Trial of alleged NCA bomber Domenic Perre hears evidence of survivor Peter Wallis, sees photos and videos of devastation caused
He died two years ago but the man who survived the 1994 NCA bombing has still been heard in court – thanks to reams of written, photo and video evidence. WATCH NOW
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The explosion that ripped through the NCA building in 1994 has been described by the man who survived it as “a roar that seemed to go on and on”.
The Supreme Court has also heard Detective Sergeant Geoffrey Bowen was so “apprehensive and suss” about the ultimately fatal parcel that he checked it for wires as he opened it.
Justice Kevin Nicholson on Wednesday released photographs, videos and other exhibits from the trial of Domenic Perre to The Advertiser. That evidence included the testimony of former NCA lawyer Peter Wallis, who was standing next to Detective Sergeant Bowen when the parcel bomb detonated.
In an interview with SA Police from his hospital bed, immediately after the explosion, Mr Wallis says he handed his friend a pair of scissors, at his request, to open the parcel. “When he opened the plastic package, he looked in and said ‘no wires’, like he was apprehensive,” he says.
“I don’t know why I stayed, because I was going to go … Geoff was just slicing and slitting along (the tape around the box). I just remember this giant explosion – no, that’s not even right, it was a roar that seemed to go on and on.”
Perre, 63, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Detective Sergeant Bowen and attempting to murder Mr Wallis while motivated by “festering hatred” for the officer.
Mr Wallis died in his Ballarat home, aged 66, in November 2018 as a result of a stroke. He spent decades overcoming the challenges of injuries both physical – the loss of an eye and severe burn scarring – and psychological caused by the bombing.
On the day of Perre’s arrest, in March 2018, he told The Advertiser he was “elated” by progress in the longtime cold case.
Because of Mr Wallis’ death, his evidence in the trial is being given by affidavits collating all of his witness statements over the span of almost three decades.
In one of those statements, Mr Wallis says Detective Sergeant Bowen was suspicious of the parcel, addressed to him, from the moment it arrived at the NCA’s offices.
“Geoff said ‘I don’t know what this is, I didn’t order anything’ so security ran the (metal detector) wand over it and said it was all right,” he says. The trial continues.
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