Australia Australia - Tegan Lane, 2 days old, Sydney, 14 Sept 1996 *K. Lane guilty*

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Oddsocks said:
http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/nsw/NSWCCA/2013/317.html
This is a lot of reading. Putting it here for when I have more time. There's something dodgy in my opinion. I think they should still be looking for the daughter.
Being a liar doesn't mean you're a murderer.
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Thank you for your link Oddsocks, I've taken this excerpt -


On 14 September 1996, between 11am and 12 noon, the appellant discharged herself from the hospital, taking Tegan with her. At about 3pm she arrived at the home of her parents at Fairlight. Tegan was not with her. Her parents did not know of Tegan's birth. They had not known that the appellant was pregnant. On arrival at her parents' home, the appellant met her then boyfriend, Duncan Gillies. Duncan Gillies was also unaware of the appellant's pregnancy, and unaware of the birth of Tegan. None of the appellant's friends or acquaintances was aware of the pregnancy. The appellant's mother drove the couple to a wedding at Manly, where they remained until 11.30pm. Video footage of the wedding was in evidence, although it throws little, if any, light on the issues. Nobody appears to have noticed anything untoward about the appellant's appearance or behaviour. Nevertheless, the Crown case was that, in the hours intervening between the appellant discharging herself from the hospital and her arrival at her parents' home, she killed the child, and in some way disposed of her body. No body has ever been found.



What did KL do between 11am/12 noon and 3 pm? If you include travelling time and packing a bag for trip to parents for the wedding, doesn't leave much time, so baby must have been discarded very quickly ( as I remember the judge believes in Sydney Olympic Park). I don't believe there are any other suspects.
 
I hear on the grapevine that KL says the police made up that she couldn't remember the man's name and that it was Norris.
I believe there is a young woman out there. I see no reason that this baby was murdered.
 
What I meant was that she told the police Norris, and the police fabricated that she wasn't sure of the name.
 
Oddsocks said:
What I meant was that she told the police Norris, and the police fabricated that she wasn't sure of the name.
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Oh I see, so they made out she didn't know which? Hmmmm, but why hasn't he come forward? Why hasn't she asked him to bring the daughter? I can't understand why she is being secretive, she's adopted her other children out, what's different about this one? jmo These are just the questions I was asking at the time and still today. Nothing makes sense.
 
She has 1 child that she hasn't adopted out. As far as I'm aware her family still has a private investigator looking for the man.
I really don't see why she would suddenly murder one of the babies. It doesn't make sense.
 
Oddsocks said:
She has 1 child that she hasn't adopted out. As far as I'm aware her family still has a private investigator looking for the man.
I really don't see why she would suddenly murder one of the babies. It doesn't make sense.
Click to expand...

But why did she give the police 8 different accounts before she settled on the Norris guy, one was she never even gave birth. Seems like from the abc report of some who knew her, she was a known liar. I feel sorry for her parents.
I think she left the baby to die and in her eyes, that isn't murder. jmo
 
Passion for people drives her. In 2007, she wrote a book about Keli Lane, the elite water polo player who hid five pregnancies and was convicted of murdering her newborn daughter, Tegan. Langdon, who covered the inquest, could not get the story out of her head. She changed her shifts to work weekends at Nine and spent two days a week poring over boxes of evidence. "I couldn't understand how she was having sexual relationships and playing water polo when she was nine months pregnant," says Langdon. "Yet she told not a soul. What stops someone from sharing that?"



http://www.dailylife.com.au/news-an...hard-work-and-heart-break-20141004-3hag9.html
 
by Bryce Corbett
The Australian Womens Weekly
Feb 18, 2016 (Part 1 of 2)

'On the 20-year anniversary of her daughter’s disappearance, convicted child killer Keli Lane has launched a new bid to get out of jail.

Despite two unsuccessful legal appeals against her sentence – the latter of which went to the High Court – the former water polo champion has had a recent victory of sorts.

