David Eastman found not guilty of murder of Colin Winchester

He spent 19 years in jail for the 1989 murder of police chief Colin Winchester. But a jury has today found former public servant David Eastman not guilty after a marathon trial.

Accused killer David Harold Eastman has been found not guilty of the execution-style murder of AFP assistant commissioner Colin Winchester in 1989, in a sensational conclusion to a trial that has effectively been running for 30 years.

After a week of deliberations and fears there would be no result, the 12-person jury in Eastman’s ACT Supreme Court murder trial today returned the verdict leaving stunned prosecutors to ponder who then was behind the shooting.

Winchester was shot twice in the head at close range as he sat in his car outside his leafy Deakin home in Canberra on the night of January 10, 1989.

There was an audible gasp as the verdict was read out in court to which 73-year-old Eastman — who had spent almost two decades in jail over the slaying — responded by simply bowing his head and mouthing the words “thank you”.

He was then discharged by the judge and left proceedings finally declared a free and innocent man. He has already launched a claim for compensation.

David Eastman, outside court in Canberra, has been found not guilty of Colin Winchester’s murder. Picture: Gary Ramage

It was the second time Eastman has been tried for the murder, the latest hearing having sat for 57 days, involving 127 witnesses and 40 statements. He has consistently denied any knowledge of the slaying, instead pointing his finger at the Calabrian Mafia.

The Winchester family said it had been an arduous experience for them over many decades.

“We believe the verdict is wrong and we are extremely disappointed given the significant volume of compelling evidence,” the family said in a statement.

The prosecution alleged Eastman, 73, had developed a murderous hatred of Mr Winchester, who he blamed for imperilling his bid to rejoin the Commonwealth public service.

The defence counsel told the ACT Supreme Court there were too many unknowns and gaps for the jury to find Eastman guilty.

Police chief Colin Winchester was shot dead outside his Canberra home.

The funeral cortege for Colin Winchester in 1989.

Family friend John Hinchey said the AFP would also feel the pain of the decision.

“They would be heartbroken, I would believe, and grief stricken, again. It is another day of mourning for the AFP and the Winchesters,” he told reporters outside court.

Eastman was convicted of Winchester’s murder in November 1995. He appealed to the Full Federal Court two years later and the High Court of Australia in May 2000.

After various judicial inquiries, the Full Court ordered the conviction quashed in 2014, citing a miscarriage of justice and despite suspecting he was guilty famously claimed “a nagging doubt” remained as it ordered the matter be retried.

Eastman has consistently claimed he knew nothing of the murder and said it was more likely to have been the Italian Mafia. The legal bill from the three decades of legal wrangles is believed to have totalled up to $20 million.

David Harold Eastman has consistently claimed he knew nothing about the murder. Picture: Gary Ramage

Director of Public Prosecutions Jon White in a brief statement said the case was heard fully and professionally from both sides in what was a “challenging” case.

“My thoughts are with the Winchester family who have displayed great forbearance in the face of unimaginable tribulations,” he said.

In opening the Crown’s case, prosecutor Murugan Thangaraj said the former treasury public servant had developed a “murderous hate” for police and exacted revenge by killing the top cop.

He said Eastman had been involved in a fight with a neighbour and fearing an assault charge would hamper his efforts of a return to the public service, appealed to police to drop the charges.

When he was advised they wouldn’t they claimed he bought a gun, stalked Winchester then killed him.

Colin Winchester was shot dead while sitting in his driveway.

The police murder investigation was one of the largest in Australian history and had looked at other suspects including the Italian Mafia - whom Winchester was targeting after the discovery of drug crops across the border in NSW.

Police ruled out it being a professional hit when they found the gun dealer who had sold the Ruger .22 weapon used in the Winchester slaying; professional hitmen, they concluded, don’t buy guns from registered weapons dealers.

But the prosecution’s case was largely circumstantial with not even the gun dealer able to pick Eastman out as the gun buyer and months of eavesdropping by police against Eastman found scant evidence although he was recorded musing to himself “he was the first man, the first man I ever killed”.

Mr Thangaraj said the police investigation was possibly unprecedented in Australia in size and scope but ultimately conceded his case was largely circumstantial.

“What the investigation shows, what the evidence shows is there are too many coincidences in this case for someone other than Mr Eastman to have murdered Mr Winchester,” he concluded.

Eastman’s defence counsel George Georgiou, SC, labelled the prosecution case like a cable which had been stretched and withered and breaking away over the years.

“There are too many unknowns, too many gaps and too many pieces of evidence that cannot be explained for the case to be made out beyond reasonable doubt,” Mr Georgiou said before again raising the possibility an organised crime group may have been behind the shooting.