This is a transcript of the January 25 press conference. You can see the video here:
https://www.facebook.com/7NEWSsydney/videos/359740192240349
Incoherent words are indicated by a question mark in square brackets.
I’m Detective Superintendent Danny Doherty, commander Homicide Squad, State Crime Command. Detectives from Strike Force Buena are making an appeal today in relation to the murder of nine-year-old [CM].
I just going to recap that this whole investigation’s commenced on Friday the 14th of January when [CM] was reported missing and there was an extensive search by police and emergency personnel over a long period of time at Mount Wilson and other locations.
Now, ultimately on Tuesday the 18th of January a plastic barrel was located on the banks of the Colo River by detectives from homicide and also local police, and with the assistance of Crime Scene and divers, the human remains were removed from the barrel at the [?] Morgue. As a result of the investigation, prior to getting the appeal, there’s been a very extensive post-mortem examination. As a result of that the coroner, on the balance of probabilities, has identified the nine-year-old girl as being [CM], however further DNA examination will confirm that positively. But at the moment we’re satisfied it is nine-year-old [CM].
I can also now establish…oh, sorry, the cause of death has also been established and I can now disclose that the cause of death of [CM] was that she suffered a fatal gunshot wound and that’s how she died. So we’re disclosing this for investigative reasons but also just to clear up any ambiguity, to make sure that we have some clarity to the investigation, and any other thoughts that this may not be anything but what it is, and this is the murder of a nine-year-old girl.
We appeal to the media to report on this with sensitivity. The family of [CM] have only been informed of the cause of death just recently, but it’s important that they know and it’s important that the public know that this is a[n] unimaginable and egregious murder of a child.
Investigations are still ongoing. As of…the crime scene at Mount Wilson’s been ongoing. As of yesterday and now today we’ve still been searching the building and also the surroundings at Mount Wilson – obviously now looking for a firearm and that’s been with the assistance of police from OSG [Operations Support Group], Paws [Paw Enforcement Officers?], divers and dog unit. And that search is ongoing. As such [sic] is our investigation ongoing.
And as part of that investigation we’re releasing CCTV on the red Holden Colorado that was seen to be driven into the city area and also around the Wisemans Ferry area and Colo River area. And that’s important for investigative reasons because there are some gaps of [sic] the timeline where the vehicle was seen towing a boat and so we’re obviously very keen to appeal to the public who may have seen some suspicious activity in these locations.
*On the 13 of January, that’s the Thursday before [CM] was reported missing, at 5:53pm the BP at Marsden Park, Richmond Rd.
*At 7:19pm, Victoria Rd at Drummoyne, at 7:20 Bayswater Rd at Drummoyne. And then, very importantly, between 7:20pm and 9:50pm at the Five Dock Boat Ramp at Drummoyne.
*The following morning, early hours of the 14th of January, about 1:30am to 1:40am, the Windsor Boat Ramp, Livingstone St, Windsor.
*And then at the Colo River on the 14th of January at 2:25am to 2:30am, the Colo River Jetty under the Putty Rd Bridge. And 2:37am to 2:46am at the lower Colo Rd.
[We’re] appealing for anyone who may have seen this red Holden Colorado towing a boat, any suspicious activity or unusual activity around the car and the boat at any of those locations or any other locations that may come forward. Any dash-cam footage that people may possess and we could utilise, to give us…or any CCTV footage or mobile phone footage that someone may have. Of course these timings and locations, especially in the early hours of the morning, would have been unusual…people may have remembered the suspicious activity and it’s really important to help the investigators in this matter.
Remember, we’re highly-motivated because we’re working on behalf of [CM]. We’re trying to provide answers to her family, but more importantly trying to deliver justice on her behalf. I’m happy to answer any questions.
QUESTION: How suspicious is it that the boat was covered over in all those three bits of video? [?] the water [?]?
ANSWER: Well that’s why we’re appealing to the public. Maybe there’s some gaps of what activities and movements there was [sic] and maybe people may have seen something unusual or suspicious around that boat. We’re not only just concentrating on the boat but also concentrating on the actual ute itself, and when you see the CCTV footage you’ll see the ute and the boat are of high importance to us. And I think once we get that information from the public that may be able to help us fill those gaps…but it may be really important for us in relation to maybe providing some other evidence for this investigation.
