Just before nine o'clock last night, the jury returned guilty verdicts against all three defendants.
It was absolute shambles, to tell you the truth, just absolutely really.
Colored blood on his clothing the day after the alleged a.
Top a shallow mud bank and the bits through a river.
Basically, I think most of the people are used to me are good people.
I think a really important question we need to ask is how many Indigenous prisoners in Australia are innocent.
This is Curtain, a podcast where we pull back the blinds to shine a light on the darkest parts of our justice system and ask who are the victims. I'm Amy Maguire.
And I'm Martin Hodgson, a senior advocate for the Fine Prisoner Support Service. And a warning, this series contains the names of deceased peoples and has distressing content that might upset some listeners.
Throughout the Curtain podcast series, we've spoken considerably about two key issues, the police investigation and its flaws and what it says about the way the police conducted the investigation into the death and murder of Linda and how that caught up Kevin Henry. And also we've spoken a lot
about parole. Last week we spoke about some of the further flows we'd uncovered in the police investigation, and this week we're going to speak about that issue a little bit more broadly in relation to Rockhampton, Queensland, where sadly Linda died and where Kevin still spends his life behind bars. Some twenty six years later, in the year two thousand, a man named Leonard Fraser was found guilty and given a life sentence for the rape and murder of a
nine year old girl. That's despite the fact he'd spent almost twenty the preceding twenty two years behind bars for the rape of another woman. This was a clearly deranged individual, and yet somehow he got parole. A few years later, in two thousand and three, he was on trial for the murder of more women. This was in the Supreme Court of Queensland, just like Kevin Henry was placed on
trial in the Supreme Court of Queensland. It was believed at the time that mister Fraser had done a deal with police on some of the issues, and again it largely revolved around a confession. One of the victims was said to be fourteen year old Natasha Ryan but during the trial. This occurred.
First did by ten News with Georgina Louis Jeff Mullen believing I'm Jeff Mullen and I'm Georgina Lewis. There's to be a crime and a misconduct commission investigation into how police ignored a tip off that alleged murder victim Natasha Ryan was still alive. A counseling service received a call from a woman answering her description several weeks ago. Today, Natasha's father told of the joy and pain of discovering his long lost daughter after years of believing she had
been murdered. He spoke exclusively to ten News.
On April eleventh, two thousand and three. Literally during the murder trial where Natasha was said to be one of the victims. The police prosecutor stood up and announced that he was pleased to inform the court that Fraser was not guilty of this particular murder. Natasha Ryan's father nearly collapsed. As you can imagine, his daughter had been missing for five years. So how had the police charged a man with murder over someone who was still clearly alive. That's
an issue we'll get back to in a moment. But Amy was living in rock Hampton at the time when Leonard Fraser went on this horrific spury, and we should make it clear that he was absolutely guilty of a number of these murders and rapes, and it was a frightening time for the people of rock Hampton. Amy, what do you remember about that time?
Yeah, So this happened in the late nineties to the early two thousands, and I remember it well because I was only about twelve at the time, but I remember that there was a great deal of fear amongst the community, and it was a fear felt by not only adults
but also children. And I remember one day being down at the soccer fields with my young cousin, who was only a couple of years younger than me at the time, and to be the soccer field right next to the place that we've shown in witness statements that it's very likely the two perpetrators actually put Linda's body in the river, And I remember sitting there with my young cousin and we were watching the flashes of orange amongst the long grass to our just in front of us, just above
the heads of the children playing soccer, and they were the sees workers looking for the body of this young girl named Kira Steinhart, and she'd gone missing, and she was only ten at the time. And I just remember my young cousin, who'd actually been in her class at school, looking up at me with this fear in his eyes and asking my father and me whether they would find her.
And so I think it really showed not only the grief within the community around the disappearance and death of this young girl, Kira Steinhart, but also the real fear. And it was a fear that was felt right across rock Hampden because this man who had killed this young girl, his name was Leonard Fraser. He'd actually gone on a murdering spree. He had actually killed three other women in a very short space of time. And rock Hampden only
has a population of sixty thousand. So the fact we had a serial killer in our midst and Leonard Fraser was only was also out on parole at the time from a really horrendous rape that he'd committed, it really gave a sense that rock Hampden wasn't just a murder capital in Queensland, but a murder capital in the whole of Australia. And I remember seeing something to that effect on one of the national news bulletins. And the other thing is this incident.
