Murderer Jason Roberts should be granted appeal due to dodgy statements: court
The man convicted of killing police officers Gary Silk and Rodney Miller has always maintained his innocence and could be one step closer to freedom after claiming corrupt police manipulated statements the morning after the murders.
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Jailed cop killer Jason Roberts should be granted an appeal because corrupt police manipulated statements as part of the Silk-Miller murder investigation, a court has heard.
Roberts faced the Court of Appeal for the first day of a five-day hearing on Monday as part of his bid for freedom more than 20 years after the 1998 shootings in Moorabbin.
Roberts and Bandali Debs are both serving life sentences over the murders of Sergeant Gary Silk and Senior Constable Rodney Miller.
Roberts has always professed his innocence.
Barrister Peter Matthews, for Roberts, is relying heavily on last year’s findings of an Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission inquiry to submit his client has been subjected to a substantial miscarriage of justice.
“There has been a broad-ranging, multifaceted manipulation of evidence,” Mr Matthews said.
“That manipulation involved serious misconduct, indeed corrupt misconduct.
“So significant is the conduct, it provides a basis to doubt the investigation more broadly.”
The IBAC inquiry — triggered when the Herald Sun revealed in 2017 Sen Const. Glenn Pullin’s conflicting first statement, which had been hidden for 19 years — uncovered police misconduct, including falsifying of a statement relating to the case.
Sen Const. Pullin comforted a dying Sen Const. Miller at the scene and in the hidden first statement mentions only one gunman, but in the second states Sen Const. Miller told him there were two.
The IBAC investigation into police misconduct during Operation Lorimer, which investigated the murders, also found “improper practices” were used by police in preparing witness statements and noncompliance with their obligations to make full disclosure to prosecution and defence during the murder trials.
Mr Matthews said the manipulation started at Moorabbin police station the morning after the August 16 killings with Detective Grant Kelly telling other officers not to include a description of the offenders in their statements.
He said the motive for such corruption would be the police did not have a strong case.
“This type of conduct would be engaged in to strengthen the case,” Mr Matthews said.
“There was a practice with Lorimer to send back statements for revision.”
He also drew the court of appeal judges to what he said was false and misleading evidence by police officers at the committal hearing, and trial.
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Justices Robert Osborn, Lesley Ann Taylor and Terry Forrest are overseeing Roberts’ application.
If they are satisfied there is fresh and compelling evidence in the interests of justice, Roberts will be given an opportunity to appeal at a later date.
The hearing continues.