Gary Jubelin recalls the night he took a ‘dying’ declaration from stabbed officer Jason Semple

As a young detective Gary Jubelin was called on to take the dying declaration of a fellow cop following a brutal stabbing. That officer, Jason Semple, survived and the two reunite for a special I Catch Killers podcast.

I was working at homicide when my phone rang in the early hours of the morning on February 28, 1998. When your phone rings outside normal hours you know something bad has happened.

This was a bad one. Two off duty police officers had been stabbed, one had died and one was in a critical condition.

I rushed to the incident room at City Central Police Station and the mood at the station although sombre was very focused.

Don’t miss Gary Jubelin’s interview with Jason Semple in the Season 3 return of I Catch Killers. Listen to Parts 1 and 2 below.

PART 1: Police stabbing that shocked a nation

PART 2: Cop’s pledge to never again be a victim

As you would expect with the murder of a police officer there was a lot of senior brass present including the then Commissioner Peter Ryan. They did not interfere but stood on the sidelines and let the homicide team led by Detective Inspector Wayne Hayes do their stuff.

Jobs were allocated and I was given the role of attending Royal Prince Alfred Hospital to get a dying declaration from Jason Semple. His evidence would be crucial in any future prosecution.

The purpose of the dying declaration was to get his evidence in a form that would be admissible at court should he die of his injuries. The importance of this task was not lost on me.

Jason was conscious by this time I got to the RPA. I negotiated my way past medical staff to where he was recovering.

I just had to overcome one more obstacle. His big brother Craig was standing guard over him and was not going to let anyone inflict more pain on him. But Craig was also a cop and understood what I had to do.

Over 20 years after Gary Jubelin took a declaration for Jason Semple they reunite for the I Catch Killers podcast. Picture: Toby Zerna

READ MORE: Semple opens up: ‘He was bleeding to death while trying to save me’

When getting a detailed statement in circumstances like this, you know you are going to cause more pain for the victim, making them relive a traumatic experience, but that’s your job, so that’s what you do.

You do it as delicately as possible but it’s never pleasant. As I got the details from Jason, he understandably got emotional. I looked over to Craig who gave me a knowing glance that he was happy for me to continue. As a cop he knew it had to be done.

It’s over 20 years since I took that dying declaration from Jason. The details are a bit foggy but I still remember Jason describing the attack.

Semple being wheeled into the ambulance.

He told me, both he and Peter were just standing talking to the offender, when the offender lashed out at him. Jason is a big strong fella and, in his mind, he was thinking what is this person doing? He can’t hurt me punching me in the stomach. Jason didn’t even know he had been stabbed until he felt warm liquid running down his stomach. That was his own blood from a near fatal stab wound.

Having got Jason’s version of events, I returned to the strike force room and briefed the other officers. I was only on the investigation for a couple of days.

Jason Semple recovering in hospital.

Regardless of whether you are a battle-hardened cop, speaking to someone like I did with Jason leaves an impression. I hadn’t seen Jason for over 20 years but through the police grapevine I kept hearing things about the exciting career he had in tactical law enforcement around the world. I couldn’t but help be impressed how Jason drew strength from an incident that would have broken a lot of people.

I think the world is a safer place because of people like Jason. He has become the sheep dog looking after the flock.

Originally published as Gary Jubelin recalls the night he took a ‘dying’ declaration from stabbed officer Jason Semple