It really.
The other thing is this period of time. It really showed to me and I think it really drummed home that rock Hampden seems to have this dark underbelly right under the surface. And I think it shows in a lot of the cases that we've looked at, and particularly the case of Linda, that there's something in this land, there's something in this water, in this river that lends himself to this really that lends itself to this really horrendous things that happen along the bank of the Fitzroy River.
And this was just one of those really really dark periods in rock Hamden's history that anyone who is living in rock Hampden at the time finds it very, very difficult to forget.
And one of the reasons we've raised about why some of these murders have taken place, why some of these crimes like that of Linda's murder remain unsolved and the wrong man is imprisoned. Kevin Henry directly relates to the police here in Leonard Fraser. We have a case where absolutely he killed quite a number of women. It's believed he could have killed up to seven, although he was
never convicted of all the murders that he'd committed. But the judge in his case said this about the fact that Natasha Ryan, who'd gone missing, had been found during his murder trial, and Natasha Ryan was alleged to be one of the victims. Even this murderer, this despicable man, Leonard Fraser, how could he have committed a murder when young Natasha was still alive? And the judge was quite brutal on the media and the police. Here's what he
said about the media. Justice Brian Ambrose heavily criticized the media for commenting on the value of confessions to crimes made to police under duress or to other prisoners while in custody when no or little corroborating evidence exists, And we can quite clearly see how that's played out in Kevin Henry's trial, where there is no other evidence other
than a confession made under duress. And not only did the media come in for criticism, so too did the police, who were referred over the matter to the Crime and Misconduct Commission. But this would not be the first time that the police in Rockhampton would face the scrutiny of the Crime and Misconduct Commission.
So, Mardin, the case of Leonard Fraser really dominated rock Hampden's thoughts, the media, even the national media at the time. But around the same time, another case was being overshadowed. Martin, can you tell our listeners a little bit about that case.
That murder case ran over three separate trials for just one of the people who was alleged to be involved. Her name was miss Anne Aboud. The victim was her then boyfriend Ivan Michale. She said this in two thousand and four. I used to read about people being charged and assumed their guilt. I learned through my case the importance of the word alleged. That's because she faced three separate trials. She was first acquitted, then in the second trial she was convicted, and in the third trial she
was acquitted yet again. She spent many months in prison throughout this time and it destroyed her life.
So, Madam, this is an incredibly interesting case that not many people actually know about, of the same court system. It involved the same Rockhampton police. So Martin, you did just say Anne Aboud was acquitted and she did serve jail time during this period, But what were the rock Hampden Police's involvement in this?
So, just as we spoke about with Leonard Fraser and the police being referred to the Crime and Misconduct Commission, this murder case that went for three separate trials, finally acquitting miss Aboud, who was clearly innocent of any involvement in the murder of her boyfriend for which other people
would be convicted. Once again, the police were referred to the Crime and Misconduct Commission four months after a major operation began into the police's involvement in such misconduct and mishandling of cases quick till findings were handed down about the way they treated miss Abode. A senior sergeant from Rockhampton had failed to comply with police guidelines and police powers. He'd unlawfully detained Miss Abode and then lied to the
Crime and misconduct investigators during a disciplinary interview. Another police officer, this time a senior constable, was also found to have failed to comply with the legislation. He had not obtained the proper requirement to extend the incarceration of miss Abode and had also been involved in an illegal phone tap where a telephone was tapped without a warrant first being obtained.
So not only was Miss Abode held in prison for many, many months for a crime she had no part in, not only was she finally acquitted after the stress of three trials. All of this going on at the same time as the police of rock Hampton were under the microscope for their failings in mister Fraser's case. The very same police of Rockampton were breaking the law by detaining mister Boode without authority, by tapping phones and lying when
they were under investigation. Clearly something was up with the police in rock Hampton, and it's quite obvious. We've suggested that throughout this podcast that it also relates to the case of Kevin Henry.
