DPP will review evidence against two men who left tragic Norma to die on a beach
THE state’s top prosecutor will review the evidence against two men who allegedly had sex with a woman who suffered horrific internal injuries and bled to death on a beach.
THE state’s top prosecutor will review the evidence against two men who allegedly had “wild sex” with a woman who suffered horrific internal injuries and bled to death on a beach.
Police charged Adrian Attwater, 42, with manslaughter and Paul Maris, 46, with being an accessory after the fact but the DPP withdrew the charges in 2012.
Attwater and Maris have always maintained that the sex was consensual.
After a 2014 inquest State Coroner Michael Barnes urged that the case be reopened, finding there was enough evidence to potentially secure convictions against Attwater and Maris.
He referred the case of the woman, who was given the pseudonym Norma to protect her young family, to the DPP but director Lloyd Babb refused to pursue the pair.
Attorney-General Gabrielle Upton yesterday asked the DPP to review the matter again after The Daily Telegraph reported on the case and the woman’s family, who want answers.
“This is a truly horrible case and my thoughts go to the family and friends of Norma,” Ms Upton said. “I have asked the Director of Public Prosecutions to review the matter. The DPP has agreed to that.”
The Coroner’s Court was told that Attwater, from Maclean, and Maris, from Tyndale, burned a blood-soaked mattress and some of Norma’s clothing after she died on Ten Mile Beach, on NSW’s north coast on January 27, 2011.
During the inquest a forensic pathologist ruled the injuries she suffered were “more severe than those which occur in even precipitous childbirth”.
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EARLIER STORY: NO JUSTICE FOR TRAGIC NORMA
Janet Fife-Yeomans
THE state’s top prosecutor has come under fire for refusing to prosecute two men after a drunken woman they had sex with in the back of a vehicle bled to death from shocking internal injuries.
The men, Adrian Attwater, 42, and Paul Maris, 46, burned a blood-soaked mattress and some of the woman’s clothing before seeking help after she died on a beach near Iluka on the state’s north coast on January 27, 2011.
A forensic pathologist who examined the 33-year-old woman’s body said the woman’s injuries “were more severe than those which occur in even precipitous childbirth”.
Both men told police they had “wild sex” with her the night before she died, but insisted it had been consensual.
After an inquest in 2014, State Coroner Michael Barnes referred the men to the Director of Public Prosecutions, stating they likely had a case to answer.
But, remarkably, the DPP’s Lloyd Babb has refused to charge them.
Mr Barnes labelled the men’s behaviour callous and found there was evidence that would lead to a jury convicting them over the woman’s death.
Mr Babb recently told the family of the woman, who is described only by the pseudonym Norma, that the men will not be charged.
Karen Willis, executive officer of Rape and Domestic Violence Services Australia, has urged Mr Babb to reconsider.
“A woman has died in the most horrendous of circumstances and a coroner’s court seems to be indicating there is a case to answer,” Ms Willis told The Daily Telegraph.
“I encourage the DPP to reconsider the position based on the coroner’s findings. I’m assuming the DPP has a reason. It would be great to know what that is.
“Perhaps there are times when the circumstances are so horrendous that the courts should be the place where decisions are made.”
Three months after Norma’s death, police charged Mr Attwater, of Maclean, with Norma’s manslaughter and Mr Maris, of Tyndale, with being an accessory after the fact.
However, the DPP withdrew both charges in 2012 before they reached a committal hearing.
At the inquest, held in Grafton, Mr Barnes found the two men had lied about a number of things, and with a blood-alcohol level of about .35, Norma would have been too drunk to consent to sex. The legal limit for driving is under .05.
She was also found to have taken a small amount of methylamphetamine.
“The court expresses its contempt and disgust for the callous disregard for her welfare shown by her supposed friends Messrs Attwater and Maris,” Mr Barnes said in his findings.
“The fatal injuries were accidentally inflicted during sexual activity undertaken at a time when it is likely Norma was too intoxicated to be able to meaningfully consent.
“The person responsible for the injury failed to respond to it by seeking medical attention for Norma, even though she was ... incapable of obtaining that for herself.”
While Mr Attwater told police that Norma had “carried on as normal”, Mr Maris said she lapsed into unconsciousness, Mr Barnes said.
Both men said she never complained about the pain.
“I conclude both men are dishonestly denying any such complaint was made because they fear it reflects adversely on them,” Mr Barnes said.
The men called a fisherman to help the next morning and dialled triple-0 after claiming that Norma had collapsed while swimming, even though her mother says she hardly ever swam.
Mr Barnes said he did not accept she had been able to go swimming “just minutes before she allegedly collapsed and died from blood loss”.
He said that Norma, a mother of seven, had suffered domestic violence in some of her earlier relationships.
“It seems she was far more frequently the victim of mistreatment at the hands of those she should have been protected by,” he said.
“She was dearly loved by her family and she returned that affection. I know she is sadly missed by her children, her siblings, her parents and her extended family. I offer them all my sincere condolences.”
A spokeswoman for the DPP declined to comment.
KIND MUM ‘NEVER HAD A DECENT BLOKE’
THE woman at the centre of this grisly tragedy is known simply as Norma, and her face can’t be shown to protect the identity of her young family.
She had seven children, who were looked after by her family, and although she was known to “like a drink”, she was kind-hearted, broadly liked and wanted everyone to be happy.
Her older sister said Norma ‘’never had a decent bloke” and all of her partners had bashed her, according to her statement tendered to the inquest. “I used to tell her to leave them and all that stuff but she would not leave them,” her sister said.
She last saw Norma when she called in to her house with Maris and Attwater on the afternoon of January 26 on their way
to the beach.
Norma’s mum said she was always shy of her body and would never go swimming. “She was a very active woman who was polite, honest, kind-hearted and loved her kids,” her mother said. “I always thought of her as a person who wanted everyone to be happy and to have fun, just like the song Girls Just Want to Have Fun.”
Her twin brother told police the family wanted answers. “I just don’t understand why she has died at the age of 33. We seek the answers as to why she has passed away,” he said.
HOW THE HORROR UNFOLDED
January 26, 2011
Norma joins Paul Maris and Adrian Attwater in Maris’ Toyota troop carrier to go up Ten Mile Beach and drink. They have what both men describe as a “wild night of sex”.
January 27
Norma dies on the beach, naked, having lost a fatal amount of blood from traumatic injuries inflicted during sex.
April 2
Police charge Attwater with manslaughter and Maris with being an accessory after the fact to manslaughter.
March 2012
Grafton Local Court. DPP withdraws the charges against both men.
August 11 — 15, 2014
State Coroner Michael Barnes holds inquest into Norma’s death.
November 27
Mr Barnes refers Maris and Attwater to the DPP after finding a “reasonable prospect” that a jury would convict the men of an offence.
January 2016
DPP refuses to prosecute. Gives no reasons.
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