Announcement of reward for Susan Winburn murder
Media Conference, Winchester Police Centre
ACT Chief Police Officer Audrey Fagan
ACT Minister for Police John Hargreaves
24 November 2005
John Hargreaves: So thank you very much for coming. This is a really important time. I want people to come forward and assist us in Operation Manse, which is assistance to solve the murder of Susan Winburn. The Chief Police Officer will talk in more detail. The ACT Government is really serious about trying to assist in the solving of this murder. It's a couple of years old now and we are sure that there's somebody out there who knows something which will enable us to bring that person to justice. We know that there may be an associate of that person who is a bit afraid to come forward. The government is authorising a $250 000 reward for information which leads to the conviction of somebody for that murder. That person may very well be someone who has key evidence; it may be an associate of the murderer, him or herself. And of course we are hoping that if that is the case then the temptation for $250 000 may outweigh any misguided sense of loyalty. It's also at my discretion and I'll be receiving advice from the Chief Police Officer as to allocation of that money. So, the Chief Police Officer will give you details about that investigation and then we'll field questions from you.
Audrey Fagan: Thank you Minister. We welcome this reward as an important step in this investigation. The crime occurred on January 13th 2004. We owe it to Ms Winburn to investigate right to finality and that's what we will do. We are appealing to the community because we know that at least one person has knowledge and I believe more, and we're asking today for those people to come along and give us that information. You can do it through Crime Stoppers, which is anonymous or preferably, we'd prefer that you come to Detective Sergeant Chris Morgan, the detective in charge of the case. The investigation will not stop; it will be active until it's solved - we guarantee that with any murder investigation in the Territory. We are appealing to anybody today to come forward and we will utilise this reward as an incentive where appropriate and give recommendations to the Minister. Importantly we have gone to the DPP, and we have sought and requested and will request an indemnity for anybody who is an associate, who was not involved in the murder; that's important as it enables that person who may be fearful, may be feeling threatened, that we will do what we can and we have the support mechanisms in place. I think on the eve of the UN International Day of the Elimination of Violence Against Women, that here we have a female victim in Ms Winburn, that this reward announcement is timely for the government and we really welcome it. So it's an urgent plea to the Canberra community to please come forward with whatever information you have and help the police solve this horrible crime.
Journalist: If you ring Crime Stoppers anonymously, can they still get the reward money?
Audrey Fagan: Where there's fear, I think that Crime Stoppers is an avenue that's available. I want to solve the crime, that's what I'm about and I'd much prefer to have that person come and trust the police and give that information where they haven't already. Crime Stoppers is a way that's available where they can't overcome that fear.
Journalist: How do you know how many offenders were involved?
Audrey Fagan: Our investigators, and I don't want to go to the operational details because that can jeopardise the investigation, but we know that it was from the neck compressions that caused the death, that there is somebody at large, and from our professional experience, for every one person someone will have knowledge, and it is either a person or persons who are responsible for this death and this murder as I said. So, to me it is not about just thinking singularly; somebody's observed something usually, and it's about making those connections. Think back to January 13, where you were, if you were near the house in Gordon and really work through your mind on that - that's what this plea is about today.
Journalist: How long will the inquiries last?
Audrey Fagan: I'm confident in the ability of our investigators. They are relentless, they are experts and whenever we come to a new avenue of enquiry we will follow that through. Eventually they are solved; sometimes they take years, sometimes they take days. And this is a commitment that we will continue with any investigation of this nature to investigate it to the nth degree.
Journalist: Are there leads still being pursued?
Audrey Fagan: We've got some active leads that we continue to pursue, and we are following these through, so they're not complete and as I said before, they never are. We will have separate investigators and detectives go over files, create new avenues of inquiry, but we are in an active state right now and we will continue to do that.
John Hargreaves: What's very important for the members of the public to understand is this at least: policemen often have very rare and substantial pieces of evidence which, but for a link between them, is not much use. And we need the community to come out there and provide that link. Once that link has been provided, then we get the whole picture as it tumbles down and then the police can actually mount and undertake that arrest. So we need the community to do what they do well, which is work with the police; every person who lives in Gordon, every person who lives in the Lanyon Valley in Tuggeranong needs to think back: what was I doing on January the 13th two years ago? And say, was there something different about it, that particular day and tell the police no matter how trivial. And then of course the question was, they'll ring Crime Stoppers if there's nothing in it for them. Well there is something in it for them; we can solve the murder of this woman. But if people ring in and say their particular piece of evidence was pivotal, they can identify themselves to us and the Chief Police Officer will make that decision.
Journalist: Who is eligible for the reward?
John Hargreaves: What we're saying is that on the advice of the police, and of course on the advice that the police will seek from the prosecutors, if that information is pivotal and leads to the arrest and subsequent conviction of the person responsible for Ms Winburn's death, then it is my prerogative to award that amount of money by way of reward. I will do that of course on the advice of the Chief Police Officer.
Journalist: Why have you decided now to offer a reward?
Audrey Fagan: There are a number of investigative tools that we have and it depends at which point we are with the investigation. Some are worthy of this and we've put a recommendation to government with the supporting facts, and in this case, we support it and we welcome having that reward in place today. When it comes to an important time in the investigation and I know the investigators are working on the investigation itself, then a reward is another option for police.
Journalist: Have there been other murders where rewards have been offered in the ACT?
Audrey Fagan: Rewards can work and as I said, it's another tool that we will continue to use. Of the outstanding investigations, and they don't ever close, they continue, this is a way that we can regenerate interest, and I take this opportunity to call for all those key examples that you gave: anybody who has information, please bring it forward. The community I know wouldn't want this type of crime left unsolved; neither do the police -- it's a common goal. There are only very few people who are seeking not to be caught in these cases.
John Hargreaves: One of the most important pleas that we'd like to get out to the community is for the community to put themselves in the position of Ms Winburn's family. We need every single bit of help we can get, and with the provision of a quarter of a million dollars, maybe this is enough to tip somebody with that pivotal information to come forward, and the government is only too happy to do that. But the Chief Police Officer and I wish to have the community out there just think about it; we need your help to solve this murder.
Journalist: At what point then do your decide to go for the reward option?
Audrey Fagan: Prior to going to government with this application, we have discussions with the DPP on that as a strategy, so those aspects are discussed with Mr Richard Refshauge and it is their independent process and our judiciary and our systems and we respect that, but we have had dialogue prior to posting this reward. I'm confident that the terms that are set out, given the opportunity, for somebody to come forward with information and we want to be able to present those charges with prosecution into the courts.
John Hargreaves: But in general terms, the person who comes forward who is not an active participant in that murder…then there is a particularly strong likelihood that we can consider a reward.
Journalist: So are you looking then for one or more people?
Audrey Fagan: A person, or persons is our belief . We're investigating, but not looking for just one person; an investigator would never narrow themselves down too rapidly. The Coroner ultimately will find the cause of death, but the actual initial evidence from how the person died leads me to believe that there is more than one person involved in this. The indemnity is not applying to a perpetrator of the crime, and if you look at the reward poster it's clearly about association, so we're appealing to anybody who has knowledge of the crime and them coming forward. They may think, I don't want to speculate that's probably the wrong thing to do, but if it's somebody who has information, please come forward and assist us to solve this crime. We believe that a person or persons may have been involved in this crime. We are appealing to persons who have any knowledge or association with it to please come forward and assist us.
Ends//
Last Modified: Friday November 25 2005