‘He’s innocent’: Defence lawyer Sam Macedone haunted by John Serratore murder conviction
CRIMINAL lawyer Sam Macedone has fought to get murderers, sex offenders and even “proud pedo” Ben McCormack a fair trial — but there is one case where he is convinced an innocent man went to jail.
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IF you’re ever in deep trouble, Sam Macedone is your man.
The criminal defence lawyer with a formidable reputation has represented some of Australia’s worst murderers, rapists and sex offenders in the past. His office phone regularly lights up with their calls, dialled in from various prisons.
But in a career spanning almost 50 years, there’s one case that plays on his mind, at least a couple of times a week.
It’s the murder conviction of John Serratore, who spent 13 years in jail for the murder of his high school sweetheart Frances Tizzone.
If you believe the Crown’s evidence, Serratore was a jealous, violent and possessive man who murdered his ex-girlfriend in 1995 after she decided to end their relationship.
The body of the 21-year-old university student was found dumped off the Wakehurst Parkway in Frenchs Forest, Sydney, with a post-mortem revealing she was strangled or suffocated.
Two juries found Serratore guilty, both at his first trial in 1998, which was overturned on appeal on the basis of a legal error, and then at his second trial in 2000 when 27-year-old Serratore was sentenced to a maximum of 20 years’ jail.
But the convicted killer maintains his innocence — and Macedone believes him.
“I’m lucky that in my 48 years I’ve only ever had one matter that I honestly, truly believed my client was innocent, absolutely, and I still believe it to this day, but he got convicted for murder,” says Macedone.
“That was a case that’s never left me. That was a case where the poor bloke spent quite a number of years in jail for something that I honestly truly believe he didn’t do and I think back then, if we had the knowledge of forensic criminal investigations that we have now, I doubt very much he would have been convicted.”
Macedone believes two maggots may be proof of Serratore’s innocence.
When Tizzone went missing police immediately put Serratore, who she had an AVO against, under surveillance. But days after her disappearance, Serratore stayed at home.
“She was found five or six days later at Frenchs Forrest and interestingly enough her body only had two maggots on there. It was freshly put there,” says Macedone.
However, the jury was still convinced Serratore may have organised someone else to carry out the hit and convicted him.
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Macedone stayed in regular phone contact with Serratore and visited him several times during his sentence. The men have stayed in touch for the six years that Serratore, who is now in his 40s, has been out.
“He’s a real decent man but he certainly has been affected by the time he spent in jail. I think he’s over that now and he’s concentrating on getting his life back in order but it’s not easy. He’s still angry about a lot of people and things.
“He’s still a very good friend. So much so that he invited me to his wedding,” says Macedone.
Perhaps it seems curious that Macedone, a 67-year-old grandfather who lives on Sydney’s affluent north shore, and whose eyes light up when he talks about his grandkids, could build such genuine bonds with criminals convicted of such violent and gruesome crimes, but Macedone says he can’t help it.
He genuinely feels for his clients, and when they are sentenced to jail time, he remains a point of contact and assistance for them in the outside world — even when their nearest and dearest turn their backs.
Last year, he represented former A Current Affair journalist Ben McCormack, when he became the subject of intense public vitriol after he was arrested on child pornography charges.
It was revealed in court McCormack referred to himself as a “proud pedo” during online conversations.
McCormack’s employer told viewers through host Tracy Grimshaw that his colleagues had been shocked and repulsed by the news and that A Current Affair would be covering his case “without fear or favour”.
But Macedone, who knew McCormack through his appearances on the show as a legal expert, took on the case regardless — despite being told by the show that he couldn’t be affiliated with the program while he was linked to McCormack.
Macedone became a target for public criticism for defending McCormack.
“The worst trolling I’ve ever had was last year when I looked after Ben McCormack, the trolling that happened was unbelievable,” he says.
In letters, emails and on social media, Macedone was called a “filthy paedo” and a “paedophile lover”, among other less than savoury insults.
“There was one or two where I couldn’t help myself and I told them what I thought of them but I thought if I ignore it, eventually it will go away. And it did,” he says.
However, throughout the trying period, Macedone’s biggest concern was that his client would never make it to court. “He tried to kill himself three times,” says Macedone.
At sentencing, McCormack was ordered to pay a $1000 fine and placed on a good behaviour bond for three years after pleading guilty to two child porn charges.
As he left court, a man who claimed to be a victim of sexual abuse, threw a cup of water and spit over McCormack, calling him a “f---ing filthy maggot”.
Macedone puts the abuse down to the public’s misunderstanding of the facts of the case and defends his client for making attempts to cure himself prior to his arrest.
“Three years before he got arrested, Ben McCormack came to the conclusion that his mind wasn’t really acting properly because he had these thoughts of kids and sex and so he went and saw three psychologists and psychiatrists and said, ‘look, I want to get these things out of my mind. They’re driving me nuts.’
“And he had three years of continuous treatment but he found it difficult,” says Macedone.
McCormack has since disappeared from the spotlight and isn’t in contact with anyone related to his past life as a well-known journalist, who built his reputation on confronting paedophiles such as Hey Dad actor Robert Hughes, who molested his co-star Sarah Monohan.
“The last I heard is he went up to Queensland to live with his family, he’s immersed himself with his family. He can’t even get a job in a car wash, not with his face and being on TV for so many years, people instantly recognise him,” says Macedone.
For a defence lawyer, Macedone has an impressive track record and is clever in his approach, but he admits there are times when perhaps he shouldn’t have been quite so successful.
“There have been a lot of people that I have been involved in defending and they’ve got acquitted and I’ve thought, ‘oh dear.’
“But my attitude is that if you’re a bad egg and you get away with it once, they’ll get you the next time,” he says.
“But look, I’ve never done anything that I’ve regretted. I’ve never overstepped the mark with anyone or anything, and I can honestly tell you that I sleep well at night. And I don’t look over my shoulder.”
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Originally published as ‘He’s innocent’: Defence lawyer Sam Macedone haunted by John Serratore murder conviction
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