Australia Australia - Jenny Cook, 29, Townsville, Qld, 19 Jan 2009

[Tigerlily75]

Wow, this is incredibly sad. I'm shocked by QPS's handling of this case.

 

[BJsleuth]

Ribs are counted from top down, so 2nd/3rd ribs are actually quite high - 2nd rib would be not far below the collar bone. A stab wound in the area of the 2nd/3rd ribs might hit the large blood vessels at the top of the heart (aorta and pulmonary arteries/veins) but a direct hit on the heart itself would have to be around the level of the 4th to 6th ribs.

View attachment 55273

Source of pic: Google Images

Thanks MD! I am curious how far up the wall the knife was. There's nothing in the photo of it to give any indication from which to glean any information about that (eg: door handle or ground etc)

 

[BJsleuth]

Ohhh well that's an interesting take..please elaborate?


Just a few notes here on Paul Cook's whereabouts at his lunch hour that day:


Called her today to get the email address for Action Electronics but she didn’t answer so went there in lunch break;

11.45am left work to pay bill;

Paid it on credit card then got back to work 10 minutes late for first session.

http://www.courts.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/217931/cif-cook-jl-20131206.pdf


He admits that he'd set off for work that morning barely speaking to her, and later that day told a colleague that his marriage was over. Asked about his movements, Cook tells police that he left his job as a prison guard at Townsville Correctional Centre about midday to pay a bill at a computer shop for repairs to his laptop, then returned to the jail about 12.30pm. Strangely, the credit card payment receipt in his wallet shows the bill was paid at 12.23pm - giving him the almost impossible task of travelling the eight or so kilometres back to the jail, negotiating a number of intersections and traffic lights, by 12.30pm. He also tells police that he had sent an email to the shop, but the shop has no record of receiving any such email that day.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/national/knife-edge-20140714-3bvp7.html#ixzz3865WRjRZ

Cook told police that his movements could be easily confirmed by the jail's CCTV cameras. But detectives never checked, and in any case, renovations were being undertaken at the jail at the time and the cameras at the entry and exit gates weren't working. Jail logbooks, which had Cook entering the jail at 7.30 on the morning of his wife's death and leaving at 12.49pm, were also incomplete, with no record of him re-entering the prison that day.

Maderline Ronan, another prison employee who was rostered on with Cook that day, described him in her statement to the inquest as "very quiet" and didn't know where he was between 11am and 1.30pm. Later in the afternoon, Cook told her he had a headache and finished up early, around 5.30pm. This raised questions about where he had been until 6.45pm, when he arrived home, as the drive between the jail and Sheerwater Parade is about 15 minutes. (Jenny Lee was suspected of dying some time between 8am and 2pm, according to the autopsy.)

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/national/knife-edge-20140714-3bvp7.html#ixzz3867khVpe

Curious, how did he email the shop if he had to phone Jenny to get the email address and she didn't answer? He didn't email the shop. Why say that?

 

[Makara]

Lawyers for Baden-Clay have filed an appeal against his murder conviction, claiming the verdict was unreasonable.

However, a leading Brisbane criminal lawyer insists a circumstantial case is often more powerful than one with direct evidence such as witness testimony that is vulnerable to cross-examination.

http://www.news.net/article/1644274?utm_source=outbrain&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=outbrainamplify

The Baden-Clay trial really does exemplify a good circumstantial case. Lots of little facts adding up to an undeniable conclusion.... all's we need is an independent investigation, a proper one that includes a look into possible motives (other than laziness or arrogance, I mean) for DS Osborn to fudge things so very, very badly from the moment she walked onto the crime scene.

Drinking on duty perhaps? Not saying that is the case but it has been known to happen. Was she related to or friendly with the woman not to be mentioned?

 

[UnfoldingTruth]

Oh boy, you guys post fast! I'm amazed at all the posts while I have been typing! Awesome!!!!!! So glad there's interest in this one.

Does anyone think it *could have* been a suicide?

Most Bizarre suicide EVER if it was... Which it does not seem to add up to at all. I can't think how on earth a person could suicide in this manner...running at a knife wedged in a window frame?? And no blood spatter, nothing other than where she lay. The whole thing is a bit suss...ALOT suss actually.

