Casefile True Crime - Case 21: Pamela Lawrence

Episode Date: May 29, 2016

On Monday the 23rd of May 1994, a violent storm hit the city of Perth, Western Australia. Peter Lawrence was starting to become concerned. It was getting late and his wife Pamela Lawrence hadn’t gotten home from work yet. He called her at 6:15 pm, when he didn’t get an answer he decided he had better go down and check on her…. For all credits and sources please visit casefilepodcast.com/case-21-pamela-lawrence

On Monday the 23rd of May 1994, a violent storm hit the city of Perth, Western Australia. Peter Lawrence was at home with one of his daughters. He was concerned. It was getting late and his wife, Pamela Lawrence, hadn't gotten home from work yet. He called her store at 6.15pm. When he didn't get an answer, he decided he had better go down and check on her. Andrew Mallard was born on the 16th of August 1962. His parents were Roy and Grace Mallard.

Andrew was born in England where his father Roy had a long career in the army. The Mallards were a hardworking, well respected and law-abiding family. Andrew also had an older sister, Jackie, who was 10 years older than him. The Mallards left England in 1967 and moved to Perth in Western Australia. Andrew had difficulty fitting into his new country. He was exceptionally tall for his age and that, combined with his English accent, was good enough to make him a target for bullies. Kids would mimic his accent, call him lots of colourful names and someone as far as to attack him physically. Andrew never felt like he belonged.

High school was even worse. Andrew being the type of kid that bullies could feel safe in hitting because they knew he wouldn't hit back. Andrew left school at 16 with no plans or career path in mind. When he turned 18, Andrew started hitting the nightclub scene. He was now a six foot, six inch tall adult. He definitely stood out in the crowd. It was the nightclub scene that introduced him to marijuana and he was soon smoking it regularly. His parents didn't approve of where Andrew was heading in life.

He was broke, unemployed and living at home. So he decided to do something he thought would impress them. He enlisted in the army. But he wasn't cut out for it. He never made it through basic training, instead being offered a medical discharge due to a mild sleeping disorder. Andrew returned back to Perth and got back to his old nightclubbing and dope smoking ways. He felt lost in life without a purpose. Convinced he didn't belong in Australia, he pestered his parents to buy him an airfare back to England.

But he didn't do much good over there either. And it wasn't long before his parents were paying for an airfare to get him back home to Perth. By this stage, Andrew was on the verge of a complete breakdown. He couldn't go outside because he started suffering from extreme anxiety and panic attacks. His father Roy sent him to a psychologist who he met with every week for a few months. It really helped him start to get back on track. Andrew stopped smoking pot and he felt like he was ready to move out and face the world again. He moved into a shared accommodation place in South Perth.

But his newfound optimism was short-lived when he was unsuccessful at a number of job interviews. When one of his housemates lit up a joint, Andrew couldn't resist his old habit. Within a few months he was broken homeless, wandering in the streets of Perth. In May 1994, Andrew met a girl named Michelle. He was instantly attracted to her. The feeling wasn't mutual, but Michelle did allow Andrew to sleep on her lounge. He couldn't believe his luck. An attractive woman was taking him in.

She lived in a flat just off Glide Street in Mosman Park. It took less than a week for Andrew to outstay his welcome note. Whenever Michelle started hinting it might be time for him to move on, Andrew did whatever he could to find her some marijuana. Michelle loved the smoke, and when she was stoned, the talk about him moving out stopped. Michelle didn't even know Andrew's real name. She believed Andrew was an English backpacker named Andre, who just needed somewhere to crash while he waited for some money to be transferred from England.

That story didn't last long because Michelle found a copy of his resume in his backpack. But Andrew wasn't about to tell his real story. He said he was really an agent from Interpol, working to break an organised crime syndicate in Fremantle. His real name was Michael Faraday. The resume for Andrew Mallard was part of his cover. Apparently Michelle bought the story. Andrew was in the middle of a manic episode. He was spiraling out of control.

