Bowraville killings: Someone’s about to get away with murder
Increasing the reward for information about the three missing Bowraville children to $1 million is nothing more than a smokescreen giving families false hope, writes former NSW Police detective Gary Jubelin.
Opinion
Don't miss out on the headlines from Opinion. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A $1 million reward sounds pretty good.
But in the case of catching whoever murdered three Bowraville children 30 years ago, it’s just a smokescreen. It’s offering false hope to families who deserve so much better.
And it’s not going to work.
I don’t offer that opinion lightly — and I realise there will be people who strongly disagree with me or claim I’m critical of NSW Police because of my own circumstances.
Here’s why I believe increasing the existing reward from $250,000 — where it has been for 13 years — to $1 million has limited investigative benefit.
MORE OPINION
ScoMo’s corona-cynicism is the real health threat
Our broken system is only perpetuating family violence
Why are there suddenly so many bums in Jane Austen films?
I led the NSW Police’s homicide reinvestigation into these murders from 1997 to my retirement in 2019. The evidence in this matter has been dissected and scrutinised by some of the sharpest legal minds in the state.
There has been extensive media coverage, public protests, significant legislative changes and a parliamentary inquiry.
The reinvestigation uncovered new evidence including fresh eyewitness testimony, alleged confessions and other crucial information.
Around 2009 it became apparent the legal minds responsible for this matter going to court wanted to wait, just in case new evidence turned up.
This was totally contrary to what investigators working on the murders felt. No new evidence was — or is — going to be forthcoming in this matter. We have wrung it dry.
Another important factor is that the majority of witness in the matter are Aboriginal and with the high early mortality rate in Aboriginal communities, witnesses have already started dying.
Offering rewards in certain investigations is a legitimate investigative strategy. It can sometimes get people talking.
This is not the case at this stage of the Bowraville investigation. Everyone who will talk has already done so.
Had the NSW Police taken the time to speak to myself or any of the other members of the strike force still with the force, they would have been aware of all this before they announced the $1 million reward.
The Bowraville murders need to be heard by a single jury. For that to happen, the “double jeopardy” law needs to change, to admit the new evidence we have already uncovered. This $1 million reward gives politicians a soft option to keep delaying.
If we wait another 10 years, the chance will be lost, and someone will have got away with murder.