James Liam O’TOOLE

AKA Jimmy O’TOOLE  

Late of Sutherland, NSW  

NSW Goulburn Police Academy –  Class # 335  

New South Wales Police Force

Regd. # 53092  

Rank:  Commenced Training at Goulburn Police Academy as a Student Police Officer ( SPO ) on Sunday 29 April 2018 ( aged 19 years, 9 months, 5 days ) 

Probationary Constable- appointed 7 December 2018 ( aged 20 years, 4 months, 13 days )   

Constable – appointed 7 December 2019 

Constable 1st Class – appointed ? ? ? 

Senior Constable – appointed – NO 

Final Rank: =  Constable 1st Class 

Stations:  Sutherland GDs ( 24 Division )( 7 December 2018 – August 2021 ), Seconded to Operation ‘ Wick ‘ in 2020 – July 2020 – Street Policing Team – City of Sydney Police Area Command, Project ‘ Servatore ‘,   Deployed to Albury re Operation Boarder Closure ( July 2020 ), Central Metropolitan Region HVP ( High Visibility Policing ) Unit – The Rocks ( 15 August 2021 – Death ) 

Service: From ? ? 2018 to  14 February 2022 = 3 years, 9 months, 16 days Service

Retirement / Leaving age: = N/A

Time in Retirement from Police: 0

Awards:  No Find on Australian Honours system – however:

NSW Premiers Bushfire Emergency citation for Service in the 2019 – 2020 fires

NSW Police Force Commissioners Emergency Commendation in recognition of the extraordinary commitment to duty and professionalism demonstrated during disasters and emergency deployments from 1 July 2019 – 31 December 2020

 Born:  Friday 24 July 1998 

Died on: Monday 14 February 2022 

Age:   23 years, 6 months, 21 days 

Cause:  Depression – Suicide 

Event location:  Home

Event date:  Monday 14 February 2021

Funeral date: Wednesday 2 March 2022 @ 11am

Funeral location: South Chapel, Woronora Memorial Park, 121 Linden St, Sutherland, NSW

Eulogy delivered by new Commissioner Karen WEBB

( click here to see Cornona19 Virus Pandemic rules – this will be a limited numbers Funeral )

For those in the Bankstown area:  See below Note re funeral service.

any Future Wake location:  ??? TBA 

any Future Wake date:  ??? TBA 

( 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: Olsen Funerals,  Sutherland, NSW  02 9545 3477 ( Service@olsens.com.au )

Buried at:  Cremated.  

Interment on 6 July 2022:  Ashes at Woronora Memorial Gardens, Linden St, Sutherland, NSW

Stations of the Cross Granite Estate, Garden of Faith, Position 0024

Memorial / Plaque / Monument located at:  Interment on 7 August 2022:  Ashes at Police Memorial Garden, Police Ash Garden A, Position 0006

Dedication date of Memorial / Plaque / Monument: Nil – at this time ( February 2022 )

JAMES is NOT mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance  *NEED MORE INFO – MAY BE ENTITLED ( Still doesn’t appear as of 2022 )

JAMES IS Mentioned on the Sydney Police Centre Memorial Wall, Surry Hills as of 2022.  ( Left Wall, E10 )

FURTHER INFORMATION IS NEEDED ABOUT THIS PERSON, THEIR LIFE, THEIR CAREER AND THEIR DEATH.

PLEASE SEND PHOTOS AND INFORMATION TO Cal

May they forever Rest In Peace

https://www.facebook.com/groups/AustralianPolice.com.au/ 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/NSWFallenPolice/ 

Australian Police YouTube Channel 

25 October 2022

It is with the deepest regret that I inform those Retired, Former, Serving Police and friends that James O’TOOLE succumbed to the ‘ Black Dog ‘ at the very young age of 23 whilst Serving with NSW Police Force.

May you Forever Rest In Peace mate and may your parents and brother know that you were respected and loved by those who Served alongside of you.

Bruins Basketball Stadium, Third Ave, Condell Park, NSW.  02 9707 1866

Bruins would like extend a warm welcome to all community members who would like gather to celebrate and share memories in remembrance of James O’Toole.

The Bruins family will live stream the service, at the stadium with doors opening from 10.30am, followed by light refreshments.

Over the coming days, we please ask members to send an email to caitlin@bruinsbasketball.com.au and please RSVP if you would like to attend the service as well as any photos and memories of James to be shared at the service.

