GUILTY Australia - Sarah Cafferkey, 22, Melbourne, 9th Nov 2012, #2

[Salem]

Please continue here.

Sarah has been found and returned to her family and a suspect has been arrested.

Australia has rules about public discussion of the suspect and its impact on the judicial process. WS, while governed under the laws of the U.S., respects the laws of other countries, especially when it comes to ensuring a fair trial process and being careful NOT to give the defense a reason to claim the suspect did not get a fair trial.

This case will take place in Victoria - the strictest "publicity" state in Australia. Only Victoria main stream media will be allowed for linking here.

RULES FOR THIS CASE DISCUSSION:

Any publication which prejudices the course of justice - A report of a court case which gives details of the defendant's previous criminal convictions, before the end of the trial, would be contempt. This is because it may prejudice the judge, magistrate or jury against the defendant, if there are many previous convictions. This would reduce the chances of a fair trial. Previous convictions (often called antecedents) may not be revealed until after the verdict has been reached. They are then considered by the court to help it to decide on an appropriate punishment.

http://www.thenewsmanual.net/Resources/medialaw_in_australia_03.html

Bottom line: NO DISCUSSION OF THE SUSPECT'S PAST CRIMINAL ACTIVITY, IF ANY.

NO PICTURES OF THE SUSPECT ARE TO BE POSTED.

NO DISCUSSION OF THE SUSPECT'S PAST LIFE, IN GENERAL. No discussion of where he previously lived, worked, or spent time. No discussion of his family or friends or other innocent people that have nothing to do with this case.

At this link: http://www.thenewsmanual.net/Resources/sub_judice_chart_01.html

There is a color coded chart that shows what can and cannot be discussed during this pretrial/trial period. The Mods will use it for reference when deciding what posts to leave/remove - however, the Mods will also use their own discretion and it will NOT BE UP FOR ARGUMENT, even if it is not on this chart.

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Thread 1

 

[Salem]

Information from Thread 1:

A mother has made a desperate plea for help to find her missing daughter 22 year old Sarah Cafferkey, who she said suffers from a severe form of asthma and if she doesn't have her puffer and does not get an ambulance to her she could die within half an hour.

Ms Dickson saw her daughter last Friday 9th November at home. Police believe Sarah may have gone out with friends that night, but she has not made contact with her family for the past six days. She and her car have not been since. She also has not used her phone or accessed her bank account. Police have serious fears for her safety.





Police have asked people to watch out for her car, a silver 2001 Astra sedan with registration OOHSEZ on a pink background.

Ms Cafferkey is described as Caucasian with a fair complexion, 168cm tall, thin build, black shoulder length straight hair with green eyes. If you have any information please contact 000 immediately.

More at link:
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/police-fear-for-bacchus-marsh-woman-who-went-missing-after-night-out-with-friends/story-e6frg6n6-1226516991367

Sarah Louise Cafferkey's obituary tribute/notice:

http://m.legacy.com/obituaries/HeraldSun-AU/obituary.aspx?n=Sarah-Louise-CAFFERKEY&pid=161174150&referrer=2413&preview=True


R.I.P beautiful Sarah :rose:

 

[Curiousasacat]

Thanks Salem.

Couldn't resist......

First........

 

[FruitTingles]

Hi everyone. Good to see a new thread up and running. Not much happening in MSM with this case at the moment. Just a waiting game I feel.

:waiting:

 

[FruitTingles]

P.S Salem: Thanks for bringing over my post of Sarah's obituary tribute!

 

[Jenelle]

Re. the flats in Hawthorn, commission flats and houses are located in all different suburbs. Just because the flats are in a wealthy area, the tenants are not - thus those things being dumped out the front. I lived in a beautiful area and we had a single commission house around the corner that frequently had smashed windows, furniture out the front, rubbish everywhere, they pulled it down, built a new one and the same things happened.

Of course, not everyone in these flats/houses are like that but just because they are in Hawthorn doesn't mean there wasn't some tenants that weren't feral - jeepers one harbored a killer with them!