He had been coming under the attention of local police due to his ever-increasing erratic behaviour. But on the night of Sunday the 22nd of May 1994, he took things up a notch. Andrew left Michelle's place and went to a nearby unit block where a former boyfriend of Michelle's lived. He started bashing down the door of the caretaker's unit, demanding that the caretaker let him into the unit of the old boyfriend. His story? He was a drug squad detective and he had just received information that were drugs stashed in his unit. When the caretaker told Andrew she didn't have a key, he broke down his door. He was actually there to look for some items that Michelle claimed her old boyfriend had stolen from her.

He was basically just trying to impress her. Andrew didn't find the stolen items in his unit, but he did steal his guitar and a few jackets. But it didn't take long for the old boyfriend to put it all together, and very soon the police came looking for Andrew. He was arrested the next day, Monday the 23rd of May 1994. While he was back at the police station, he was left unattended at a desk for a period of time. So he helped himself to a police type in and a badge. He thought those would come in handy to help sell his story to Michelle and impress her even more. He was at the station until about 3.45pm when he was released.

He waited around for a while before eventually finding a taxi. He jumped in and instructed the driver to head to Mosman Park. He got there around 5pm. On that afternoon, Perth was hit by a massive freak storm. There were gale force winds, lightning, thunder and heavy rain. The type of storm that knocked down power poles and blacked out traffic lights. Pamela Lawrence was working in her jewellery store called Flora Metallica. It wasn't a traditional type of jewellery store.

Pam liked to dip everyday items into various metals and create her own unique style of jewellery. Her shop was located in the Glide Street shopping area in Mosman Park, near Michelle's unit. Pam was a theatre nurse before deciding on the career change. She had been lovingly married to Peter Lawrence for 23 years and they had two daughters, Amy and Katie. Pam was a friendly, bubbly person who could light up a room. Mosman Park is a mostly affluent suburb of Perth, 11km or roughly 5 miles south west of the CBD. With the Indian Ocean to the west and the Swan River to the east, it has its fair share of greened, expensive houses and well-to-do residents.

Although it did have its share of government housing units where a lot of the residents were less desirable types, most were unemployed and addicted to drugs, turning to crime to fuel their habits. The shops around Glide Street had been the targets of several recent break-ins. Flora Metallica hadn't been broken into, but somebody had thrown a brick through the front window. The recent criminal activity led Pam to instruct her staff members that if anyone broke in or tried to rob them while they were there, just to hand over whatever they wanted. Money and material objects weren't worth getting hurt over. Pam did have a staff member working with her that day, Jackie Barsden, but she finished at 3pm.

After that, Pam was by herself. Still on that same afternoon, the 23rd of May, 13-year-old Catherine Barsden had been picked up from school by her grandmother. Catherine, the daughter of Jackie Barsden, who worked at Flora Metallica with Pam. In order to get home, Catherine's grandmother had to drive directly past the store. They actually got stopped at traffic lights directly outside. Catherine got a shock when she looked inside the shop from the car and saw a strange Caucasian man standing behind the counter. She described him as being 30-35 years old, medium-billed, a slight orange beard, 6 feet tall,

and it looked like he was wearing a bandana. Catherine kept staring at the man, and he eventually made eye contact with her, after which he immediately crouched down behind the counter. Catherine had never seen the man in the shop before. She thought it was strange and made sure to look at the clock in the car. The time was two minutes past five. She told her mum Jackie when she got home. Jackie thought it sounded strange, so she picked up the phone to call Pam to make sure she was okay.

But then she changed her mind, deciding it was probably nothing. Peter Lawrence was at home with one of his daughters. He was concerned that his wife, Pam, hadn't returned home from work yet. He called the store at quarter past six to see when she planned on getting home. When Pam didn't answer, he decided he had better go down and check on her. At 6.39pm, a call was made to emergency services. A woman had been attacked. An ambulance was requested to the Flora Metallica Jewelry Store at Mosman Park.