But despite what you've already heard in this episode about rock Hampden Police, there was a case around this period that was even worse.
This involves a career criminal named Lee Henderson. In nineteen eighty eight eight he went into the home of a young mother, raped and killed her. Now a report would later find that and I quote, if the National Crime Authority and the New South Wales Police had not been taken in by Lee Henderson's lies, a young Gold Coast mother would still be alive to watch her two children grow up. So how does this involve the Rockhampton Police.
Well after he was convicted, mister Henderson spent time in a number of Queensland prisons, including Capricornia Correctional Center where Kevin Henry is today. And it was here that the Rockhampton Police became heavily involved in the life of mister Henderson. They began to assist mister Henderson, a man in prison for the rape and murder of a young mother. One officer who'd assisted mister Henderson received this gift card that it is alleged at the time by the Crime Misconduct
Commission also contained a cash gift. This is what mister Henderson, this career criminal and murderer, said in a card to a Queensland Rockhampton police officer. I've always regarded you as one of my best mates and also the best partner I've ever had. Here's a little gift of thanks for you love always the General.
So Martin. That shows a very close relationship between this man convicted of rape and murder and the Rockhampton Police. What do you take from the fact that he gave them a card signed with the General.
So what we were to find out as part of Operation Capri This was an operation conducted by the Crime and Misconduct Commission that took in the police actions involving mister Fraser, the serial killer from Rockhampton, that looked at the police investigation of miss Aboot, who was clearly innocent and yet faced time in prison and three separate trials over a murder she didn't commit. It also looked at the Rockhampton police in general and inspected the Rockhampton Police station.
This is where Kevin Henry gave his supposed confession, the one that was taken under duress, and where Kevin Henry was held in two thousand and six, despite warnings as far back as the eighties that the National Crime Authority shouldn't have been dealing with this mister Henderson, that the new south Ward Arles and Queensland Police shouldn't have been dealing with mister Henderson in two thousand and six, twenty years after his criminal career had begun, and while being
held in Capricornia Correctional Center near Rockhampton for the rape and murder of a young Mather. Mister Henderson had a locker at the police station in Rockhampton, and his nickname, the General, was on that locker. In that locker, the
police kept for him a large variety of items. A black leather jacket and a black swede jacket, a denim jacket, multiple pairs of blue jeans, black long trousers, long sleeve shirts, ties, pairs of running shoes and more fancy dress shoes, a false police birth certificate, a fancy watch, sunglasses, a and many other things. Now, why did Rockhampton police have a locker for a convicted criminal, why did it have his
nickname on that locker? And what did police say about the existence of that locker when it was discovered by the Crime and Misconduct Commission. Despite being interviewed, the police officers from Rockhampton Police station all claimed to be unaware of the various items of clothing that were being kept I quote from the report. None of the officers were able to explain where or how the items had been acquired, and all claimed to have no detailed knowledge of the
locker's contents. In the case of the birth certificate, there was also there was also a simcard stored with that birth certificate, and once again, no police officer would give any information to the Crime and Misconduct Commission as to how that simcard or that forged birth certificate got into a police locker. But here's what we do know. Mister Henderson was visited at Capricornia Correctional Center many many times with police. Not only was he visited, he was taken
on daily outings. He was allowed to consort with known criminals. He was allowed to collect money, two thousand dollars of which were deposited into his prison bank account. He was allowed to attend a bar. This is why these civilian clothes were at the Rockhampton police station so he could do such things. It was also disclosed in the CMC report that the police had involved in improper disclosure of
confidential information to mister Henderson. Mister Henderson was also paid a reward of five thousand dollars for helping solve a crime that he didn't in fact solve. He'd suggested to a known criminal when he was allowed to meet that criminal having been removed from the prison by police, that he could help that criminal get a charge dropped a firearmor fence. That charge was dropped and The reward forgetting that charge dropped was given to mister Henderson, a convicted
murderer and rapist, by the police. The police would have other more personal dealings. As I read earlier, One officer received a gift card from mister Henderson, but he wasn't alone. Another was signed off on by Henderson Love the General. Mister Henderson was so close to these police officers he even sent a congratulation message when one of these officers had had a newborn baby, and despite being held in prison, mister Henderson knew the name of that baby and used
