Catch me if you can: Inside story of former Liberal Party President John Malcolm West’s escape and 34 years on the run
The signs were there that accused fraudster John Malcolm West was preparing to flee. His apartment was empty, his glamorous wife had disappeared. Then he was gone, without a trace.
Police & Courts
Don't miss out on the headlines from Police & Courts. Followed categories will be added to My News.
For 34 years wanted fugitive John Malcolm West evaded authorities, travelling the world on an Irish passport while the reams of evidence the prosecution intended to lead against him mouldered in storage.
In the end, it was Mr West’s affection for his mother that brought him back to Australia and his daughter’s concern for her father’s worsening health that prompted her to make an application for a Medicare card on his behalf.
With her touch on a keyboard to send that application, Mr West went from free as a bird to languishing in an Adelaide prison.
The former SA Liberal Party president skipped the country in July 1988, just as he was due to stand trial on 27 charges of fraudulent conversion.
Mr West allegedly siphoned $87,000 – the equivalent of about $360,000 today – from clients and partners at a law firm between August 26, 1981 and December 12, 1984.
He was placed on a $10,000 bail agreement, which allowed him to live in Victoria but banned him from getting a passport.
Despite searches across Australia – and an attempt to have him extradited from Zimbabwe Mr West, 74, remained on the run until returning to Australia in March to see his ailing mother and mother-in-law.
The signs were there in 1988 that not all was as it seemed with Mr West.
The former successful lawyer had recently obtained a commercial pilot’s licence and police reported at the time he had been purchasing aeronautical maps.
The phone at Mr West’s apartment in Windsor, an affluent suburb in Melbourne’s west, had been disconnected and the property itself vacated with rent still to be paid several weeks before his trial was to start.
In early July, 1988 Mr West withdrew $1200 cash from a bank branch in Adelaide before returning to Melbourne.
Mr West’s second wife, former Olympic runner Verna Burnard, had resigned from her job as a physical education teacher at Lowther Hall, a Melbourne private school, and on July 13 boarded a Malaysian Airline Systems flight bound for Kuala Lumpur.
Police were not sure whether Mr West was with her as she left the country.
The alarm was raised when Mr West failed to meet with his lawyer on July 12, a day ahead of the beginning of his trial.
A bench warrant was issued the next day after then acting senior assistant Crown solicitor Wendy Abraham, now a Justice of the Federal Court, admitted police had no idea where Mr West was.
The revelation triggered a nationwide manhunt which quickly went global when police realised Mr West might have flown himself out of the country.
Interpol was asked to investigate, and police issued a statement that Mr West may have shaved his beard to change his appearance.
On July 18, 1988, an anonymous phone caller to The Advertiser gave a statement - purportedly on behalf of Mr West.
The caller said that since 1985, Mr West had been required to attend court more than 100 times to answer prosecution allegations, which had never resulted in a conviction.
“They have nevertheless taken an enormous emotional and financial toll on myself and my family,” the statement said.
“I think the time has been reached when enough is enough.
“No one should be expected to be subjected to scrutiny ad infinitum.”
By October 1988, police had established Mr West was hiding in Zimbabwe and attempted to have him extradited back to Australia.
The problem was, no extradition agreement existed between the two countries and Mr West remained untouchable.
He spent the ensuing years abroad in various countries in Europe and the Middle East.
His lawyer, Stephen Ey, told the Supreme Court earlier this month that his client had been travelling on an Irish passport and worked as a flight trainer.
He said Mr West had most recently been living in Paris, where he applied for an Australian passport.
Mr West’s LinkedIn page suggests he had been working as a flight trainer in Dubai, while Ms Burnard’s LinkedIn profile suggests she was a PE teacher there.
In March, Mr West arrived in Townsville and was living with his daughter, a medical practitioner.
“She became concerned when seeing him on his return and organised a medical appointment to try and get Medicare documents together for her father,” Mr Ey said.
Mr Ey presented a report to the court which diagnosed Mr West with Alzheimer’s disease or early onset dementia.
“I have grave concerns about my client’s ability to stand trial given his health,” he said.
“This matter is going to take some time, even then given his deterioration it is doubtful a trial will ever take place.”
Mr West was remanded in custody as Mr Ey and the prosecution continued reviewing the three decade old case.
A decision is yet to be made about whether Mr West is fit to stand trial.
‘All hell had broken loose’: Driver’s romantic claims for fleeing RBT
A man who dragged a police officer along the road with his car said he went on to make “one bad decision after another” but just wanted to see his partner one more time.
‘Serial killer’ blames bikie, ill man for pensioners’ murders
An accused triple murderer has suggested two other people could be responsible for some of his alleged crimes – but they’ve hit back in fiery court exchanges.