It is with a very heavy heart that Bankstown Basketball Association mourns the loss of referee James O’Toole.

James has long been part of the Bruins family, and has represented the Bruins as an exceptional referee, supervisor, and player. He is known for his cheeky smile, witty conversations, and extraordinary dedication and passion for the education, support and ongoing development of Bruins Junior referees.

Over James’s many years of basketball service, James was awarded numerous prestigious Steve Well’s Junior Referee of the Year Awards as recognition for his hard work to his craft. James represented Bankstown Bruins at both New South Wales State Championships and Senior Finals Weekends, his efforts also took him interstate as a referee for New South Wales at many Australian Junior Championships, at which he always did the association proud.

In more recent years James sought out a professional career as part of the New South Wales Police Force, however, always continued to find time to be part of and support the Bruins family.

We are honoured to have had such an exceptional gentleman as part of the Bruins Family and James’s legacy will continue to live on in the people who he inspired and worked so closely with.

As a tribute to James, we invite the entire Bruins community to wear a blue ribbon on their uniform to signify the amazing life that he lived.

Rest In Peace James, we will continue to honor you with Bruins Pride and Dignity.

(1) Facebook

Nothing further, than what is recorded above, is known about this young man at the time of publication and further information and photos would be appreciated.

**********

Cal
17 February 2022

Updated 13 November 2024 – Age at Attestation, Memorial Plaque

Updated 14 November 2024 – Academy Class commencement date and location of Jimmy’s Ashes.

Penny Margaret SHIPTON

AKA Turnip  

Late of Wade St, Crookwell, NSW  

NSW Goulburn Police Academy –  Class #  ? ? ? 

New South Wales Police Force

Regd. #  ????? 

Rank:  Commenced Training at Goulburn Police Academy on Monday ? ? ?

Probationary Constable- appointed ? ? ?

Constable – appointed ? ? ?

Constable 1st Class – appointed ? ? ? 

Detective – appointed ? ? ?

Senior Constable – appointed ? ? ? 

Leading Senior Constable – appointed ? ? ?

Final Rank =  ?

Prior  to her Policing life – Penny was a Nurse.

Stations:  ?, Goulburn Police ( GDs ), ?, Goulburn Police Academy ( about 15 years ), ?

Service: From ? ? ? to ? ? ? = ? years Service

Retirement / Leaving age: = ?

Time in Retirement from Police: ?

Awards:  No Find on Australian Honours system

 Born:  Thursday 27 May 1971 

Died on:  Saturday 22 January 2022 

Age:  50 year, 7 months, 26 days

Cause:  Illness, Depress, PTSD, ?

Event location:   ?

Event date:  ?

Funeral date: Monday 7 February 2022 @ 2pm

Funeral location:  Craig’s Hill Chapel, 63 Middle Arm Rd, Goulburn, NSW  

( click here to see Cornona19 Virus Pandemic rules – this will be a limited numbers Funeral )

any Future Wake location:  ??? TBA 

any Future Wake date:  ??? TBA

( 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 ( February 2022 )

 Penny is NOT mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance  *NEED MORE INFO

 PENNY Should be Entitled to be mentioned on the Sydney Police Centre Memorial Wall, Surry Hills

FURTHER INFORMATION IS NEEDED ABOUT THIS PERSON, THEIR LIFE, THEIR CAREER AND THEIR DEATH.

PLEASE SEND PHOTOS AND INFORMATION TO Cal

May they forever Rest In Peace

https://www.facebook.com/groups/AustralianPolice.com.au/ 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/NSWFallenPolice/ 

Australian Police YouTube Channel 

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.

**********

Unfortunately my computer system has become weak and can no longer stand the strain I place upon it – thus the lack of information on this Memorial at this time.

Cal
4 February 2022

Unnamed SAPol member

AKA  ? 

Late of  ? 

South Australia Police Academy Class #  ? ? ? 

South Australia Police Force

Regd. #  ????? 

Service:  From ? ? ?   to   25 December 2021  =  ? years Service  

Rank:  Commenced Training at Police Academy on ? ? ?

Probationary Constable- appointed ? ? ?

Constable – appointed ? ? ?

Constable 1st Class – appointed ? ? ? 

Detective – appointed ? ? ? ( YES )

Senior Constable – appointed ? ? ? 

Leading Senior Constable – appointed ? ? ?

Sergeant 3rd Class – appointed ? ? ? 

Sergeant 2nd Class – appointed ? ? ?

Sergeant 1st Class – appointed ? ? ? 