Her case has been taken on by a Melbourne-based group of lawyers and academics that is determined to prove she was wrongfully convicted.

Recently formed The Bridge of Hope Innocence Initiative, operating out of RMIT University, has confirmed to The Weekly that it has taken on Keli Lane’s case for examination.'
 
They believe their daughter’s story that Tegan was raised by her biological father.

“It sounds improbable, but there’s a lot of improbable things that happen in life,” Sandra Lane said.

“I don’t think she’d hurt anybody, to be truthful – especially a child.”


http://www.9news.com.au/national/20...-standing-by-their-dinner#7iyCWTwz0rgbjGVi.99


It is surprising that KL is serving such a large sentence or a sentence at all considering no body was found, but I still hold the opinion that she is responsible for the disappearance of Tegan. Either she killed her outright and dumped the body or left her alive in a drain and Tegan died from exposure/malnutrition.

The parents are standing by her which is understandable but I think they're in denial about everything. If their daughter was the golden girl since a child, in their eyes she can do no wrong, a recipe for disaster, imo.

Even the mother's denials don't sound too sure of what her daughter is capable of. Under stress, it's amazing what people can do.

There appears to be too much emphasis on their social standing in society, this can be a lot of pressure for a child (KL) and can result in compulsive lying and keeping secrets. Just my armchair psych opinion. :p
 
This case has always been so interesting to me. Like the previous poster it's understandable that Keli's parents are supportive of her, but...

On one hand, Keli has never displayed behaviour consistent with murder and she made appropriate arrangements for her first and third children (adoption). On the other hand, Keli's story about the child being with Andrew Norris/Morris was not very believable. She told a number of contradictory stories about what happened to Tegan to various people. These stories were not able to be assimilated with one another. For example, she told one social worker that Tegan was "at home", another that she had never existed, and another that she was "living with a family in Perth". Her final version was that Andrew Norris was married and was angry that Keli was pregnant, but then when Keli called from the hospital Andrew Norris suddenly agreed to be Tegan's primary caregiver (this contradicted a previous statement where Keli said that she attended his birthday party whilst pregnant with Tegan and they had come to a mutual agreement during her pregnancy about the baby's care.) I don't find it unbelievable that a father would want to care for his child, but Keli's stories are not coherent. I would assume that this is why her lawyers didn't want her to take the stand at the inquest or at trial.

It is also true that Keli may have put the first and third children up for adoption but she was obstructive and difficult during those processes and made false statements about the fathers of those children. That wasn't a victim-less crime; she denied those fathers the right to know their children and the right to decide if they wanted to raise them as single fathers. She denied them the right to be involved in the adoption process. She also provide false information to her children, should they ever want to learn about their biological parents. Keli had consensual relationships with both of those men so the only reason she would have for not telling them was to preserve her current relationship (during the first pregnancy) and her social standing. Of course, telling lies does not mean she is a murderer. I know that part of the case for motive was that Keli had found during the first adoption that this process takes time and commitment to pre-consent counselling or whatever it was called back then. The prosecution argued that Keli's time was restricted because she needed to get to a friend's wedding. It's a weak motive for murder, but... well, where is Tegan? It all comes back to that question.

I also side-eye the friend who has come on the record saying that she knew about an affair. The police interviewed Keli's social network extensively and Keli was caught out trying to convince another friend that she remembered Andrew Norris. It was in fact the significant search for Tegan and Andrew Norris/Morris and anyone who might know of them that made the circumstantial case. Why didn't the friend speak up then during the inquest phase? The coroner waiting for freaking months for one friend to return from overseas to give her testimony.

I don't know where I'm going with these ramblings. But I do think that a) Keli has not been fully open or truthful or responsible in relation to Tegan. I also think that her actions, whatever they were, were not really motivated by shame so much as a desire to maintain her sporting and social reputation. However, b) I've never been sure if Keli can be found guilty of murder without a body. How can we know beyond reasonable doubt that Tegan is dead without a body or any witnesses. Of course, we then go around in a circle again, and wonder, when every person named Andrew Norris/Morris in Australia was checked, when every child attending school who was of Tegan's approximate age and/or first name, or with parents names Andrew Norris/Morris, or any mother named Mel/Melanie/Melissa etc was checked, when immigration papers where checked, where every birth certificate was checked, where children missing birth certificates were checked, where even possible children of a different racial background were checked (Keli had said that Andrew Norris was Caucasian)... where is she?
 