QUESTIONS: Is it still your belief that [CM] was shot at the Mountains, and if so, have you found any evidence so far?
ANSWER: The search is ongoing in relation to trying to find evidence. Enquiries and evidence and information we’ve received to date suggest that the murder happened at Mount Wilson, at the property. It’s at a point where I can now also disclose that the plastic barrel was from that location, from the property, as well. So it’s a high probability that the murder happened there. The timeframes and the evidence we’ve gathered so far all suggest that’s where the murder happened.
QUESTION: Is it your belief that the barrel was inside the ute or the boat [?]?
ANSWER: Well, you know, what I can say is that, as alluded to, the boat has been covered up but when you see the CCTV footage there’s also a tarp on the back of the ute. What I can also say is at some stage after leaving the Colo River that item wasn’t on the ute when it stopped at another service station at Bells Line of Road at Kurmond. So it’s highly suspicious that that item wasn’t there.
QUESTION: So just to be clear you think that she was shot at the property and that [?] was in either the boat or the truck in those pictures that you released?
ANSWER: The information, the evidence, suggests that. This is an unimaginable, egregious act. It’s terrible to even think about or talk about. That’s why we’re appealing for sensitivity on how we do report about it. You imagine, this is a nine-year-old girl who’s been shot dead and then placed in a barrel and then disposed of on the banks of the Colo River...it’s hard to talk about and it’s hard to think about. But we need to get it out there for our investigation and to get the truth.
QUESTION: Have you been able to re-interview the mother yet?
ANSWER: Yeah, I can now say that [CM]’s mother [KM] has been re-interviewed. She’s provided a formal statement last Friday, she’s in alternative accommodation after leaving medical care. The formal statement at this stage corroborates the original version she’s provided and the evidence and the information we have is that we’re treating her as a witness and there’s no information or evidence at this stage that puts her at the property at the time of the murder. We’re alleging in court - and remember there’s a 31-year-old going to court for murder - we’re alleging that the murder happened Tuesday night or early hours of Wednesday morning. And the information and the evidence we have is that [CM]’s mother is not at the property at that time.
QUESTION: Did anyone hear a gunshot?
ANSWER: That’s all part of the appeal. Any information we get from now on, knowing now that we know there was a shooting, is really important. So at this stage those investigations are ongoing. We’ve got a large amount of police that are, again, highly-motivated to get these answers. You don’t get much more motivation than a nine-year-old girl that’s been murdered.
QUESTION: Do you know what [?] that firearm [?]?
ANSWER: At the moment we’re not going to disclose too much, but what we believe from the post-mortem, is a small calibre firearm.
QUESTION: You’ve spoken to [CM]’s mother, do you have any [?] as to why she wasn’t at the property in the [?]?
ANSWER: She’s provided a formal statement and an original version. She was there, and again we won’t go into it too much, but she was staying at the caravan at the time and the 31-year-old [JS] was with [CM] at the property at the time, at Mount Wilson.
QUESTION: Why would someone do this?
ANSWER: This is all part of the gathering of information and evidence for the court. We’ll be providing all that information to the court when we have to, but we’re…really, in terms of…not long after [CM]’s remains were found [JS] was charged, arrested and charged, in a fairly short amount of time. So he’s got rights at the moment in relation to his versions and I can’t…don’t want to expand on that at the moment, for court. But, and again, that’s all part of our ongoing investigation: why would someone do this? How are the circumstances [sic] of why she was there alone with [JS] at the time? They’re all part of the ongoing investigation.
QUESTION: Is he a registered gun owner?
ANSWER: Not as far as I know.
QUESTION: Can you confirm that when she was reported missing that [KM] the mother did confirm that she last saw [CM] on the Thursday?