Inspector – appointed ? ? ? 

Final Rank =  ?

Stations:  ?,

Retirement / Leaving age: = ?

Time in Retirement from Police: 0

Awards:  National Medal – granted ? ? ?

1st Clasp to National Medal – granted ? ? ?

2nd Clasp to National Medal – granted ? ? ?

 Born:  ? ? ?

Died on:  Saturday 25 December 2021

Age:  ?

Cause:  Suicide ( Method ? )

Event location:   ? , South Australia

Event date:  Saturday 25 December 2021 ?

Funeral date:  ? ? ? TBA

Funeral location:  ? TBA

( click here to see Cornona19 Virus Pandemic rules – this will be a limited numbers Funeral )

any Future Wake location:  ??? TBA 

any Future Wake date:  ??? TBA

( 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: ? TBA

Buried at: ? TBA

Memorial / Plaque / Monument located at: ?

Dedication date of Memorial / Plaque / Monument: Nil – at this time ( December 2021 )

Unknown is NOT mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance  * BUT SHOULD BE

Unknown 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.

PLEASE SEND PHOTOS AND INFORMATION TO Cal

May they forever Rest In Peace

https://www.facebook.com/groups/AustralianPolice.com.au/ 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/NSWFallenPolice/ 

Australian Police YouTube Channel 

Unfortunately a Serving Member, a Detective, from South Australia Police has succumbed to his demons and took his life today.

We extend our gratitude to this member and extend our condolences to family, colleagues and friends.

May he forever Rest In Peace.

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
25 December 2021

Benjamin Emmett HOWARD

AKA  ? 

Late of Foster, NSW

NSW Goulburn Police Academy – Class #  267  

New South Wales Police Force

Regd. #  31281

Service:  From 18 August 1996   to   4 February 2021 =  24 years, 5 months, 17 days Service  

Rank:  Commenced Training at Goulburn Police Academy on Monday 19 August 1996 ( aged 19 years, 3 months, 10 days )

Probationary Constable- appointed Friday 14 February 1997 ( aged 19 years, 9 months, 6 days )

Constable – appointed ? ? ?

Constable 1st Class – appointed ? ? ? 

Detective – appointed ? ? ?

Senior Constable – appointed ? ? ? 

Leading Senior Constable – appointed ? ? ?

Sergeant 3rd Class – appointed ? ? ? 

Sergeant 2nd Class – appointed ? ? ?

Sergeant 1st Class – appointed ? ? ? 

Final Rank =  ?

Stations:  ?, Picton, ?, New England, Tenterfield – Retirement – 4 February 2021

Retirement / Leaving age: = 43 years, 8 months, 27 days

Time in Retirement from Police: 0 years, 10 months, 5 days

Awards:  No Find on Australian Honours system

 Born:  Sunday 8 May 1977

Died on:  Thursday 9 December 2021 

Age:  44 years, 7 months, 1 day

Cause: Depression – Suicide ( Method ? )

Event location:   ?

Event date:  Thursday 9 December 2021

Funeral date:  Tuesday 21 December 2021 @ 2pm

Funeral location:  St Nicholas’ Anglican Church, Bent & Lake Sts, Tuncurry, NSW

” There will be NO formal Police involvement at the funeral service, however the family do invite all friends and former colleagues to attend.

The family request that NO persons attend in Police Uniform “  

( click here to see Cornona19 Virus Pandemic rules – this will be a limited numbers Funeral )

any Future Wake location:  ??? TBA 

any Future Wake date:  ??? TBA

( 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: Allan Pearse Funerals, 118 Manning St, Tuncurry, NSW  02 6554 5433

Buried at: ?

Memorial / Plaque / Monument located at: ?

Dedication date of Memorial / Plaque / Monument: Nil – at this time ( December 2021 )

BEN 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.

PLEASE SEND PHOTOS AND INFORMATION TO Cal

May they forever Rest In Peace

https://www.facebook.com/groups/AustralianPolice.com.au/ 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/NSWFallenPolice/ 

Australian Police YouTube Channel 

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
16 December 2021

Unnamed Female VicPol member

AKA  ? 

Late of  ? 

Victoria Police Academy – Squad #  ? ? ? 

Victoria Police Force

Regd. #  ????? 

Service:  From ? ? ?   to   ? ? ?  =  ? years Service  

Rank:  Commenced Training at / as ? Police Academy Police Cadet on ? ? ?

Probationary Constable- appointed ? ? ?