Peter Lawrence had walked into the store to find Pam lying in a pool of blood with severe head wounds. Peter was covered in blood himself as he was kneeling down next to his wife, trying to help her when the ambulance and police arrived. Pam had lost leaders of blood. She was barely breathing. They put her on a stretcher and rushed her to hospital. On the way to the hospital, her breathing stopped. They performed CPR and did everything they could, but it was too late.

Pam was dead on arrival. A later autopsy would reveal that Pam died as a result of her severe head wounds. The cause of the wounds was an unknown blunt force object. There were no defensive injuries. In Pam's wounds, the forensic pathologist found little specs of an unknown blue material. It was believed that that material came from the murder weapon. Detectives from the major crime squad were called in. The lead detective of the investigation was Detective Sergeant Sherville,

assisted by Detective Caporn and a whole team of other detectives. Little was done that night in the way of a forensic investigation. The Jewelry Store was locked and guarded until the following day when a thorough examination could take place. A search was conducted to try and find the murder weapon, but they turned up nothing. Peter Lawrence pointed out that no money had been stolen from the register and no jewelry had been taken. But Pam's purse was missing. It was the next day, Tuesday the 24th of May, when police first learned about the suspicious man Catherine Barstyn had seen in the store. There was other information to consider too.

Reports that unknown people were seen in the area acting suspiciously around the time of the murder. Other reports of some of the known local junkies hanging around too. And what about some of the undesirable characters that live in the government housing flats nearby? Or the mental health patient that lives there? Maybe it's related to the break-ins, or the brick that was thrown through the window of the store not that long ago. Many names were added to a list of possible suspects, but none of them were very solid at that stage. The list ended up containing over a hundred names. The main concern for detectives was finding out who the suspicious man in the store was that Catherine Barstyn had seen.

An identity keep drawing was made up of the man based on Catherine's description and it was sent out to the media. The forensic pathologist concluded that 5pm when she saw the man fit the time frame of the attack as PM could have remained alive that long. Naturally, Peter Lawrence was a suspect in his wife's murder. But there was nothing to cast suspicion on Peter other than the fact he found his wife's body. There were no reports of violence or any other issues in the house. They were still very much in love. His daughters had no doubt that he was innocent. It was Thursday, three days after the murder, when the name of 31-year-old Andrew Mallard was first mentioned to police.

As part of the investigation, police did an extensive door knock of surrounding residents. One of the people they spoke to was Michelle, the girl who had let Andrew sleep on her lounge. It was Detective Caporn who spoke with her and he learned all about Michelle's strange housemate with his weird stories and unpredictable erratic behaviour. He had been arrested for the break-in on the morning of the murder and she was sure he didn't get home until about 6.30pm on that night. Andrew wasn't home to be questioned though. He had already attended court for the break-in charge and the judge recommended that he be sent to Greyland Psychiatric Hospital for a 28-day mental health assessment. That got Detective Caporn even more interested. Caporn went to the hospital to speak to Andrew.

He thought to himself that he sort of looked like the authentic picture that was made of the man Catherine Baslin saw in the store. He let Andrew know he was investigating the murder of Pamela Lawrence and asked where he was at the time of the murder. Andrew let Caporn know that after he got released from the police station, he called a taxi back to Michelle's unit in Mosman Park, getting him there around 5pm. That didn't fit with what Caporn had been told by Michelle. She said it was more like 6.30pm when he got home. Caporn also found out that Andrew used to wear bandanas, although he said he stopped wearing them several months earlier. Caporn then paid a visit to the taxi company. He found the driver who picked up Andrew. The driver didn't have any trouble remembering him because he said he was a rock star from England. He said he didn't drop him off at Michelle's unit block. It was a completely different unit block.