 

[catswhiskers]

One of the original news stories from the day of SH's arrest stated that the Hawthorn address was a retirement village - but I haven't seen that confirmed since. I recall thinking that maybe he was hiding with a parent ...
Jenelle your avatar makes me smile every time I see it - I still pause to watch the silly dance

 

[aust amateur slueth]

Re. the flats in Hawthorn, commission flats and houses are located in all different suburbs. Just because the flats are in a wealthy area, the tenants are not - thus those things being dumped out the front. I lived in a beautiful area and we had a single commission house around the corner that frequently had smashed windows, furniture out the front, rubbish everywhere, they pulled it down, built a new one and the same things happened.

Of course, not everyone in these flats/houses are like that but just because they are in Hawthorn doesn't mean there wasn't some tenants that weren't feral - jeepers one harbored a killer with them!

those things dumped out the front could have been for the coucils hard rubbish collection, some councils have a set day goods must be out by, others have a at call hard rubbish pick up. They could also have been dumped by someone who has moved out.

 

[Humdinger]

I keep trying to post in this thread and it won't let me, maybe this will work??
I hope we get some more info soon!

 

[LegallyBrunette]

One of the original news stories from the day of SH's arrest stated that the Hawthorn address was a retirement village - but I haven't seen that confirmed since. I recall thinking that maybe he was hiding with a parent ...
Jenelle your avatar makes me smile every time I see it - I still pause to watch the silly dance

MSM said he was staying with a 'friend, one of the few he had'. I wondered if it could be his step-dad. I think one of the news photos showed a sign in the front of the flats saying the building had been converted to retirement accomodation.

 

[LegallyBrunette]

Google map image Dec 2009.

Blue sign says building being upgraded to older persons housing estate.


http://maps.google.com.au/maps

 

[SouthAussie]

I sometimes wonder if we are going to hear about accomplices/accessories soon.
From what I can find on the internet, the police are generally obliged to not name people brought in for questioning (like the 2 men brought in and then released) unless they are charged. An arrest is not enough to name someone generally (unless there is a public danger in not doing so). And the media honours this - apparently for fear of libel lawsuits.
So it makes me wonder why AW’s name got leaked/printed in the media as one of the two men questioned. The police have never confirmed that it was AW as far as I can see, but MSM felt comfortable enough to say that they ‘believed’ it was him without fear of a libel lawsuit from AW. Why was he not given the same privacy as the 32 year old from Tarneit, and all the people that must have been interviewed by now?
They haven't charged him yet ... makes me think that it may not be AW that they are trying to get to …. maybe he has privately agreed to be named like this to help shake someone else up?
Can't understand why his privacy was allowed to be breached.

http://www.inbrief.co.uk/media-law/media-identification-of-suspects.htm
This is a UK link, couldn't find an Oz one, but judging by typical police/media behaviour the privacy rules followed here in Oz appear to follow along the same lines

 

[LegallyBrunette]

I sometimes wonder if we are going to hear about accomplices/accessories soon.
From what I can find on the internet, the police are generally obliged to not name people brought in for questioning (like the 2 men brought in and then released) unless they are charged. An arrest is not enough to name someone generally (unless there is a public danger in not doing so). And the media honours this - apparently for fear of libel lawsuits.
So it makes me wonder why AW’s name got leaked/printed in the media as one of the two men questioned. The police have never confirmed that it was AW as far as I can see, but MSM felt comfortable enough to say that they ‘believed’ it was him without fear of a libel lawsuit from AW. Why was he not given the same privacy as the 32 year old from Tarneit, and all the people that must have been interviewed by now?
They haven't charged him yet ... makes me think that it may not be AW that they are trying to get to …. maybe he has privately agreed to be named like this to help shake someone else up?
Can't understand why his privacy was allowed to be breached.

http://www.inbrief.co.uk/media-law/media-identification-of-suspects.htm
This is a UK link, couldn't find an Oz one, but judging by typical police/media behaviour the privacy rules followed here in Oz appear to follow along the same lines

Pretty much the same here, normally not named unless charged, but nothing in legislation covers the period between arrest and charge. Once charged, there is discretion for the magistrate or judge to close proceedings and/or grant suppression orders.
There are possible remedies in defamation and tort. However, if the material published is substantially true, that will be a complete defence to defamation.
Info below is for Victoria, other states' legislation is substantially the same.