Constable – appointed ? ? ?

Constable 1st Class – appointed ? ? ? 

Detective – appointed ? ? ?

Senior Constable – appointed ? ? ? 

Leading Senior Constable – appointed ? ? ?

Sergeant 3rd Class – appointed ? ? ? 

Sergeant 2nd Class – appointed ? ? ?

Sergeant 1st Class – appointed ? ? ? 

Inspector – appointed ? ? ? 

Chief Inspector – appointed ? ? ? 

Superintendent – appointed ? ? ? 

Chief Superintendent – appointed ? ? ?

Final Rank =  ?

Stations:  ?,

Retirement / Leaving age: = ?

Time in Retirement from Police: ?

Awards:  National Medal – granted ? ? ?

1st Clasp to National Medal – granted ? ? ?

2nd Clasp to National Medal – granted ? ? ?

 Born:  ? ? ?

Died on:  Thursday 19 November 2021 

Age:  ?

Cause:  Suicide 

Event location:   ?

Event date:  ?

Funeral date:  ? ? ?

Funeral location:  ? 

( click here to see Cornona19 Virus Pandemic rules – this will be a limited numbers Funeral )

any Future Wake location:  ??? TBA 

any Future Wake date:  ??? TBA

( 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 ( July 2021 )

? is NOT mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance  * BUT SHOULD BE

? is NOT mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance  *NEED MORE INFO

? IS mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance

? is NOT mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance * NOT JOB RELATED

? IS mentioned on the Sydney Police Centre Memorial Wall, Surry Hills

FURTHER INFORMATION IS NEEDED ABOUT THIS PERSON, THEIR LIFE, THEIR CAREER AND THEIR DEATH.

PLEASE SEND PHOTOS AND INFORMATION TO Cal

May they forever Rest In Peace

https://www.facebook.com/groups/AustralianPolice.com.au/ 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/NSWFallenPolice/ 

Australian Police YouTube Channel 

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
20 November 2021

Guy Benjamin ZACCO

AKA Gaetano Zacco  

Late of Oberon, NSW  

New South Wales Police Force

Special Constable

Regd. #  2003078 

Service:  From ? ? 2003   to   1 November 2021  =  18 years Service  

Rank: 

Prior too joining the NSWPF as a Special Constable – he was employed as a Transit Officer with State Rail hence the 2003 Registered number.

Special Constable ( Ministerial )- appointed 28 November 2005

Special Constable 1st Class – appointed  ? ? ?

Final Rank =  Special Constable 1st Class 

Stations:  ?, Villawood Detention Centre, ?, Police HQ – Parramatta – Security Management Unit – Death

Retirement / Leaving age: =  44 years, 6 months, 15 days

Time in Retirement from Police: 0 ( Still Serving )

Awards:  No Find on Australian Honours system

 Born:  Sunday 17 April 1977 

Died on:  Monday 1 November 2021 

Age:  44 years, 6 months, 15 days

Cause:  Suicide – Depression:  Bullying & Harassment at work together with marital issues

Event location: Home – Oberon, NSW

Event date: Monday 1 November 2021 

Funeral date:   Friday 12 November 2021 @ 11am

Funeral location:  ” Grave Side ” Service at Rookwood General Cemetery, Hawthorne Ave, Rookwood

( click here to see Cornona19 Virus Pandemic rules – this will be a limited numbers Funeral )

any Future Wake location:  ??? TBA 

any Future Wake date:  ??? TBA

( 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: Max Perram’s Funeral Service, 143 George St, Liverpool, NSW 02 9602 6175

Buried at: Independent Lawn ‘ D ‘

Memorial / Plaque / Monument located at: ?

Dedication date of Memorial / Plaque / Monument: Nil – at this time ( November 2021 )

 GUY is NOT mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance  *NEED MORE INFO

   GUY IS NOT mentioned on the Sydney Police Centre Memorial Wall, Surry Hills ( BUT SHOULD BE )

FURTHER INFORMATION IS NEEDED ABOUT THIS PERSON, THEIR LIFE, THEIR CAREER AND THEIR DEATH.

PLEASE SEND PHOTOS AND INFORMATION TO Cal

May they forever Rest In Peace

https://www.facebook.com/groups/AustralianPolice.com.au/ 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/NSWFallenPolice/ 

Australian Police YouTube Channel 

We Remember – Mr Guy Zacco

The Bulls of Steel trademark was assigned an Application Number #1905161 by the Australia Intellectual Property Office (IP Australia). Trademark Application Number is a Unique ID to identify the Bulls of Steel mark in IP Australia.