UNE academic takes another look at Keli Lane case
702FM ABC Sydney
Breakfast with Kelly Fuller
7:06pm 4/03/2016

In 2011 former Australian water polo player, Keli Lane was convicted of the 1996 murder of her newborn baby Tegan.

She was sentenced to 18 years gaol.

It’s a case that's dominated news headlines for many, many years, one of the questions still unanswered is where is the body of the child?

On 60 minutes the UNE’s Dr Xanthe Mallett, a forensic criminologist raised the question about whether Keli Lane’s conviction was a miscarriage of justice?

http://blogs.abc.net.au/nsw/2016/03/une-academic-takes-another-look-at-keli-lane-case.html
 
Granted that the Norris story is false, I don’t accept that Keli having murdered Tegan is the only other reasonable possibility. She lied about the identity of her other children’s father. As far as I know it was never investigated who that father was. Perhaps her reason for lying about the other children’s father was the same as her reason for lying about Tegan’s. Perhaps it was the same father. Perhaps it was her own father and she was unwilling to acknowledge that. All the more so if she had given him Tegan and either knew that he had disposed of her criminally or gradually presumed that to have been the case (but still hoped otherwise, for example that there had been a clandestine but benign adoption).
 
This is something I have often thought and wondered about - why no-one had ever brought this up.
If anyone had ever checked the DNA of her surviving children with her DNA, the absence of a "father's" DNA would show.
If they were the result of incest it would show in their DNA.
Wouldn't Tegan's blood sample be held at the hospital where she was born. If she was the result of incest it would show in her DNA.
:sigh: These are the things we will never know the answer to. :sigh:
 
Just reading up on Keli Lane as I thought of her from posting in William's thread. Today marks baby Tegan's 20th birthday.
 
Meryl12 said:
This is something I have often thought and wondered about - why no-one had ever brought this up.
If anyone had ever checked the DNA of her surviving children with her DNA, the absence of a "father's" DNA would show.
If they were the result of incest it would show in their DNA.
Wouldn't Tegan's blood sample be held at the hospital where she was born. If she was the result of incest it would show in her DNA.
:sigh: These are the things we will never know the answer to. :sigh:
Click to expand...

Actually, the DNA of both children who were adopted out was tested. The older child's father was the man Keli was dated just before she started dating Duncan Gilles. The DNA of the younger child was the man Keli was dating at the age of 24 years. The DNA supported the false swearing charges against Keli, as she claimed the older child's father was Duncan Gilles in formal court documents, and for the younger child initially claimed Duncan was the father before switching to a presumably fictional person named "Aaron Williams".

Tegan's heel prick test was never completed as Keli took Tegan from hospital before it took place.

If any one is interested in the prosecution evidence, have a look at this link: http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/nsw/NSWCCA/2013/317.html

It's the public record of R v Lane appeal in 2013. It's quite dense, but starting from numbered paragraph 175 is a history of the case and the evidence provided by the prosecution in chronological order. This is a really good summary of the case, and I trust correct as well given that it was written by the courts and not MSM. (When I say correct, I mean this was in fact the evidence relied on by the prosecution.

Another useful resource is Nice Girl by Rachael Chin. It's a good book about the case.

I thought I should mention this as whenever discussion comes up about this case people are always asking why DNA tests were not done, but they certainly were completed and formed part of the circumstantial evidence in this case.
 
sunnybree said:
Actually, the DNA of both children who were adopted out was tested. The older child's father was the man Keli was dated just before she started dating Duncan Gilles. The DNA of the younger child was the man Keli was dating at the age of 24 years. The DNA supported the false swearing charges against Keli, as she claimed the older child's father was Duncan Gilles in formal court documents, and for the younger child initially claimed Duncan was the father before switching to a presumably fictional person named "Aaron Williams".

