Court: Adrian Torrens, 53, charged with murder of Audrey Griffin at Erina Creek
The moment a probe into the accidental drowning of teenager Audrey Griffin turned into a murder investigation has been revealed in new police documents.
Central Coast
Don't miss out on the headlines from Central Coast. Followed categories will be added to My News.
The moment an accidental death probe turned into a murder investigation after a teen drowned in a Central Coast creek has been revealed in new police documents.
The Daily Telegraph can exclusively reveal police will allege Adrian Torrens had a physical altercation with 19-year-old Audrey Griffin in which she screamed and attempted to fight him off – resulting in his DNA transferring to her fingernail.
Police allege Torrens then struck her on the left side of her face, which either knocked her unconscious and caused her to drown, or that he deliberately held her under water.
It marks a shock development in the case police had repeatedly insisted was not thought of as suspicious for weeks – and as recently as last Thursday – even as they appealed for public assistance to identify a man shown on CCTV they now allege is Torrens.
In the documents seen by The Daily Telegraph, police allege the case became a murder investigation only after witnesses recognised Torrens in the image.
The document states Ms Griffin was visiting friends on the Central Coast from Sydney the night she died, with her last known movements being Punt Bridge in Erina.
She had sent two SnapChat videos to a friend, which showed her walking home and linked her location on SnapMaps – a live map where a user’s location can be seen in real time by contacts.
She had earlier parted ways with her ex-boyfriend in the Gosford CBD, after drinking with him and another friend at a pub, saying she was going to take an Uber back to Terrigal.
The document states police will allege Torrens’ phone pinged at 2.43am near Pateman Rd, Erina, where Ms Griffin’s body was later found.
When Ms Griffin didn’t return home the next morning, her friends tried to contact her several times before she was reported missing at 3.45pm that afternoon.
The friend she was staying with, who reported her missing, then went to her last known location and discovered her handbag dumped in bushland.
Police then found Ms Griffin’s body face down in Erina Creek, with her cause of death then deemed a drowning.
The documents state she had a number of scratches to her upper arms and a mark to the left side of her face that could have been a blunt force injury, but no defensive injuries.
An unnamed witness, who lived near the border of Erina Creek, told police about 3am on March 23 that she heard a high pitched scream which lasted about a minute, but dismissed it as a fox.
Torrens was arrested as he left a Surry Hills home, and charged with Ms Griffin’s murder and a number of domestic violence offences against his former partner.
Torrens, represented by high profile criminal lawyer Bashaar Elkheir from Cordoba Legal, did not appear in Downing Centre Local Court on Thursday and his matters were swiftly adjourned.
He was remanded in custody and will next face court on June 20.
High profile criminal lawyer Bashaar Elkheir was met with a media scrum outside the Downing Centre Local Court after his client’s brief appearance.
Mr Elkheir said his client was faring “as well as (he) can be under the circumstances” in custody, but could not comment if his client would be contesting the charges.
Speaking to media outside Gosford Police Station on Tuesday afternoon, Superintendent Darryl Jobson said the case had concerned police from the outset due to its unusual circumstances.
“The complexities and seriousness of the matter led police to establish a strike force, with the aim of providing the family with answers as to how a 19-year-old was found dead in a creek,” Supt Jobson said.
“This matter didn’t sit well with police from the very beginning.
“On Friday morning, we received significant information which changed the nature of the investigation from a coronial matter to a homicide.”
Supt Jobson said detectives had worked tirelessly over the weekend leading up to Torrens’ arrest, with officers said to have “a gut feeling” something more was going on.
“These are the kinds of instances where police want answers, because families want answers and when there are gaps in information, and a 19-year-old woman is found in a creek, it’s very unsettling for us,” Supt Jobson said.
“We will also be alleging that other individuals came forward with information relevant to this incident.
“You can only imagine the grief they (family) have experienced just based on that information (that he had DV charges) but for them to be told an individual is alleged to have caused that woman’s death, it is absolutely gut wrenching for that family, and they are devastated.
“There is a ripple effect that goes through the community, first responders also feel it, there is a ripple effect. Our hearts go out to the family.”
CCTV catches out car thief after RSL ride
A man with an “extensive” criminal record who stole a woman’s car after she kindly offered him a lift to a Central Coast RSL told police he could not remember where he parked it.
Read more
‘Just grass’: Man facing massive fines for clearing 6ha of saltmarsh
A man is facing “massive fines” after clearing 6ha of protected saltmarsh from his Hawkesbury River property, telling NSW Fisheries officers “it’s all just grass”.
Read more