The Bulls of Steel mark is filed in the category of Class 018 Leather and imitations of leather; animal skins and hides; luggage and carrying bags; umbrellas and parasols; walking sticks; whips, harness and saddlery; collars, leashes and clothing for animals. , Class 025 Clothing, footwear, headwear. . The legal correspondent for Bulls of Steel trademark is not available. The current status of the Bulls of Steel filing is Registered: Registered/protected.

Based on Guy Benjamin Zacco, the Bulls of Steel trademark is used in the following business: Coats for dogs; Collars for dogs; Dog collars; Leashes for animals; Leather leashes; Non-electronic training aids for animals (collars, harnesses, leashes, muzzles) , Apparel (clothing, footwear, headgear); Ladies clothing; Men’s clothing; Women’s clothing .

On Trademark Elite Platform, Every Application is Filed by Licensed Trademark Lawyers.

Bulls of Steel, An Australia Trademark of Guy Benjamin Zacco. Application Number: 1905161 :: Trademark Elite Trademarks

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
4 November 2021

Dennis James BASS

AKA  Sam BASS

Late of Nelson Bay, NSW  

NSW Police Training Centre – Redfern – Class #  105  

NSW Police Cadet # 1923

New South Wales Police Force

Uniform # 2010

Regd. #  11765

Service:  From 24 February 1964   to   ? ? c1984 ( Resigned )  =  20 years Service

Rank:  Commenced Training at Redfern Police Academy, as Police Cadet, on Monday 24 February 1964 ( aged 17 years, 2 months, 15 days )

Probationary Constable- appointed 9 December 1965 ( aged 19 years )

Constable – appointed 9 December 1966

Constable 1st Class – appointed ? ? ?

Detective – appointed ? ? ? ( YES )

Senior Constable – appointed 9 December 1974

Leading Senior Constable – appointed ? ? ? ( N/A )   

Sergeant 3rd Class – appointed ? ? ?

Sergeant 2nd Class – appointed ? ? ?

Does NOT Appear in the 1984 ‘ Stud Book ‘

Final Rank =  Detective Sergeant ?/Class

Stations:  ?, Bankstown ( 19 Division )( about 18 months ), South District ( 1968 ), ‘ D ‘ District ( 1969 ), Crookwell ( GDs ), Brewarrina ( 3 years ), Liverpool ( 22 Division )( ‘A’ List )( old Police Stn in Moore St ), 21 Division ( about 1972 ), Ashfield Detectives, Petersham Detective, Vice Squad – C.I.B., Randwick Detective – Resignation ( c1984 )

After resigning, he worked for the Egg Corporation and later as a Manager of a Country Club.

Retirement / Leaving age: = ?

Time in Retirement from Police: ?

Awards:  National Medal – granted 15 April 1981 ( Det SenCon )

 Born:  Monday  9 December 1946 in Bankstown, NSW

Died on:  Sunday 22 August 2021

Age:  74 years, 8 months, 13 days

Cause: Depression – Suicide – Hanging

Event location: Home, Nelson Bay, NSW

Event date:  Sunday 22 August 2021

Funeral date:  ? ? ? TBA

Funeral location:  ? TBA

( click here to see Cornona19 Virus Pandemic rules – this will be a limited numbers Funeral )

any Future Wake location:  ??? TBA 

any Future Wake date:  ??? TBA

( 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: France Family Funerals, Nelson Bay, NSW  02 4981 4488

Buried at: Cremated.  Ashes to be scattered at Shoal Bay, NSW

Memorial / Plaque / Monument located at: ?

Dedication date of Memorial / Plaque / Monument: Nil – at this time ( August 2021 )

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.

PLEASE SEND PHOTOS AND INFORMATION TO Cal

May they forever Rest In Peace

https://www.facebook.com/groups/AustralianPolice.com.au/ 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/NSWFallenPolice/ 

Australian Police YouTube Channel 

NSWPF Vice Squad c1979

Back Row ( L – R ) Patrick Philip CLEAR # 12440, Terence M. WALSH # 12771, Anthony R. REID # 13046, Donald Kevin MURRAY # 12315, Eric James GOLLAN # 14665, Nicholas J. STOVES # 11198

Front Row Allan J. ROSS # 10899, Geoffrey David HOGGETT # 9203, Douglas William NEWALL # 7121, Brian W. ROPE # 9307, Dennis James BASS # 11765

BASS
Dennis James

BASS, Dennis James Of Nelson Bay
22 August 2021. Aged 74 years.

