Australia Australia - Janine Vaughan, 31, Bathurst, NSW, 7 Dec 2001

[Itsapuzzle]

I came across the description of AJ today and was quite surprised too, Itsapuzzle. I haven’t looked too hard yet but haven’t been able to find any msm that states that. It was in one of Trish’s replies to a post on the Facebook group, so directly from her. It’s a crucial detail, IMO, and I’m now wondering how many people have actually heard that AJ had these marks. Trish was answering someone who asked her what Janine was like and what was AJ like. So it wasn’t in a recount of the actual night AJ tried to get her in the car, but it was just how she described him in general. Very intriguing.

Just been wondering, if it was AJ wouldn't he have recognised Trish, known her name even, through her mother? I'll have to go back and listen again though.

 

[drsleuth]

Episode 8: Trying Like Mad

Janine’s private life came under close scrutiny and details were aired publicly as the Coroner Mary Jerram heard evidence about a young woman overwhelmed by sadness at times in the final days of her life. Janine was in financial and emotional distress - her bills were mounting and she was spending beyond her means on nights out with youthful friends from the local university. She wanted to settle down with a man her own age and raise children but her boyfriends were mostly a decade younger and wanted to party. Janine was taking recreational drugs including pills with her younger friends and the lows were becoming harder to bear. Janine confided to her friend Jordan on the night she disappeared that she had tried to commit suicide days earlier. She made another cryptic disclosure to a friend, Mark. The Coroner Mary Jerram assured the family that she and detectives were ‘trying like mad’ to find Janine’s killer as fresh leads came to light.

NoCookies | The Australian

This case just gets more tragic

I'd like to know why AJ has conditions on his registration?

 

[TootsieFootsie]

If they do arrest someone they could use this.
But it's obvious that's not what happened to her. Someone did this, otherwise the person who picked her up would have come forward.

Janine confided to her friend Jordan on the night she disappeared that she had tried to commit suicide days earlier

 

[drsleuth]

I am wondering if Janine had a bad reaction to a drug , combined with alcohol , which led to a fatal medical event & the other person panicked etc But if that happened, they have done very well to cover their tracks for a unplanned event.

Poor Janine was in a very fragile state of mind. I feel so sad

 

[Loxoli]

That’s very sad. It’s a stark contrast to the descriptions from almost everyone who knew her who said she was happy and bubbly.

drsleuth, are the conditions specific to AJ or standard? I don’t know anything about pharmacist registrations but it does look strange.

 

[Itsapuzzle]

Episode 8: Trying Like Mad

Janine’s private life came under close scrutiny and details were aired publicly as the Coroner Mary Jerram heard evidence about a young woman overwhelmed by sadness at times in the final days of her life. Janine was in financial and emotional distress - her bills were mounting and she was spending beyond her means on nights out with youthful friends from the local university. She wanted to settle down with a man her own age and raise children but her boyfriends were mostly a decade younger and wanted to party. Janine was taking recreational drugs including pills with her younger friends and the lows were becoming harder to bear. Janine confided to her friend Jordan on the night she disappeared that she had tried to commit suicide days earlier. She made another cryptic disclosure to a friend, Mark. The Coroner Mary Jerram assured the family that she and detectives were ‘trying like mad’ to find Janine’s killer as fresh leads came to light.

NoCookies | The Australian

This case just gets more tragic

I'd like to know why AJ has conditions on his registration?

What in the world ..... thanks for the update re episode 8, will have a listen to it shortly .... I have to say, your synopsis of episode 8 has taken me totally by surprise and knocked me for six, really ... I'm a little stunned, to be honest . I didn't know a new episode had landed, thanks drsleuth, much appreciated, will listen to it before the night is over
H'mm, conditions on his registration, what's that all about .... will check it out.

 

[drsleuth]

That’s very sad. It’s a stark contrast to the descriptions from almost everyone who knew her who said she was happy and bubbly.

drsleuth, are the conditions specific to AJ or standard? I don’t know anything about pharmacist registrations but it does look strange.

Specific to AJ

 

[Loxoli]

Is there an inquest report available online?

 

[drsleuth]

Is there an inquest report available online?

No

 

[Itsapuzzle]

Just a question, is the CCTV available to view anywhere online, or just that snippet used in the podcast? If anyone can link it here, that'd be great.

 

[Itsapuzzle]

I found this little snippet interesting from episode 8 .... "She was upset because a friend she had trusted had stolen from the store". Wonder what that was all about. I'd like to hear from the fellow she worked with too, at Ed Harry's, I don't recall hearing from him. Wonder what's become of him, what he had to say. Perhaps the next episode will enlighten.

 

[drsleuth]

Just a question, is the CCTV available to view anywhere online, or just that snippet used in the podcast? If anyone can link it here, that'd be great.

Not that I know of.

 

[drsleuth]

I found this little snippet interesting from episode 8 .... "She was upset because a friend she had trusted had stolen from the store". Wonder what that was all about. I'd like to hear from the fellow she worked with too, at Ed Harry's, I don't recall hearing from him. Wonder what's become of him, what he had to say. Perhaps the next episode will enlighten.

