Sofronoff inquiry: Senior AFP officer says Shane Drumgold directed police to prepare charges

Chief prosecutor Shane Drumgold SC directed police to prepare murder charges over a 2022 killing, AFP officer says.

ACT chief prosecutor Shane Drumgold SC.

A senior Australian Federal Police officer has accused ACT Director of Public Prosecutions Shane Drumgold of acting outside his authority when instructing investigators to prepare a murder charge.

Mr Drumgold is on leave from his role as chief prosecutor, stepping down because of an inquiry into his conduct throughout the investigation and subsequent rape trial of former Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann.

Walter Sofronoff KC, chair of the inquiry, is due to deliver his findings in a fortnight.

AFP assistant commissioner Peter Crozier in a recent statement to the inquiry said Mr Drumgold stepped outside his authority and undermined the independence of police officers when he directed investigators to issue a murder charge last year.

The Australian understands the charge related to the case of Michael O’Connell, who was found guilty in June of killing his partner Danielle Jordan.

Mr Drumgold wanted O’Connell’s charge of manslaughter to be upgraded to murder.

According to Mr Crozier’s statement, Mr Drumgold sent an email to a senior constable investigating Jordan’s death on May 3, 2022.

“After receiving the relevant witness accounts, CCTV, photographs and receiving advice of the cause of death, I am satisfied that there is a reasonable prospect of conviction for the offence of murder and direct that a charge be prepared,” Mr Drumgold wrote.

“Legal Aid had appeared on a duty basis, and I will contact them and advise them the charge is pending.”

Mr Crozier said Mr Drumgold’s email to the senior constable became a matter of tension between ACT Policing and the DPP. “Shane Drumgold’s email was escalated to me,” he said in his statement.

“I was concerned about the purported direction – not because I disagreed that a charge should be laid – but because it was outside the DPP’s authority, it undermined the independence of the police officer’s decision to charge, and it was outside the scope of the collaborative agreement (between the DPP and ACT Policing).”

O’Connell, 43, was found guilty by a jury on June 14 of murdering his partner, who suffered catastrophic head injuries after falling from the bonnet of her then boyfriend’s car.

Danielle Jordan was murdered in 2022.

The prosecution relied on the eyewitness testimony of a 13-year-old friend of Jordan, who told police she saw O’Connell driving the car with her on the front. She said she sprinted after them once they went out of view and heard screeching tyres and a thud.

The court were told that when she arrived at the car, she heard O’Connell say “I’m sorry, sorry mate, I didn’t mean to do it”.

The Australian understands Mr Drumgold was personally involved in the case, including a pretrial application, until he took leave from his role as chief prosecutor on May 18.

Mr Crozier raised additional concerns over the direct contact between Mr Drumgold and a junior police officer. “I viewed it as unusual and was the equivalent of the CPO or the DCPO making direct contact with a junior member of the ODPP – which we would not do without advising Mr Drumgold or a member of his executive team,” he said.

“I cannot now recall whether representations were made to the DPP to address my concerns relating to the ‘direction’ and broader issue of the DPP personally making contact with junior officers.”

Just before the jury was due to deliver its findings in the O’Connell trial, the replacement DPP issued a last-minute attempt to allow the jury to fall back on a manslaughter by criminal negligence finding if they did not deem the defendant guilty of murder or manslaughter by unlawful and dangerous act.

Judge Belinda Baker declined the application.

The Australian approached Mr Drumgold for comment.