Beloved husband of Julie.

Dearly loved father of his children and

cherished poppy of his grandchildren.

”Missing You Every Day”

Dennis James BASS Death Notice – | Port Stephens Examiner

First published on 24 August 2021.

Updated 28 August 2021.

Updated 28 April 2026 with Vice Squad photo.

David CAMPBELL

AKA  Camby, Soup  

Late of Penrith, NSW  

NSW Goulburn Police Academy –  Class #  311

New South Wales Police Force

Regd. #  46995

Service:  From 10 May 2010   to   8 May 2021  =  10 years, 11 months, 28 days Service  

Rank:  Commenced Training at Goulburn Police Academy on 10 May 2010 ( aged 25 years, 4 months, 22 days )

Probationary Constable- appointed 17 December 2010 ( aged 25 years, 11 months, 29 days )

Constable – appointed 17 December 2011

Constable 1st Class – appointed ? ? ? 

Detective – appointed ? ? ? ( NO )

Senior Constable – appointed 17 December 2015

Plain Cloths – from December 2017 

Final Rank =  Senior Constable 

Stations:  Mt Druitt ( 27 Division )( 17 December 2010 – 2017 ), Plain Clothes – Quakers Hill ( December 2017 – June 2019 ),  Wauchope ( June 2019 – 8 May 2021 ) – Death

Retirement / Leaving age: =  36 Years, 4 months, 20 days

Time in Retirement from Police:  zero

Awards:  No Find on Australian Honours system

 Born:  Tuesday  18 December 1984 

Died on:  Saturday 8 May 2021 

Age:  36 Years, 4 months, 20 days 

Cause:   Depression – Suicide – ( method ) ?

Event location:  Lake Cathie, NSW

Event date:  Saturday  8 May 2021

Funeral date:  Friday  21 May 2021 @ 2.30pm 

Funeral location:  Innes Gardens Memorial Park, Philip Charley Dve, Pt Macquarie, NSW  

( click here to see Cornona19 Virus Pandemic rules – this will be a limited numbers Funeral )

any Future Wake location:  Wauchope Golf Club

any Future Wake date:  Friday  21 May 2021

( 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 ( May 2021 )

 DAVID is NOT mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance – Canberra  * BUT SHOULD BE

David IS Mentioned on the Sydney Police Centre Memorial Wall – Right Wall  E12

FURTHER INFORMATION IS NEEDED ABOUT THIS PERSON, THEIR LIFE, THEIR CAREER AND THEIR DEATH.

PLEASE SEND PHOTOS AND INFORMATION TO Cal

May they forever Rest In Peace

https://www.facebook.com/groups/AustralianPolice.com.au/ 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/NSWFallenPolice/ 

Australian Police YouTube Channel 

Our deepest condolences to Dave’s wife Michelle, daughters Harper & Meadow and stepson Cooper.

At rest with their daughter Aspen who died in 2019.

‘I hope you’re at peace now’: Read the gut-wrenching letter a wife wrote after her policeman husband’s death almost three years after their daughter died at just four months old

• David Campbell tragically died on Saturday May 8, a day before Mother’s Day
• He left behind wife Michelle daughters Harper and Meadow, and stepson Cooper
• The tragedy comes just two years after their daughter Aspen died in 2019 
• In an open letter, Michelle said her ‘heart would ache forever’ for her husband
• A GoFundMe page has been launched to help support the family financially  

By Tita Smith For Daily Mail Australia

Published: 01:24 AEST, 16 May 2021 | Updated: 16:35 AEST, 16 May 2021

A heartbroken wife has penned a letter to her husband who took his final breath almost three years after their four-month-old daughter’s death.

David Campbell, a NSW police officer, died on May 8, a day before Mother’s Day, leaving behind his wife Michelle, their two daughters Harper and Meadow, and his stepson Cooper.

His death devastated his family who were still grieving of losing four-month-old Aspen in 2018.

In an open letter to David, Michelle described him as the ‘most gentle, loving and kind daddy’ and said she will miss him forever.

‘I never would have thought my heart would endure this much heartbreak in one lifetime,’ she wrote.

‘My heart is so heavy, so broken. I just can’t fathom how this is real, how you are no longer here on earth.’

Michelle said she was shocked by his sudden death and wished he could see how loved and missed he was already.