ANSWER: There were some reports that she said that, I think her original version changed a little bit, there was a number of versions, that’s why it made it a little bit difficult for the police from Blue Mountains, to start off with, assisted by State Crime Command. It also made it difficult for the, probably, the search coordinators and the hundreds of volunteers that assisted the police, because there was [sic] different versions of timeframes. But from our information and the evidence we’ve so far gleaned is that [JS] was alone with [CM] on the Tuesday night and the murder…we will allege in court that the murder happened Tuesday night or early hours of Wednesday morning.
QUESTION: Was there anyone else staying at the property at the time, and if so, are they assisting police?
ANSWER: The information and the evidence that we’ve go so far hasn’t suggested anyone else. Actually the evidence all suggests that [JS] is the only person responsible for the murder, placing [CM] in the barrel and disposing of the barrel on the banks of the Colo River. That’s the information we’ve got so far – the investigation’s ongoing.
QUESTION: Has he assisted police at all?
ANSWER: Uh, look, he provided a couple of varying versions to start off with and then since then he’s been arrested and charged. So that’s it, he’s before the courts.
QUESTION: Where was the gunshot wound on [?]?
ANSWER: I’m not going to go…again, we’re talking about sensitivity of how we’re going to report this. You’ve got a nine-year-old girl who’s suffered a fatal gunshot wound. That’s all you need - at this stage - we’re allowed to disclose. Family members have just been told. It’s very sensitive for them and it’s also important for the integrity of our investigation, to maintain that, and also the fact that we don’t want to be sub judice before the court.
QUESTION: How is her family holding up?
ANSWER: Oh, look, you know…her extended family and friends, especially - I mean, she’s got young friends as well, they’re devastated. I mean, this is terrible news that we’ve had to deliver to them just recently, and this would be a hard thing for them to get by. But they’ll get support and we’ll provide as much support as we can, and they’re getting support from their own friends and family, but it’s devastating for them. Not only the fact that it was a nine-year-old, but it’s the circumstances of how she lost her life. That’s unimaginable.
QUESTION: Is there anything about his movements on the Tuesday, I know you say the investigation’s ongoing, but is there anything you can tell us about his movements on the Tuesday that shed some light as to a possible motive [?]…reason[?]?
ANSWER: The movements on the Tuesday is [sic] that he’s on the property at Mount Wilson with [CM]. And that’s his movements. That’s where he was, there. What we’re appealing for is movements on the Thursday night, early hours of Friday morning, that’s really relevant for us. And when you look at the CCTV footage and the images and the timeframes…that’s why it’s really important for us to get information from the public, because that’s crucial to us, to establish the timelines and any activity, or unusual activity, or any information surrounding those locations where he visited or where that vehicle and the boat were visited. So it’s really important that we keep an open mind on the Thursday night but, really, it’s so important for the community to help us. Look, again, it’s sensitive. This is probably very unpalatable for the community to hear the circumstances of what happened to this beautiful nine-year-old girl. But it’s important for us to do that so we can get answers for the family. And really, what’s most important to us is [CM] is not here to defend herself, we’ve got to act on her behalf, and we want to make sure that justice is delivered for her.
QUESTION: Were they were home alone together on the Tuesday [?]?
ANSWER: Yep, they were home alone on the Tuesday night, early hours, that’s all we can tell you at the moment.
QUESTION: Was it common for [JS] and [CM] to be together alone?
ANSWER: Again, that’s all part of the investigations, the amount of times it may have happened, the circumstances. But I’m only acting on the facts that we’ve got at the moment, the information we’ve got at the moment.
QUESTION: You said before that what alerted police to suspicious activity was [?] calls between [JS] and [KM], so did they have contact between Tuesday and Friday when she was reported missing?
ANSWER: Look, that’s all part of the investigation. There was a number of investigations and enquiries that we had to make to be able to establish the movements and tracking of [JS], but more importantly the tracking and movements of this Holden Colorado and the boat. So it’s important for us, there’s gaps there and that’s why it’s important for us to get the information from the public. We really need the community’s assistance with this and, again, it’s a terribly sad situation. Everyone knows that. But we’re trying to be as sensitive as we can because we just want to be able to make sure that we have all the answers and the complete picture to make it very clear.