 

[BJsleuth]

I'm jumping all over the place here. Something else that struck me as odd was that PC said he noticed a knife was missing from the block sometime after he supposedly got home that evening - seems a strange thing to notice and mention up front. My knife block could be empty and I wouldn't notice until I went to use one of them - I sure wouldn't notice when I came in and dropped my handbag on the kitchen bench after work.

He noticed the knife was missing the unstacked the dishwasher! Why did he assume the knife was missing before checking the dishwasher?

 

[BJsleuth]

The weapon has been described as a 'shiv', also described as similar to a prison weapon. How would something like that not be out of place in a household knife block, does anyone know?

It was a kitchen knife. All silver coloured. The handle had had tape wrapped around it and string had been wound over the top of the tape from I understand. There is a photo of the knife in one of the links.

Here is the link, it's the third photo down.

http://www.smh.com.au/national/knife-edge-20140714-3bvp7.html

 

[UnfoldingTruth]

The weapon has been described as a 'shiv', also described as similar to a prison weapon. How would something like that not be out of place in a household knife block, does anyone know?

In the article-http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/knife-edge-20140714-3bvp7.html
it shows the knife- doesn't really look like what i would call a 'shiv'. Looks like a long blade chefs knife.
Think its a bit suss, he becomes worried for her when he notices the knife missing from the knife block. Wouldn't be my first thought. Um, maybe she had used it in the kitchen and it was in the dishwasher. Not that it was a cause for concern?

Sorry, just saw BJSleuth just answered this above ^^

 

[UnfoldingTruth]

Wow, this is incredibly sad. I'm shocked by QPS's handling of this case.

Not the usual great work we see from our QPS... I think the whole investigation seems a bit dodgy.. a cover up maybe.

 

[Makara]

From what has been reported to date, Paul Cook would have had a motive for killing his wife. The same old mistress and money scenario! He certainly had the means to murder her but did he have the opportunity? Absolutely!

According to the coroner's findings Jenny died sometime between 8:00am and 2:00pm on 19 January 2009. Paul Cook apparently arrived at work that morning at 7:30am. He later told a work colleague that his marriage was over. What time was that I wonder?

Did he kill her early that morning and then took himself off to work? Business as usual! It's possible.

Cook apparently left work at about midday and was back by 12:30pm. Another report says that he left work at 12:49pm and didn't return that day. Yet another report from a work colleague states that she didn't know where he was between 11:00am and 1:30pm that day but she does recall him telling her that he had a headache and finished work early at 5:30pm.

I don't find it unusual that the work colleague didn't know where he was between 11:00am and 1:30pm. Unless they had to be joined at the hip, it's possible that the two of them may have been working in separate sections of the prison during that time and there were probably lunch breaks included in that time frame as well.

Then there is the report from the neighbour across the road who heard Jenny's dog howling or crying from about midday until about 4:30pm. That is a big red flag IMO. Apparently Jenny loved that dog and I really don't think she would have let it carry on like that for hours. If she was outside gardening etc. why wouldn't she have her dog with her?

Did Cook come home at about midday, murder Jenny, lock the dog out on the upstairs balcony where it was later found and then work? That is also possible. The only thing with this time frame is that apparently nobody saw him arrive home in the middle of the day. That's not to say he didn't.

I read in one of the MSM reports that Jenny's body was sunburned. Where does the sun rise and set in relation to the house? Is the side of the house where Jenny was found in full sun all day, only in the morning or only in the afternoon?

 

[Cattail]

From what has been reported to date, Paul Cook would have had a motive for killing his wife. The same old mistress and money scenario! He certainly had the means to murder her but did he have the opportunity? Absolutely!

According to the coroner's findings Jenny died sometime between 8:00am and 2:00pm on 19 January 2009. Paul Cook apparently arrived at work that morning at 7:30am. He later told a work colleague that his marriage was over. What time was that I wonder?

Did he kill her early that morning and then took himself off to work? Business as usual! It's possible.

Cook apparently left work at about midday and was back by 12:30pm. Another report says that he left work at 12:49pm and didn't return that day. Yet another report from a work colleague states that she didn't know where he was between 11:00am and 1:30pm that day but she does recall him telling her that he had a headache and finished work early at 5:30pm.