it in his congratulations card to that officer. This was all going on throughout the same period of the three trials of miss A Bird and the trial of mister Fraser,
a convicted rapist and murderer. In every case, the CMC were called in to investigate the police of Rockhampton, and just like in the case of mister Henry, miss A Bird was found guilty of a crime she didn't commit, and in the case of mister Fraser, a confession he made to a crime was so inaccurate and under such duress that the alleged murder victim turned up alive during his trial, the question has to be asked, what was
going on at Rockhampton police station. What was going on when Kevin Henry was arrested and was still going on more than fifteen years later. These are the police who were able to get Kevin Henry convicted of a crime for which there is simply no evidence but a confession
taken by these police. Having heard what you've heard today, having heard what we've mentioned throughout this podcast about the police's investigation, the way they treated forensic material and evidence, the way they treated witnesses, the fact they charged two sets of people with Linda's murder supposedly occurring in two separate situations. Can you have any confidence in the fact that Kevin Henry is guilty based on the investigation done by these police?
So Martin, what's coming out in this episode. I mean, it's astonishing for me to think that the police in my hometown could have actually acted like this, particularly in the case of Leonard Fraser, who, although he was a murderer, was still forced to confess to a crime that he couldn't possibly have committed because Natasha Ryan was later found alive and well. But also how they treated a vulnerable woman and a boud her life was ruined because of
the police misconduct in this case. But also the other astonishing thing is just the lengths the police went to in supporting a convicted murderer and rapist. But it's even more astonished thinking that all of these cases were investigated by the Crime and Misconduct Commission, and you've quoted directly from the report, so it was, it had all come out, it had all been investigated quite thoroughly. Were there any repercussions for these police officers involved in any of these three cases?
Sadly there wasn't. Once again we see the police commit acts that would see other members of the general public clearly imprisoned. One of these officers had even received a loan of some eight thousand dollars. Others had helped mister Henderson to distribute money, while mister Henderson gave a bogus tip off that the police followed up on. It enabled his crime syndicate to steal back a weapon and two hundred and fifty thousand dollars from a house nearby while
the police was supposedly distracted. Despite all that, the police commissioner at the time accepted the responsibility for the misconduct, but claimed it wasn't widespread. This is a claim that's very hard to believe. He also said that these police officers had always started out with good intentions of solving
serious crimes. Well, quite clearly they hadn't solved serious crimes, and he simply claimed that they'd lost their way and that perhaps there needed to be a greater effort for supervision because and I quote he said some had made very very poor decisions. That would be an understatement of
gigantic proportions. But as for any responsibility or punishment, there simply wasn't any, despite the Crime and Misconduct Commission having to be called in on seemingly every every murder trial in Rockhampton, where there was issues raised in each and every of those cases as to the police conduct. And we're not talking about police conduct revolving around small issues
or small time criminals. We're talking about three separate murder trials where one an innocent woman spent time in prison and went through three separate trials for a crime she didn't commit. In one case, the police could have bungled the conviction of a serial killer, a man who was known to rape and murder children, as young as nine, and yet the police still committed serious and grave misconduct.
And in another case, that of mister Henderson, the Rockhampton Police were assisting a known criminal, a rapist and murderer, mister Henderson, and yet there would be no punishment for them. But this won't be the first time you'll hear about the Crime and Misconduct Commission in this podcast, because in the case of Kevin Henry, there are serious questions to be answered.
Now, all of the cases we've mentioned in this episode
happened to non Indigenous people. So if you've been listening to this podcast and have had trouble believing that the police are incapable of doing the things that we've said they've done in relation to Kevin Henry's case, consider this that fifteen years after the nineteen ninety one Fitzgerald inquiry into police corruption in Queensland handed down, around the same time, Kevin Henry was picked up for the murder of Linda, a murder that he did not do, this was still happening.
That was episode thirty eight of Curtain