He spoke in episode 7 I think?

 

[Itsapuzzle]

He spoke in episode 7 I think?

Thanks drsleuth, will go back and listen.
Here's my current theory on the case ..... thinking the little red car described by LB is not the car JV got into. H'mm, that could well have been AJ, if we are to believe Trish's story. Thinking the person with the red car Janine got into was someone she knew, someone who had been in the bar that night, or knew she was there. They waited in the car up the street till she came out, then drove down to give her a ride. She didn't have her bag or keys, so how was she going to get into her house. The driver of car says she can stay at his place, or use the phone there to call her mates to let them know. She happily goes into his home ..... he would have a garage to park the car in .... something happens there at the property, JV gets put in the boot and driven to an unknown location. I think BH was interested in JV at the time, and if people were mentioning him to her, it's not that odd to go past the shop or try and strike up a conversation, flowers, might have sent them .... hey, we see all that in the romantic comedies/movies, nothing odd there .... I think he's probably not being completely honest about that part though .... don't think he's involved in her disappearance at all. That's where I'm at, at this point, after Episode 8. Will go back to Episode 1, and work my way through them again while out pounding the pavement

 

[Loxoli]

I found the angle that she got into a car with a drug dealer she knew interesting, but the LB stalking really does throw that off.

Like you Itsapuzzle, I am starting to wonder if there is any possible chance that LB’s stalking and JV’s disappearance was a crazy coincidence, but I know that’s incredibly unlikely. It’s strange because the two incidences together indicates that he was not targeting Janine, but the fact that Janine got into the car indicates that she knew the driver (according to those who knew her). I do have doubts that she jumped in because she knew the driver though, because alcohol and recreational drugs can make even the most sensible people make bad errors of judgment. It was raining (pouring by Strop’s account) and she didn’t have her bag. She could have just thought it was the easiest way to get to the Ox or home. But then again, if she was still planning to go to the Ox, she probably would have told the driver to wait for her friends too. How far was the Ox from where she was last seen?

The only other thing I can think of is that the driver, who she didn’t know, said something like, “Are you Janine? They found your bag at the Tav. Jump in and I’ll take you back there.” The problem with that is that it looks as though the driver didn’t have time to say anything before Janine jumped in. All IMO.

Sorry about the ramblings, I’m feeling very confused at this point.

 

[Itsapuzzle]

I found the angle that she got into a car with a drug dealer she knew interesting, but the LB stalking really does throw that off.

I am starting to wonder if there is any possible chance that LB’s stalking and JV’s disappearance was a crazy coincidence, but I know that’s incredibly unlikely. It’s strange because the two incidences together indicates that he was not targeting Janine, but the fact that Janine got into the car indicates that she knew the driver (according to those who knew her). I do have doubts that she jumped in because she knew the driver though, because alcohol and recreational drugs can make even the most sensible people make bad errors of judgment. It was raining (pouring by Strop’s account) and she didn’t have her bag. She could have just thought it was the easiest way to get to the Ox or home. But then again, if she was still planning to go to the Ox, she probably would have told the driver to wait for her friends too. How far was the Ox from where she was last seen?

The only other thing I can think of is that the driver, who she didn’t know, said something like, “Are you Janine? They found your bag at the Tav. Jump in and I’ll take you back there.” The problem with that is that it looks as though the driver didn’t have time to say anything before Janine jumped in. All IMO.

Sorry about the ramblings, I’m feeling very confused at this point.

Good theory Loxoli, not ramblings at all, I think the LB stalking is a crazy coincidence too. There are a lot of unknowns. Was the window of the red car wound down so they could call out? If not, the passenger door just popping open for her, indicates she instantly knew the person and car and had no problem with getting in.
The interesting thing about LB's description of the driver of the little red car, she says "white shirt, black pants, sleeves rolled up, or short sleeves" .... sounds like a barman's outfit, heading home, some other occupation, work outfit? But it would be interesting to know if anyone at the bar that night was seen to be wearing those clothes, whether a worker or patron.

 

[drsleuth]

I'm really not sure what to think anymore either

 

[drsleuth]

Here's a site that has transcripts of the first 5 episodes ( so far )

Transcript of Episode 5 - Bad Denis from The Night Driver | Happy Scribe Public

 

[Seriallyaddicted]

After just listening to episode 6, I’m convinced AJ is involved. Three girls have confirmed that he tried to lure them into his car! One thing I picked up on which TS said (she was the one who was with a friend in the early hours of the morning, around 2am, when AJ approached in his car offering a ride and kept insisting until they told him to f$&@ off), was that AJ offered a lift and also said that he had some DRINKS for them.
That is exactly how I thought he might kill them if he is in fact the murderer - spikes their drinks and knocks them out and then takes them to a spot where he rapes them and then kills them. AJ had his hands on any drugs he wanted as a pharmacist.
If I was the cops I would be looking at the properties he had at the time and also speaking to people in the other towns he lived in.
Are there other girls missing from those towns?

 

[TootsieFootsie]

Episode 6 The Pharmacist is up for free listening on Podbean.

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