Is it just me but I can’t see how this investigation has been “botched”? I get that there are issues with the perp and the service weapon but what about with the investigation?
The investigation has been “botched” given the multitude of missed opportunities by the police and investigators; and the stream of conflicting/incorrect information they keep providing the public (In an attempt to seemingly vindicate some of their wrong decisions rather than just admitting them openly so it can assist the investigation); as a few examples:
1. There was four days since the murder and the opening of the investigation, and thus delay is mainly due to lack of action by police in response to the 000 call, and by neighbours failing to report gun shots immediately
2. First they say it was Mr Baird’s phone that called 000 but now they say it was Mr Davies phone. This is critical as it led to the police welfare check being sent to the wrong address - which delayed finding the crime scene by atleast 3-4 days
3. For the apparent welfare check the patrol car was sent to Mr Davies address in Waterloo instead of Mr Bairds home in Paddington where they would have likely discovered the crime scene mere minutes/hours after it had occurred, missing a huge investigatory advantage
4. Initially police reported they did not follow up the 000 call, and now they are saying they did, but it came from a different phone than they initially suspected, and they went to a different home. This information is basic to verify so not sure what the reason behind the misinformation is
5. 000 has digital access to location of each phone call - so it is unclear why they didn’t send the welfare check to the location of the phone rather than the address usually associated with the phone. They know that often people make calls from addresses away from their home, hence it being a mobile phone,
6. The internal police investigation regarding BLC tasering of an unarmed indigenous man - remains a shameful red herring for the police, as it reinforces the unreliability of police investigating themselves and putting protection of “their own” over the protection of the public. The incident could have revealed the many red flags associated with BLC
7. The situation regarding the flatmates who lived at the Paddington address remains a mystery and unaddressed, and why none of them noticed the very clear crime scene that the police reported from the start had copious amounts of blood and furniture upturned,
8. A four - five delay in any missing person / murder case is a huge set back for any investigations - and that much of this delay may have been caused by police inaction / disinterest / lgbtq prejudice or perhaps concern for protecting their own is really really concerning. It also gave BLC a major head start in being able to lead everyone on a wild goose chase and to dispose of the bodies somewhere where they may never be discovered or even if discovered may not be as helpful as it could have been to holding BLC to account
So yes, the start has been severely botched but let’s hope that the progress and end of the police investigations is much more diligent, intensive and respectful - as it should always have been
IMO
www.abc.net.au
www.goulburnpost.com.au
