Murder mystery of Sydney teenager Nathan Garriock
DOZENS of emergency crews arrived to take injured teens to hospital after gatecrashers attended an out-of-control party in Sydney’s south west. But Nathan Garriock never made it home. This is the twist that no one saw coming. LISTEN TO EPISODE ONE NOW
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NATHAN Garriock had just turned 17 when he was killed at his best friend’s party in Camden.
Hundreds of people were at the birthday bash, but no one admits seeing what happened to Nathan — and police have never charged anyone over his death.
Everyone was drunk. 15 years have passed. And the bonds of mateship are so powerful that even today, the people who know the truth are scared to talk.
In a groundbreaking multimedia investigation, The Sunday Telegraph has unearthed a confession that blows the case wide open.
This is a story about intrigue, loyalty, rivalry, secrets and a wild clash of cultures in Sydney’s suburbs.
Today we ask: Just how much would you take on, or give up, for a friend?
Our podcast investigation will take you along as we hunt for a killer — and the truth about what happened that night.
DEADLY PARTY
IT was supposed to be the party of the year.
Nathan Garriock’s best mate Jay Kneller was turning 18 and he planned to celebrate with an epic party at his parents place in Camden, in south western Sydney, on June 14, 2003.
Jay had designed the party invitations on a mate’s computer and printed 65 copies to hand out to close friends and school buddies.
The small paper invite cheerily titled “Howz it goin' babe?” boasts beer will be supplied but warns the birthday bash is invitation-only with “strict security”.
Facebook hadn’t been invented then but bored teens in the semirural suburb gave social media a run for its money. News of the festivities spread like wildfire and at least 100 teenagers showed up.
Nathan had just turned 17 the week before and had earned his P-plates. His parents Joan and Bill helped him buy his first car — an electric blue Holden ute with mag wheels and enough space on the tray to load up his cherished dirt bike.
“He had two accidents in the time he got his licence on the Tuesday to the Saturday,” says Mrs Garriock, rolling her eyes. “Jay ran up the back of him and they didn’t speak all week. And then he hit another car at McDonalds.”
Nathan had spent the morning washing his new car and buying new stickers for its unveiling at the celebration later that evening.
He then headed out to play soccer — a sport the Garriock family are famous for.
His big sister Heather is the star player for the Australian women’s soccer team and was in training for the FIFA World Cup to be held in the US.
The backyard is pumping with beats reverberating from the DJ’s speakers, kids are dancing to Lose Yourself by Eminem. There’s a bonfire masking the crisp June air.
Some teen gatecrashers arrive and are asked to leave, which they do uneventfully. Until just after midnight when seven men aged in their 20s waltz down the driveway, one of them carrying a box of Jim Beam and cola cans.
It’s immediately apparent the men aren’t invited. It’s not only their age, which is at least five years older than the teens at the party, but the car racing and sports-branded clothing they are wearing is in stark contrast to the skater and surfing logos worn by the teens.
The geographical and social-economic divide is palpable. Someone yells out “f**k off Westies”.
The gatecrashers are told to leave and instantly a fight erupts.
Partygoers who had been dancing in the backyard now charge up the side of the house to confront the gatecrashers.
They arm themselves with 4x2 planks of wood taken from the pile being used for the bonfire.
In the confusion people hit each other, unsure who the gatecrashers are, adrenaline blurring their judgment.
The fight spills out of the front yard on to the road and 100m down Remembrance Drive.
No one notices the car lights racing towards a crowd standing in a ditch a few houses down from Jay’s place. Bodies bounce off the car.
“When I came to all I remember is lying on the ground and it was f**king chaos,” says Jamie Cross. He had known Jay for years, they used to be neighbours.
“I was like, what the hell happened?”
One of the gatecrashers, a 22-year old, was behind the wheel of the white Holden Commodore when it was driven at high speed into the group of youngsters.
“All I remember is trying to get up and falling over. Then someone carried me to an ambo,” says Jamie.
Dozens of ambulances arrive to take the injured to hospital while the other kids frantically call their parents to come and pick them up.
But Nathan Garriock never made it home.
At 1.37am on June 15, 2003, Nathan is pronounced dead at Camden Hospital.
His death certificate says he was found at the scene of a MVA (motor vehicle accident) versus crowd and the cause of death is head injuries.
Hysterical teenagers lining Camden Hospital’s corridors, some injured, some just there for support, tell the Garriock family a gatecrasher ploughed into them and Nathan was hit by the car.
But evidence comes to light that Nathan died from a closed head injury, suffering blunt force trauma unlikely to be caused by a car.
The family are confused. Was it the driver who killed their son or someone else? They wait for answers. And they are still waiting.
It has been 15 years and Nathan’s family still are trying to piece together the puzzle of what happened that night and who is responsible for his death.
There are a myriad of complicating factors as to why the police investigation failed to find who killed their boy.
The partygoers, whose ages ranged from 15 to 18 — their brains not even mature enough to have developed reasoning skills, were also marinated in a cocktail of Tooheys New, bourbon and Bacardi Breezers.
Their adrenaline would have been pumping like crazy, and they felt they were under attack or were defenders saving their pack.
It was 12.30am and there was very limited street lighting. Some witnesses say they couldn’t see their hands in front of them.
So the kids were drunk, fuelled with fight or flight impulses, and couldn’t see what was happening or if anyone was about to attack. Lashing out was almost a defence mechanism.
However the most frustrating aspect of the case was that none of the 100-odd partygoers interviewed by police could tell them how Nathan ended up battered and lifeless at the rear of the car.
Fifteen years of speculation and rumour has reached fever pitch.
Someone knows what happened and the Garriock family are determined to get some closure.
“You can’t expect me to understand. There were so many people at that party and nobody saw anything? They say ‘I saw Nathan lying on the ground’, well how did he get there?” says Nathan’s mother Joan.
Coming up in Gatecrash: a confession that changes everything, what the driver revealed when police finally caught him — and how a crime scene investigator pieced together Nathan’s last moments alive.
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* If you know anything about the death of Nathan Garriock, you can make an anonymous phone call to Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or email nicole.hogan@news.com.au
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