‘You and the kids are my whole world I don’t know how I will go on without you by my side, I know I will, have to for the kids but this is not the way it was suppose to be babe, we still had a lifetime together,’ she said.

‘I hope you are at peace now, I hope you have found our Aspen girl and are giving her the biggest hug. Cuddle her for me and tell her Mummy loves her.

‘I love you endlessly babe, I wish my love and the love of your girls could have kept you here with us.’

‘My heart will forever ache for you.’

Stacey Hollands, Michelle’s cousin, launched a GoFundMe page to help the family financially as she braces for the future without her husband.

The community rallied to support the family, with the fundraising campaign so far reaching $15,920 of its $100,000 goal.

Tributes have begun pouring in on social media for the father-of-three, who was remembered as a ‘beautiful’ person.

‘My heart is absolutely shattered for you. David was such a beautiful daddy, husband and friend. He will be truly missed. RIP Dave,’ one friend wrote on Michelle’s Instagram page.

‘My heart and soul is broken today. I never ever would have thought one family, one beautiful family could possibly endure so much heartache. I will treasure every single memory of him,’ another person wrote.

NSW Police told Daily Mail Australia it is offering support and welfare services to his family.

A report is being prepared for the coroner.  

The gut-wrenching letter a wife wrote her husband after died three years after their daughter | Daily Mail Online

https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/australia/the-gut-wrenching-letter-a-wife-wrote-after-her-husband-s-death/ar-BB1gLOKi?ocid=msedgntp

Help Michelle & Her Beautiful Children

• Created 7 days ago
• Babies, Kids & Family

https://gofund.me/46ff63b9

Fundraiser by Stacey Hollands : Help Michelle & Her Beautiful Children

By all accounts, he was a Terrific Police Officer and highly regarded by everyone who knew him

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
17 May 2021

Updated 2 February 2024 with SPC Memorial Plate location.

Craig Eric WILSON 

AKA  ? 

Late of Pt Macquarie, NSW  

NSW Goulburn Police Academy  –  Class # 245

New South Wales Police Force

Regd. #  27616

Service:  From 29 April 1990   to   16 March 2007  =  16 years, 10 months, 15 days Service  

Rank:  Commenced Training at Goulburn Police Academy on Sunday 29 April 1990 ( aged 18 years, 6 months, 16 days )

Probationary Constable- appointed Friday 26 October 1990 ( aged 19 years, 13 days )

Constable – appointed ? ? ?

Constable 1st Class – appointed ? ? ? 

Detective – appointed ? ? ?

Senior Constable – appointed ? ? ? 

Final Rank =  Senior Constable – Retirement 

Stations:  Leichhardt ( 8 Division )( ProCst ), ?, Bowral, ?, Port Macquarie – Retirement ( 16 March 2007 )

Retirement / Leaving age: = 35 years, 5 months, 3 days

Time in Retirement from Police: 14 years, 28 days

Awards:  No Find on Australian Honours system

 Born:  Wednesday  13 October 1971 

Died on:  Tuesday  13 April 2021

Age:  49 years, 6 months, 0 days 

Cause:  Depression – Suicide – Firearm – Privately owned 

Event location:   ?

Event date:  Tuesday  13 April 2021 

Funeral date:  Friday  23 April 2021 @ 1pm

Funeral location:  Innes Garden Memorial Park, Philip Charley Dr, Port Macquarie, NSW

Anyone wishing to send flowers, we ask that you please put that money to a donation to Police Legacy or Soldier On instead.  These were organisations that were very close to his heart.

He would also have loved to see his mates with their medals on.

( click here to see Cornona19 Virus Pandemic rules – this will be a limited numbers Funeral )

any Future Wake location:  ??? TBA 

any Future Wake date:  ??? TBA

( 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 ( April 2021 )

 CRAIG 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.

PLEASE SEND PHOTOS AND INFORMATION TO Cal

May they forever Rest In Peace

https://www.facebook.com/groups/AustralianPolice.com.au/ 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/NSWFallenPolice/ 

Australian Police YouTube Channel 

Former Port Macquarie residents and now probationary constable, Craig Wilson & Todd Scott. Absent from the photo is Scott Russell.Craig WILSON ( Regd # 27616 ), Scott RUSSELL ( Regd # 27483 ) and Todd SCOTT ( Regd # 27415 ) are among 314 graduates of Police Recruit Education Program Class 245 from Goulburn Police Academy.