I don't find it unusual that the work colleague didn't know where he was between 11:00am and 1:30pm. Unless they had to be joined at the hip, it's possible that the two of them may have been working in separate sections of the prison during that time and there were probably lunch breaks included in that time frame as well.

Then there is the report from the neighbour across the road who heard Jenny's dog howling or crying from about midday until about 4:00pm. That is a big red flag IMO. Apparently Jenny loved that dog and I really don't think she would have let it carry on like that for hours. If she was outside gardening etc. why wouldn't she have her dog with her?

Did Cook come home at about midday, murder Jenny, lock the dog out on the upstairs balcony where it was later found and then work? That is also possible. The only thing with this time frame is that apparently nobody saw him arrive home in the middle of the day. That's not to say he didn't.

I read in one of the MSM reports that Jenny's body was sunburned. Where does the sun rise and set in relation to the house? Is the side of the house where Jenny was found in full sun all day, only in the morning or only in the afternoon?

With his workplace being a prison I don't understand how there are not accurate records of when he left and returned. Wouldn't there have been some type of sign in/out system so that in the event of an incident they would know exactly who was in the prison? Also I would have thought there would be CCTV throughout the place if anyone had bothered to check it. In many workplaces I agree there would be nothing unusual in not knowing where your colleague was for a couple of hours. But in a prison? It seems to go against commonplace workplace safety.


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[Makara]

In the article-http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/knife-edge-20140714-3bvp7.html
it shows the knife- doesn't really look like what i would call a 'shiv'. Looks like a long blade chefs knife.
Think its a bit suss, he becomes worried for her when he notices the knife missing from the knife block. Wouldn't be my first thought. Um, maybe she had used it in the kitchen and it was in the dishwasher. Not that it was a cause for concern?

Sorry, just saw BJSleuth just answered this above ^^

What struck me about that knife is the rope around the handle has been wound very neatly, which doesn't prove guilt or innocence obviously but it is very neat. I don't think I could wrap a piece of thin rope around a knife handle that neatly.

 

[Makara]

With his workplace being a prison I don't understand how there are not accurate records of when he left and returned. Wouldn't there have been some type of sign in/out system so that in the event of an incident they would know exactly who was in the prison? Also I would have thought there would be CCTV throughout the place if anyone had bothered to check it. In many workplaces I agree there would be nothing unusual in not knowing where your colleague was for a couple of hours. But in a prison? It seems to go against commonplace workplace safety.


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Totally agree with you Cattail. I've posted a link below to Ausgirl's post earlier this evening. She's included links in regard to CCTV in the prison and there is also a mention of Cook signing in etc. It all sounds a bit lackadaisical to me.

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...e-Qld-January-19-2009&p=10771964#post10771964

 

[UnfoldingTruth]

What struck me about that knife is the rope around the handle has been wound very neatly, which doesn't prove guilt or innocence obviously but it is very neat. I don't think I could wrap a piece of thin rope around a knife handle that neatly.

You are right, on looking again. It does look very neatly done. I don't know- its all very strange- I can't see someone in the state of mind of suiciding, going about it in this manner. And to take the time to so neatly wrap the handle of the knife? There are too many questions raised in this story IMO, why were these doubts not raised in the police minds?Again I have to wonder like others here about cover ups etc.

 

[FigTree]

Just still catching up, so posting as I go.
Sorry if this below has been mentioned already.
And there are so many awesome posts to reply to - you guys are onto it and all over it.
Great reads and sleuths and Im only up to 80 odd posts
________________________

Oxynorm - Oxycodone brand name. Powerful opiate-derived painkiller, powerful enough that if you wanted to kill yourself, this would be the drug to use.

Norethisterone - a synthetic hormone which "can be used to treat premenstrual syndrome, painful periods, abnormal heavy bleeding, irregular periods, menopausal syndrome (in combination with oestrogen), or to postpone a period. It is also commonly used to help prevent uterine hemorrhage in complicated non-surgical or pre-surgical gynecologic cases."

Prochlorperazine - a powerful antipsychotic; rarely prescribed for psychosis these days, more often as a treatment for nausea. Prochlorperazine oral (taken by mouth) is used to treat schizophrenia. It is also used to treat non-psychotic anxiety, and to control severe nausea and vomiting.

Zentel - worming tablets.

