Domenic Perre’s 1994 NCA bombing verdict rocked by new evidence
Two new pieces of evidence have cast doubt on the guilty verdict that put Domenic Perre behind bars for the NCA bombing. Legal action is also being considered. See the video.
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Exclusive: The man found guilty of one of Australia’s worst terrorist attacks could see his verdict thrown out – from his grave – with fresh evidence casting doubt on its reliability.
Domenic Perre was found guilty in June 2022 over the deadly 1994 bombing of the National Crime Authority (NCA) headquarters in Adelaide that killed Detective Sergeant Geoffrey Bowen and severely wounded another.
Perre was sentenced to 37 years jail for the crime that shocked the nation but maintained his innocence and had been preparing an appeal when in May last year he died in custody from a heart condition.
Now two separate pieces of evidence have been uncovered – that a key Crown witness had been given immunity from prosecution and material presented at trial could have been tainted by an unrelated organised crime case.
Such is the significance, had these facts been disclosed Perre’s lawyers say they would have immediately up-ended the 2022 trial and or forced a retrial through appeal.
The critical but unrelated pieces of evidence will now form the basis for Perre’s legal team to launch a petition for mercy or full pardon.
Watch our special video investigation above.
The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) and South Australia Police have been forced to review their own involvement in the case.
This includes the discovery of a 1997 letter referencing immunity that only came to light post Perre’s October 2022 conviction, among more than 30,000 pages of evidence.
The outcome will come as a significant blow to the Bowen family and lawyer Peter Wallis, who was wounded in the blast as well as police that after three decades considered the case closed.
During the Perre trial, the court was told more than once that Crown witness gunsmith Allan Chamberlain was not granted immunity from prosecution for any weapons and explosives offences when in fact he had been.
In the course of preparing the petition, Perre’s lawyers found the 1997 letter from the previous DPP Paul Rofe to then SA Police Commissioner Mal Hyde when they were considering again charging and attempting to prosecute Perre.
The letter discusses revisiting Perre as a murder suspect and references the previous witness Mr Chamberlain. Mr Rofe said he maintained his position that immunity remained appropriate, for offences other than murder, should he (Chamberlain) be called as a witness to any future Perre proceedings. That immunity offer in exchange for giving a police statement and evidence related to what police allegedly found in Mr Chamberlain’s property when it was searched.
SAPOL has confirmed Mr Chamberlain was not offered immunity specifically over Mr Bowen’s murder nor Mr Wallis’ attempted murder.
“However we cannot rule out that a previous immunity may have been granted in relation to prohibited imports during the 1990s,” a SAPOL spokesperson said.
It is understood Perre’s lawyers wrote to the ODPP last month with the office conceding in its formal response that the 1997 letter - a copy of which it now had but had previously been unaware of - appeared to show Mr Chamberlain had some form of immunity and it would undertake further inquiries. There has since been no communication.
The ODPP formally declined to comment or answer a list of questions.
SA Attorney-General Kyam Maher said he was aware of the new Perre material and petition being prepared and would not comment further.
“The test for us is we should have been told about certain pieces of evidence before, during or after the case when Perre was alive but we were not,” one of Perre’s lawyers, solicitor James Noblet said.
“In the context of preparing to make a petition for mercy, after the appeal, we have come across fresh and compelling evidence that now has to be verified that would have a significant bearing on the petition.
“If we knew what we know now we would certainly have taken the case in a very different direction, it would have changed the complexion of the case and for sure we would have issued a lot of subpoenas to a lot of people and it would have had a significant impact on our defending the case.”
Barrister Gilbert Aitken added: “This is not going to go away. We made a promise ethically, professionally and indeed personally to the Perre family to pursue this, so we are not going to shy away.”
The second evidence relates to Italian organised crime and law enforcement figures and associations in other states that cannot now be discussed for legal reasons. It was Perre’s alleged Calabrian links and the NCA’s persistent probing of the existence of an extensive network of Mafia criminals in drugs and money laundering that was cited as one of his alleged motives for the horrific bombing.
The Bowen family declined to comment.
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