The extensive PREP course lasts three months and is regarded among the best of it type in the world.

The probationary constable started work at Sydney stations on October 27 ; officer Wilson at Leichhardt and officers Russell and Scott at Waverley.
Minister for Police and emergency Services, Ted Pickering, congratulated the recruits, saying they were embarking on a challenging career.

May Craig Forever Rest In Peace

Cal
16 April 2021

Updated 27 May 2025 with additional Station of attachment and newspaper clipping.

Lisa Ann CAMWELL nee PARRISH

the First Full Time Female Rescue Operator at Zetland Rescue Squad

AKA  ?

Late of  ?

NSW Goulburn Police Academy –  PREP Class #  242

New South Wales Police Force

Regd. #  26988

Rank:  Commenced Training at Goulburn Police Academy on 30 July 1989  ( aged 20 years, 9 months, 26 days ) ( spent 5 months, 26 days at the Academy )

Probationary Constable- appointed Thursday  25 January 1990 ( aged 21 years, 6 months, 23 days )  

Constable – appointed 27 April 1991

Constable 1st Class – appointed ? ? ?

Detective – appointed ? ? ? ( NO )

Senior Constable – appointed 30 June 1995 

Leading Senior Constable – appointed ? ? ?

Final Rank =  Senior Constable 

Retirement / Leaving age: =  49 years, 6 months, 15 days

Stations:  Sutherland, Menai GDs, State Protection Group – Police Rescue Squad – Zetland ( 4 July 1993 – ? ), Engadine Police Rescue Squad, ?, Monaro District, Police Rescue Squad – Cooma & GDs & Lock Up Keeper ( 12 July 1998 – 5 January 2004 ), Queanbeyan GDs ( 6 January 2004 – 18 September 2010 ), Queanbeyan had a name change to Monaro / Cooma District ( 12 January 2004 ), Blue Mountains GDs & Police Rescue ( 19 September 2010 – 19 April 2018 )

Service:  From 29 October 1989   to   19 April 2018  =  28 years, 8 months, 20 days Service

Awards:  No Find on Australian Honours system although –

NSW Police Medal ( 10 years ) granted on 30 September 2004

1st Clasp to NSW Police Medal ( 15 years ) granted on 30 March 2005

National Medal ( 15 years ) granted on 28 April 2005

2nd Clasp to NSW Police Medal ( 20 years ) granted on 11 October 2010

NSW Police Commissioners Sesquicentennary Citation granted on 4 October 2012

1st Clasp to National Medal ( 20 years ) granted on 10 September 2018

3rd Clasp to NSW Police Medal ( 25 years ) granted on 10 September 2018

NSW Police National Service Medal granted on 10 September 2018

Born:  Friday  4 October 1968 

Died on:  Saturday  2 January 2021

Age:  52 years, 2 months, 29 days

Cause:  PTSD – Liver and Kidney failure 

Event location: Blacktown Hospital, NSW

Event date:  Saturday  2 January 2021 

Funeral date:  Tuesday  12 January 2021 @ 2pm 

Funeral location:   Pinegrove Memorial Park, North Chapel, Kington St, Minchinbury, NSW  02 9625 8066

( click here to see Cornona19 Virus Pandemic rules – this will be a limited numbers Funeral )

any Future Wake location:  ??? TBA 

any Future Wake date:  ??? TBA

( 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.

PLEASE SEND PHOTOS AND INFORMATION TO Cal

May they forever Rest In Peace

https://www.facebook.com/groups/AustralianPolice.com.au/ 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/NSWFallenPolice/ 

Australian Police YouTube Channel 

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

Officer who found Byrne’s body grilled

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.

NSW reports: Exact spot of model’s body ‘forgotten’ – 9 September 2008

Murder trial hears of ‘freakish scream’

During the trial the court was told of some

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 [The12]

Death of Caroline Byrne

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigation Jump to search

Death of Caroline Byrne

Date	7 June 1995
Location	The Gap, Watsons Bay, New South Wales, Australia
Coordinates	33.843803°S 151.284998°E Coordinates: 33.843803°S 151.284998°E
Cause	Death by falling
Deaths	Caroline Byrne
Coroner	John Abernethy
Suspects	Gordon Wood
Charges	Murder
Verdict	Guilty, overturned on appeal

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

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]:205 Graham 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 Cowdery QC 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]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Caroline_Byrne

Nothing further, than what is recorded above, is known about this woman at the time of publication.

Cal
3 January 2021