Defamation Act 2005 (Victoria) - SECT 25
Defence of justification

25. Defence of justification

It is a defence to the publication of defamatory matter if the defendant
proves that the defamatory imputations carried by the matter of which the
plaintiff complains are substantially true.



http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/vic/consol_act/da200599/s25.html

 

[SouthAussie]

Pretty much the same here, normally not named unless charged, but nothing in legislation covers the period between arrest and charge. Once charged, there is discretion for the magistrate or judge to close proceedings and/or grant suppression orders.
There are possible remedies in defamation and tort. However, if the material published is substantially true, that will be a complete defence to defamation.
Info below is for Victoria, other states' legislation is substantially the same.

Defamation Act 2005 (Victoria) - SECT 25
Defence of justification

25. Defence of justification

It is a defence to the publication of defamatory matter if the defendant
proves that the defamatory imputations carried by the matter of which the
plaintiff complains are substantially true.


http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/vic/consol_act/da200599/s25.html

Thanks .... knew that if anyone on here would know it would be you!

To me that says that if they were very confident in a suspect's complicity, they could take the measure of allowing/enabling him to be named (presumably for some benefit to their case) knowing that they fully expected charges to be laid in the future.

 

[LegallyBrunette]

From 'The Australian'

It's understood that one of the men in custody was A J W, who was renting the Point Cook property west of Melbourne where Ms Cafferkey's body was discovered last Saturday.

Mr W's father, D, when contacted in Dubai, said he was returning home to Australia from a holiday in Tanzania and would not confirm if his son had been arrested. When asked how he felt about the latest development, Mr W replied: "Well how do you think I feel?"

The Australian does not suggest that Mr W had any involvement in Ms Cafferkey's murder.

The arrests follow the charging of 47-year-old Steven James Hunter with Ms Cafferkey's murder.

Police allege Mr Hunter had admitted he stabbed the 22-year-old to death at his home in Bacchus Marsh on November 10. It has been alleged that the body remained at Mr Hunter's address overnight before he moved it to a wheelie bin at Mr W's Point Cook address.

(just when you thought it couldn't get worse.)
JMO

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/new...ning-over-murder/story-e6frg6nf-1226522345221

 

[LegallyBrunette]

Thanks .... knew that if anyone on here would know it would be you!

To me that says that if they were very confident in a suspect's complicity, they could take the measure of allowing/enabling him to be named (presumably for some benefit to their case) knowing that they fully expected charges to be laid in the future.

It could also be that reporters recognised AJW from FB photos and/or at Point Cook when he was assisting police - (and they didn't know who #2 was). :twocents:

 

[SouthAussie]

From 'The Australian'

Quote:
The Australian does not suggest that Mr Weily had any involvement in Ms Cafferkey's murder.



http://www.theaustralian.com.au/new...ning-over-murder/story-e6frg6nf-1226522345221

"..... and just in case we are smearing an innocent person's character, we'll chuck in a disclaimer ...." Ha!

Wonder if that would hold up in court?

 

[LegallyBrunette]

"..... and just in case we are smearing an innocent person's character, we'll chuck in a disclaimer ...." Ha!

Wonder if that would hold up in court?

They would have checked with legals before printing. Defence would be substantial truth - he was arrested, he was renting the house.
Disclaimer covers them from anyone implying anything more than that from the article.

 

[SouthAussie]

From 'The Australian'

Quote:
The arrests follow the charging of 47-year-old Steven James Hunter with Ms Cafferkey's murder.

Police allege Mr Hunter had admitted he stabbed the 22-year-old to death at his home in Bacchus Marsh on November 10. It has been alleged that the body remained at Mr Hunter's address overnight before he moved it to a wheelie bin at Mr W's Point Cook address.


(just when you thought it couldn't get worse.)
JMO

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/new...ning-over-murder/story-e6frg6nf-1226522345221

Probably took him a while to work out his foolproof plan for getting out of the mess he had made ...... poor Sarah!

 

[moreinfo]

in SH "da gang" facebook pic, theres a fellow initials DA, has anyone any thoughts about this.