Nearby, but definitely not Michelle's. Andrew told the driver he was just going in to get some friends and he would be right back. It was 5pm, but Andrew never returned. By 20 past 5, the driver realized he had done the runner on him. Caporn returned back to the hospital the next day, eager to question Andrew about this new information. He wanted to know more about this missing 90 minutes between 5pm when he got out of the taxi and 6.30pm when Michelle says he got home. It was during this second chat that Andrew came clean. He admitted running off without paying for the taxi and he says he got dropped off at that particular unit block because he knew people who he could escort to. Andrew gave numerous names of people he was with or spoke to.

Detectives canvassed the unit block trying to verify his story, but they couldn't. No one remembered being with Andrew during that time. Caporn got a warrant and took Andrew's clothing for forensic testing. His right shoe tested positive for two different blood groups. One was undetermined. The second was from Blood Group B, the same blood group of Pamela Lawrence that was found in only 4% of the population. Inconsistent stories, no alibi, an admitted drug user who was displaying such bizarre behavior that it led him to being sent to a psychiatric hospital on a court order. And now there was the blood. Caporn was convinced he had his man. He briefed the rest of the detectives on the case what he had uncovered. And on Friday the 3rd of June the full result of the DNA test was revealed. The moment Caporn had been waiting for.

Was it Pamela's blood on Andrew's shoe? No. The initial tests were incorrect. It was actually Andrew's blood. It was the following Friday the 10th of June 94 that Andrew was released from hospital. He was diagnosed with manic depression and bipolar disorder, but he didn't have to stay there any longer. His condition was manageable so long as he agreed to keep regular appointments for treatment. Andrew had to reappear before a judge, who ruled that he was officially free to go. Detective Caporn was waiting for him in the courtroom. He approached Andrew and asked if he was prepared to go back to the station and answer a few more questions.

If he agreed Caporn would give him his clothes and shoes back. Once they got to the police station they went straight into an interview room. They went back over Andrew's story, what he did and where he was on the day of Pamela's murder. Andrew gave the same version. He was released from the police station, caught a taxi, did the runner, tried to buy some marijuana, then returned to Michelle's flat. He also informed Caporn that he had been inside Flora Metallica in the days before the murder. He was trying to sell some of his jewellery, but he was told they weren't that type of store. Andrew wasn't under arrest. Officially he was there of his own free will. Having a chat and to get his clothes back. So his rights weren't read to him.

They started poking holes in his story about the missing 90 minutes. Andrew would give a name of someone who we thought he had spoken to in that time and the detectives would knock it down. Sorry we spoke to him and it was actually Sunday the night before the murder that you were together. How come you can't remember where you were or what you were doing Andrew? Why are you lying Andrew? What are you trying to hide Andrew? Just make it easier on yourself. Tell us the truth. What really happened? We can help you. The detectives also knew about the type in and police badge Andrew had stolen to impress Michelle. When asked about those items, he said a friend had given them to him. But they had serial numbers. The detectives knew he was lying.

After about six or seven hours into the interview, Andrew started giving an account. Like a hypothetical account. What he believed happened. As if he was a psychic. Saying that he could get into the killer's head and read his mind. And see what happened. He started saying he thought the person responsible was evil and scared. And he just kept hitting Pam and couldn't stop. This got Caporn's attention. He read Andrew his rights. Andrew continued giving his theory. I think he was just looking to steal something. He went in through the back door. She was still in the shop locking up and saw him. He got scared. So he kept on hitting her and couldn't stop. He hit her on the head repeatedly with a wrench. Then he saw the girl in the car looking at him. He got scared and had to get out.

So he moved the body, dragged her to the back door. She was making gurgling noises. So he hit her again. Then ran out. Where was the wrench the detectives asked? Andrew said the killer caught a train to North Fremantle and threw it in the ocean. Andrew was trying to please the detectives and tell them what they wanted to hear so he could get out of the interview room. Caporn took Andrew's third person account as a confession. When the detectives wanted to go back through his story again and get to the bottom of how he knew all that information if he didn't do it. Andrew lost it and started yelling and swearing, denying he was responsible, protesting his innocence. Andrew's aggression led to a physical altercation and he ended up biting Caporn. The interview was over. They charged him with assaulting a police officer but he wasn't held in custody. He was released.

