turbane over the killing and he was later committed to stand trial on a charge of murder.
However, at his trial last month the Crown accepted a plea of manslaughter on the basis of criminal negligence.
Turbane was given a sentence to be served concurrently with one he is currently completing (over a parole breach matter relating to a conviction for grievous bodily harm of a prison officer). With parole he is due for release on that matter in December 2005 and effectively in that case will not serve any additional time.
The court had been told Turbane had been expecting a "really long term of imprisonment, if not life imprisonment".
Official records reveal there was no inquest into the death of Mr McAvoy.
Three and a half years after his death police presented a report to coroner Gary Casey. Mr Casey recommended to the Director General of the Department of Justice and Attorney-General that no inquest be held.
The Director General approved the recommendation on 30 August 1994.
The cause of death was noted as "internal haemorrhage, shotgun wound to the chest, intoxication".
Press reports at the time of the shooting quote police sources as saying only two men were involved in the incident.
Comment
No one will expect this matter to be investigated as Mr Newnham suggests. After all, this is Queensland.
But in the unlikely event of that occurring, neither the police nor the Crime and Misconduct Commission can go near it.
The police for the obvious Caesar-judging-Caesar reasons, and the CMC because of the evidence that this matter has a link to the John Oxley saga.
Over the years the CMC in a former life as the Criminal Justice Commission told us the shredding scandal had been investigated to the "nth degree" (which was nonsense, but that is what they said). Then they produced a fascinating interpretation of the law concerning the destruction of evidence that meant we now have two laws in Queensland, one for the powerful and famous and one for the rest of us (see story: Decade-long Farce Laid Bare), and they also said it was OK to take a girl in custody into the bush with a group of boys, leave them alone, and if anything should happen to the girl to do nothing for three days before calling the cops who also need to do nothing since the girl (a minor) changes her mind about wanting the boys dealt with (because she is being threatened and it will take ages for the matter to come to court). (See story: What They Did To A Girl In Care).
Spare us. Please. These people are not part of the solution here. They are part of the problem -- and have been for years.
And on our second story (Decade-long Farce Laid Bare), it is now imperative the Premier make public the advice the-then DPP gave Premier Borbidge six years ago after the Morris and Howard inquiry into the John Oxley saga paper trail. The barristers recommended a full and open public inquiry into that matter. But, after getting advice from the DPP, Borbidge rejected their recommendation. Since the DPP had been asked specifically to advise on s 129 of the Criminal Code, what did he say? Given that a citizen now stands indicted on a charge under that section in circumstances the DPP had earlier said could not apply, what did he tell Mr Borbidge?
We need to know.
Tell us Mr Premier. Please tell us.
After all, this is the most open, honest, accountable and wonderful government in the history of the galaxy.
(See also other stories under: Rule Of Law And Destruction Of Evidence).
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