Where's Peter? by Roger Maynard

Author:Roger Maynard [ROGER MAYNARD]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780730450139
Publisher: HarperCollins

CHAPTER 19

THE STAGE IS SET

The pre-trial hearing of Bradley John Murdoch was eventually fixed for 17 May 2004 in Darwin. If the crime itself had caught the imagination of the public at large, the prospect of Joanne Lees coming face to face with the man accused of killing her boyfriend and attempting to abduct her was also eagerly anticipated by both the Australian and British media.

It clearly had the potential for high drama and those gathered in court number six were not to be disappointed.

Joanne was the first to arrive for the proceedings, flying into the Northern Territory more than a week before the case was due to open and promptly issuing a statement denying she was in hiding. Though the speedy nature of her departure from Darwin airport to a secret location in the company of officers from the Northern Territory’s Tactical Response Group suggested otherwise.

She was also keen to put a stop to rumours that the young man she was accompanied by was her new boyfriend. In fact he was Mark Sanders, described by Joanne as ‘one of Pete’s best friends who studied with him at Brighton University’.

Joanne explained that she would be giving no interviews before or during the case on the advice of the Director of Public Prosecutions, Rex Wild QC. ‘I’m in Darwin to prepare for the committal in which I will be giving evidence,’ she explained in a statement to the media.

‘I want Bradley Murdoch to receive a fair committal hearing as I believe this is the only way justice can prevail,’ she added. ‘I wish I was here under different circumstances as I still have many friends here and I have many happy memories of Australia. However, this is not a holiday and I am completely focused on the task ahead.’

Quite why she flew to Darwin more than a week before the case was due to begin was unclear. Joanne kept her head down and, despite the best efforts of photographers to snap her in public, the star witness remained frustratingly hidden away.

Defence lawyer Grant Algie and his right-hand man Mark Twiggs showed no such reluctance to face the media spotlight, taking the unusual step of calling a press conference at Darwin airport on the weekend before the committal opened.

It seemed both sides were making their positions clear early on in the proceedings, Algie keen to draw attention to the fact that his client did not enjoy the same level of back-up afforded Lees.

‘I have called this press conference because Bradley Murdoch doesn’t have a website and Brad Murdoch doesn’t have a media liaison officer. What Brad Murdoch has is a presumption of innocence and an absolute right to a fair trial—a fair go—if he’s to face trial,’ he said.

‘My concern is that we should not do anything to jeopardise or erode or destroy his chance of having a fair trial,’ he added.

The defence lawyer pointed out that the manner of the pre-trial hearing would be vastly different from a trial.

‘It’s important to

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