He never got his clothes or shoes back though. None of that first interview was recorded. The detectives made notes of what was said but they weren't signed by Andrew. While that interview was being conducted, Peter Lawrence was on the phone to Detective Sherville. He told him that he thought a 10-inch Sidcrome wrench was missing from out the back of PM's jewellery shop. The reason Andrew was allowed to go was so they could run an undercover operation on him. They didn't have enough evidence. They didn't have any evidence really. All they had was Andrew's unrecorded ramblings of a third person account of how he thought the murder happened. They needed more. So Andrew was about to meet a new friend.

They were hoping he would confess and lead the undercover officer to the murder weapon and to PM's purse. Andrew had nowhere to go. Michelle wasn't having him back and he didn't want to go back home to his parents. So he was forced to sleep in a park. It was only a few days later while Andrew was hanging in the park that he met Gary. He instantly hit it off with Gary and was impressed when he drove him around to score some dope. He was even more impressed when Gary shouted him a couple of nights in a hotel room. Gary said he was writing a book on PMler's murder and he wanted Andrew's help. Gary wanted to know all about Andrew's theory of what happened.

So Andrew gave him the same story he gave to the detectives. Gary then started mentioning weapons and wanted to know what Andrew's thoughts were. Gary even brought up wrenches, specifically making mention of Sidcrome wrenches. He asked Andrew what he thought. Could that be the murder weapon? He also asked if you thought there would have been a lot of blood. What the killer would have done with his clothes, where the killer would have got the weapon and where the killer would have disposed of the weapon. Andrew was only too happy to speculate. Based on Andrew's answers, Gary's report would later read that the motive of the murder was robbery.

The murder weapon was a wrench. The wrench had been thrown off a bridge into the Swan River and the killer washed the blood off his clothes using the salt water in the river. In Andrew's words, that would fuck with the forensics. Again, Andrew hadn't confessed directly, but the police believed what he was saying was information only the killer would know and he was giving his confession in some sort of speculative third-person way. Andrew wasn't well. Between their in-depth discussions about Pam's murder, he was smoking a heap of pot and his behaviour was getting more erratic. He started talking about how he had passed through several dimensions and his soul could enter different bodies.

He also mentioned that he was really a Viking warrior. That comment led Gary to encourage Andrew to participate in a makeover. Gary bought him a pair of boots, an army jacket and a kilt at a second-hand store. Then he took him to get his head partly shaved. There you go, Andrew. You look much more like a Viking warrior now. Gary started to fear for his safety, believing Andrew was a murderer and seeing his behaviour get more and more erratic. The undercover operation was called off. No admissions were made and they never got led to the murder weapon or to Pam's purse.

Andrew failed to attend court for the assault police charge, so a warrant was issued for his arrest. He was arrested by Detective Brandon, who was also working on Pam's case. He was taken back to the police station and put back into the same interview room that he was in before. Detective Brandon wanted him to answer some more questions about Pam's murder. Andrew went back to his third-person theories about what he thought had happened. This time he added in a description of Pam's injuries. Andrew was able to describe them because he says he was shown a photo of them in the first interview. They handed Andrew a piece of paper.

They told him to draw the wrench that he believes the killer used. Andrew did as he was told. He even wrote the word SIGCHROME on the wrench, remembering what Gary had told him. Andrew was interviewed for over 11 hours this second time round, of which only 30 minutes was recorded on video. A record of the rest of the interview was completed by the detectives making unsigned notes, just like the first interview. When the tape was turned on, they went back over the story, now asking him questions based on all the information Andrew had given them, mostly in the third person. But he also spoke in the first person at times. We brought you in this morning and we had a conversation in relation to the murder of Pam Lawrence at Mosman Park.