Tegan's heel prick test was never completed as Keli took Tegan from hospital before it took place.

If any one is interested in the prosecution evidence, have a look at this link: http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/nsw/NSWCCA/2013/317.html

It's the public record of R v Lane appeal in 2013. It's quite dense, but starting from numbered paragraph 175 is a history of the case and the evidence provided by the prosecution in chronological order. This is a really good summary of the case, and I trust correct as well given that it was written by the courts and not MSM. (When I say correct, I mean this was in fact the evidence relied on by the prosecution.

Another useful resource is Nice Girl by Rachael Chin. It's a good book about the case.

I thought I should mention this as whenever discussion comes up about this case people are always asking why DNA tests were not done, but they certainly were completed and formed part of the circumstantial evidence in this case.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the link, sunnybree. :)
It's evident that KL repeatedly lied, which could be a sign of a cluster B personality disorder, seems common in the cases we read here, it's reminiscent of Casey Anthony. They lie, scheme, manipulate and play victim or hero, whichever suits the occasion.

I wonder if KL held a strong belief that she would be disowned by her family for having these babies. Part of the illusion (NPD) is to be seen as a good person while inside, they feel bad and shameful. They'll go to extraordinary lengths to cover themselves, murder, stealing, lying or even falsely accusing another person of their crime. Incredibly, they don't feel remorse or empathy for others, just shame for themselves when they're caught.
This letter to Ms Fung reveals how KL easily lies.


On 25 October 1999 the appellant sent by facsimile a letter to Ms Fung. It is too lengthy a letter to be fully reproduced here. However, it is necessary to reproduce substantial extracts:

"Dear Virginia,

Firstly, thankyou for all of your time, your patience and your understanding even though I have not been entirely honest with you. I'm glad now that I can stop telling half truths and lies and perhaps move on in my life. You are the first person in a long time who has reached out to help me without me feeling like I was being judged. It must be very hard for you to understand what has been going on and why I have done the things I've done and I'm not sure I can give you all the answers. Over all of these weeks my main concern was [AJ] and making sure that he was safe and happy and that you would find him a loving and secure home.

So where do I start? I'm not sure? My life for the last 6 years has been a nightmare ... Many people, including my family, have disowned me and looking at the situation I guess it's not hard to figure out why. There were 3 children obviously I can't lie anymore as the paperwork is there. The middle child lives with a family in Perth although I have not had contact with them for along time. They befriended me just before I had her and supported us. I am not able to give you many details as I am not sure of them myself. If my story isn't unusual enough as it already is! I know you probably can't believe it but I know somehow that you know I am now being honest with you ..." (italics added) (Ex YY)


Even in this letter, the appellant was not being truthful with Ms Fung. For example, her family had not disowned her. (Whether there was any reasonable possibility that it was true that "the middle child" (Tegan) in 1999 lived "with a family in Perth" was a question the jury had to consider.) In the letter the appellant maintained the fiction that her parents lived in London. She said:

"Perhaps in the future we could become closer again and reform the ties I broke with them so long ago. I'm not sure? I would like to see them when I go over in December but I'm not sure if they'll see me or not."

She claimed that:

"People dropped off me when they realised that I was going to relinquish the babies."

(There was no evidence of anybody, other than hospital staff, who was aware of the birth of the children or the adoptions of TR and AJ. The evidence was to the contrary: that the appellant had successfully concealed all of her pregnancies from her family and friends.)
 
If Keli was negative blood group, baby's cord blood would have been collected. (maybe not kept) but certainly recorded blood group of the baby. Neonatal (Guthrie) screen test is now commonly performed at 48-72 hours, but used to be 72+ hours back in 1996. So probably left hospital before that was done. The multiple presentations to different hospitals wanting induction and lying about due date is very sus.
 
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