....no mention of hayfever or asthma drugs at all... despite that they were the only drugs (aside from 'a little alcohol') found in Jenny's system.

and worming tablets?

So he gave them a list of Mrs Cook's medications - did he give them the containers of the medication or a written or verbal list?
Where these Jennifers drugs or names he picked up working at the jail?

From the Coroners Report....

Both lungs demonstrated aspiration of blood, particularly the right side. The stomach
showed that Ms Cook had swallowed blood. There were no pills, tablets or capsules
found in her stomach.
Toxicology tests revealed small amounts of alcohol in the bloodstream and urine as
well as ephedrine and antihistamine. Professor Williams opined that Ms Cook may
have been mildly intoxicated with a combination of alcohol and hypnotics at the time
of her death.

No capsules, pills, found in her stomach, blood sample revealed ephedrine and antihistamine - but assessed as being intoxicated and hallucinating? But what if the alcohol in her system was a natural formed alcohol from death...

Didn't our dear DrWatson say something relating to alcohol levels naturally rise in the blood after death - the body makes its own alcohol - (BC Case) - the body registers a level of alcohol but it does not necessarily mean having an alcoholic drink.

 

[Makara]

You are right, on looking again. It does look very neatly done. I don't know- its all very strange- I can't see someone in the state of mind of suiciding, going about it in this manner. And to take the time to so neatly wrap the handle of the knife? There are too many questions raised in this story IMO, why were these doubts not raised in the police minds?Again I have to wonder like others here about cover ups etc.

My mind is just working overtime UT. Army and all that. Paul Cook, not me. LOL.

 

[FigTree]

Catswhiskers, I tried selecting your final paragraph to put in quotes, but for some reason, your entire post lands itself into the reply box

You may have tipped the reason this has been kept quiet for so long, although the Townsville media and SMH ran articles, so it's difficult to tell what's gone on with this case

If for the reasons you suggest though, all I have to say is 'How convenient' for certain individuals involved

Time for action though I think. We need to bring this case to the attention of the media and public, whatever it takes, imo. It's ghastly beyond words what went on in Townsville

QLD Crime Reporter needed.
David Murray?

 

[Makara]

Just still catching up, so posting as I go.
Sorry if this below has been mentioned already.
And there are so many awesome posts to reply to - you guys are onto it and all over it.
Great reads and sleuths and Im only up to 80 odd posts
________________________




and worming tablets?

So he gave them a list of Mrs Cook's medications - did he give them the containers of the medication or a written or verbal list?
Where these Jennifers drugs or names he picked up working at the jail?

From the Coroners Report....


No capsules, pills, found in her stomach, blood sample revealed ephedrine and antihistamine - but assessed as being intoxicated and hallucinating? But what if the alcohol in her system was a natural formed alcohol from death...

Didn't our dear DrWatson say something relating to alcohol levels naturally rise in the blood after death - the body makes its own alcohol - (BC Case) - the body registers a level of alcohol but it does not necessarily mean having an alcoholic drink.

Not really sure about the alcohol Figtree. Jenny's autopsy revealed alcohol in the bloodstream and the bladder. Allison's liver showed signs of alcohol and it is my understanding that is a normal reaction to decomposition. Alcohol by mouth stays in the bloodstream for approximately 24 hours so Jenny may well have had a drink the evening before she died.

 

[Makara]

QLD Crime Reporter needed.
David Murray?

60 Minutes! :floorlaugh:

 

[FigTree]

What a strange case! DS Osborn needs to be investigated a lot more fully IMO. Something totally suss there. Secondly I'm thinking that Jenny was stabbed and then placed on the board. Note the wheelbarrow in the diagram posted above. There is no mention of that ever being tested. Was she placed in the wheelbarrow and then laid out on that board. The knife then placed where it was found to make it look like a suicide? And the sheet and tie around her neck! Totally bizarre and not something that someone would do when preparing to kill themselves. It is a commonly held belief among police investigators that a murderer will often cover the face of their victim, especially if they are known or close to them.

My bold... and Nice catch Makara!!


Thinking about what you said...
Maybe she could have been killed somewhere else and placed on the board - board and body slide loaded onto the barrow - barrow wheeled into place on deck - board and body slid off the barrow onto the deck.

Did they have a garage?