Do you agree with that? I do. During the course of those discussions, he told us certain things. You said that you needed money. I did. And you told us that you went in through the rear of the shop at Flora Metallica. Is that what you told us? I told you that.

I'm just going to go through that now. What you told us? We'll sort the rest out later. You told us that you went on the front on Glow Street and that you were looking back and you saw that the Flora Metallica, the door was shut. And that you thought that it was closed so it was safe to do a break. Is that what you told us? Okay. You described the steps to us and you described the rear door and the fly screen door.

I did. Pamela Lawrence was looking the store up. Maybe she came in through the back way. The front door was a lot. And she left the key in the back door. And that's why he had an easy exit. We'll go on with what you told us earlier. Before we go into anything else.

You happy with that? No problems. You told us that she became hysterical and started screaming. That's right. And that you said that you didn't mean... This is again, it's difficult because this is what you said. I didn't mean to... You said you didn't mean to cause any further injury.

Because I panicked and at the time I thought I was on speed or drugs but maybe not. I think you said initially that you only meant to knock her out. That's right. You told us that she was dressed in what? A skirt or some sort of game being a woman of taste or sophistication. She would have had to be in war. Not a skirt like this but one that joins up. Okay, but the fact is that you told us all these things

and you now say that that was a complete pack of lies. That all that things that you told us. I say that is my version. My projection of the scene of the crime. We'll leave it at that. You told us you went in through the rear of the shop at Flora Metallica. I told you that. Now you said you went into the shed.

Yes. You told us you got a wrench. Is that correct? A wrench from the toolbox. You said to her that you were going to rob her. This is what you told us. This is what I imagine this person would say. Okay, what I'm saying is this is what you told us.

And you said to us you hit her how many times? I would say six to 12 at the max. The autopsy report said 12. 12 was a good answer. And on and on the questions went. Even though the detectives maintained only the killer could know this information that Andrew was giving. A lot of it was actually incorrect. His description of PM's purse and handbag were wrong.

His description of the car Catherine Baslin was in was wrong. His description of what PM was wearing was wrong. His description of the back of the shop and what was stored there was also wrong. After the interview ended, Andrew still had to face court over the assault police charge. The judge sent him back to Grayland Psychiatric Hospital for another assessment. Two days later, detectives Sherville and Cape Horn met with top prosecutor John McKechnie. They presented their case to him, which was basically just Andrew's mostly third person. Confessions.

McKechnie said that without the video, then there definitely wasn't enough for a case. They couldn't just go with the unrecorded unsigned notes that the detectives made. But the video was the clincher. He gave the detectives the go ahead. The next day, the 19th of July, 1994, Andrew was released from hospital. Into the custody of detectives. He was charged with the murder of PML Lawrence. He wasn't sent back to the hospital.

He was sent to prison. The first step in the court process was a preliminary hearing to say if the prosecution had enough evidence to send the case to a trial and to see what evidence would be allowed into the trial. The judge ruled that the unsigned records of Andrew's confessions would be admissible and that the prosecution had enough evidence to proceed. A trial date was set for the 2nd of November, 1995. Andrew had no money, so he was represented by legal aid. Some might be more familiar with the case. He wasn't convinced that his public defender was up to the task, so he requested a barrister.

The public defender actually agreed with him and he applied for funding to get a barrister onto the case. But it was left to late. So in order to make that happen, they would need an adjournment. The public defender had no money, so he requested a barrister. The public defender actually agreed with him and he applied for funding to get a barrister onto the case. It was left to late, so in order to make that happen, they would need an adjournment. The judge didn't allow them one. The trial was to proceed as scheduled.

The case was prosecuted by Ken Bates. He presented it to the jury in his opening statement as a robbery gone wrong. Andrew went to the jewellery store with the intention of breaking in, thinking no one was there. He was surprised to see PM was still working late. He panicked and bludgeoned her to death with a wrench. He stole the purse, but left before he could steal anything else due to his panicked state. During the trial, the 30-minute video was presented. Bates described it as a confession, intricate in nature, with details only the killer could know.

Although the video did start and end with the injury protesting his innocence. Caporn took the stand and it took several days for him to give his evidence. He went through the first eight hour interview, reading the notes that were written down, but not signed or recorded on video. Bates didn't call Gary as a witness. In fact, the undercover operation wasn't mentioned at the trial at all. Andrew took the stand and gave evidence. He denied everything the prosecution was alleging. At one point, he even looked at Peter Lawrence and said,

I did not kill your wife, Mr. Lawrence. I had nothing to do with it. He also denied saying he had killed PM with a wrench. Saying it was his theory that's what the killer used. The trial lasted for two weeks. It didn't take the jury long to reach their verdict. Guilty. He was sentenced on the 21st of December 1995. The judge had this to say.

You showed no sign of remorse during your trial or now. At trial, you displayed confident, assertive behaviour and displayed clear evidence. You were a manipulative individual prepared to lie, cheat, steal and defraud if the need arose. You went to the shop to commit burglary, but when you realised that you would be identified, you panicked and struck PM or Lawrence repeatedly with a heavy wrench. Andrew stood up and screamed, I did not. The judge continued.

The blows were delivered until you were satisfied she was dead. Your sentence will be 20 years of strict security, life imprisonment. Andrew continued to scream and protest his innocence as it was dragged away. The 20 years that was mentioned was the non-parole period. So it was possible that Andrew would never be released, especially when a big factor in parole is remorse. Andrew appealed his sentence and it was heard at the court of criminal appeal in June 1996. Three Supreme Court judges sit on the appeal.

Andrew was now being represented by Barrister. He's Barrister attacked the confessions, labelling them unreliable because only 30 minutes was recorded out of 19 hours of total interview time. And a video camera was available in the room the entire time. He also heavily attacked the inaccuracies of Andrew's confession, the descriptions of the purse, the car Catherine was in, the shop and what PM was wearing. The fact that there was no forensic evidence, no positive ID and no murder weapon were all raised, as was the timing.

It was extremely unlikely Andrew would have been able to get out of the taxi at 5 PM then run to Flora Metallica to be seen by Catherine Barsden two minutes later. The prosecution relied on what they called the 15 things in Andrew's confession that only the killer could know. But as you've heard, some of these details were given to Andrew, like the Sidcrime wrench. They couldn't even prove a wrench was the murder weapon. They certainly hadn't found the murder weapon, yet it formed one of the 15 points in Andrew's confession that only the killer could have known. The three appeal judges listened to both sides and retired to reach their verdict, which came three months later. And it was unanimous.

Andrew's appeal dismissed conviction upheld. Although the ruling did come with a warning to police, unrecorded confessions would no longer be allowed. But the trial result in Andrew's case wouldn't be altered. Their ruling did state there were some unsatisfactory aspects of Andrew's case, but they were happy there was no miscarriage of justice. The ruling meant that there was one court left to go, the High Court. But you couldn't just take any old case to the High Court. You first had to convince three judges that the appeal had grounds to be heard in the High Court, sort of like an application process. Generally, the High Court is only interested in severe miscarriages of justice, all matters of national importance.

Andrew's barrister failed to convince them. The case wouldn't be heard in the High Court. It was done. Andrew was imprisoned for life. Andrew struggled to cope with the ruling, demanding to take a lie detector test, even demanding to be injected with truth serum. Not knowing these weren't actually options. As time went on, he started to believe he was the victim of a big conspiracy. They must be trying to brainwash him.

The real killer was a powerful man, so Andrew was set up as a patsy. He started to believe everyone was in on it. The real murderer, the police, the lawyers, the judges, the prison guards. Everyone. The long interviews he had were actually brainwashing sessions designed to convince him he was responsible. He even went to the prison library trying to find anything he could about the murder. He even went to the prison library trying to find anything he could about brainwashing and hypnosis. Convinced this must be the answer.

The idea continued to grow in his head. He started to see the prison as a brainwashing facility. The lights were actually cameras, recording his every move. The live feed of which was being sent back to Detective Capel. The distress alarm in the cellar. The distress alarm in the cellar was a speaker where messages were whispered to him in his sleep. He saw the other prisoners as actors. This was their job, to come here and convince him he was in prison when really they were part of the brainwashing conspiracy.

He became obsessed with the idea, refusing to speak to any other prisoners and even cutting off all visits from his family. He put up a sign in his cell. My name is Andrew Mark Mallard. I will not speak to any police or member of the justice system, prison's department or any other authority without proper legal representation. I have nothing to say. Despite his delusional state, Andrew was known as a passive, well-behaved prisoner. Andrew's parents Roy and Grace and his sister Jackie were convinced he was innocent. Roy dedicated himself to studying court transcripts, witness accounts and law books to try and find a hole in the case.

He was certain the story didn't add up. Something was wrong. While obsessing over Andrew's case, Roy started to experience pain in his stomach. A trip to the doctors revealed it was cancer. And he wasn't given long to live. And he wasn't given long to live. Roy told Grace not to tell Andrew, concerned that he was already in a terrible mental state with his brainwashing conspiracy theories. He didn't want to give him something else to worry about.

Grace agreed. Roy died less than four weeks later. Having cut off all visits, Andrew hadn't seen his family for years. When his mother broke the news to him of his father's death, Andrew didn't believe her. He was still running with his conspiracy theory. And he believed that they had now gotten to his family. That it was a story designed to finally break him. He said,

Don't worry, mum. I know you've been told to say this. Tell dad I know he's alright. Don't worry about me, okay? His sister couldn't convince him either. His dad was the strongest man he knew. He was in great health. No way he was dead.

Andrew was upset they had gotten to his family, but he wouldn't let them break him. Grace Mallard never wavered from her belief that her son was innocent. She spoke to anyone who would listen about his case. One of those people was Colleen Egan, who was working for Today Tonight at the time. A current affairs news program on Channel 7. Colleen wasn't interested in the story for Today Tonight, but she was interested in it personally. What caught her attention was a letter that a well-named Barrister, Malcolm McCusker had written. Colleen used to be a court reporter, so she knew who was who in the legal circles.

McCusker was well respected, and he had written that Andrew's case was very unsettling. But there was nothing that could be done unless they came up with fresh evidence that if presented to a jury, may change the outcome. That was enough to interest Colleen to take a look at the court transcripts. After which she was convinced Andrew had been given a raw deal. When Grace and Jackie went to tell Andrew that a reporter was interested in helping them, Andrew was far from impressed. Convinced this was just another part of the conspiracy. He refused to talk and said he didn't want any help. Colleen advised Grace and Jackie that they should first worry about getting Andrew's psychiatric help before they worried about fighting the case.

The prison was initially reluctant to force Andrew into any treatment. Sure, his behaviour was odd, but he wasn't violent, and he wasn't causing trouble. But eventually they changed their stance, and he was sent for a psychiatric assessment. It was being placed in a hospital environment that seemed to snap Andrew back to reality. He realised there was no way his fellow patients were actors, they were legitimate patients. He was in a real hospital. It suddenly became clear to Andrew, this was real. It wasn't a conspiracy, he wasn't in a brainwashing facility.

The switch was flicked. Andrew started to come back. Gone were his delusional ramblings. Andrew wanted to cooperate with the psychiatrist and prove he was innocent. After a few months of treatment, his condition had greatly improved and he was sent back to prison. Andrew apologised to his mum and to his sister, saying that conspiracy brainwashing theory was the only way he could rationalise what had happened to him. Jackie called Colleen and told her the good news. Andrew was ready. It was a long process.

Colleen worked on the case for four years with the help of Andrew's barrister and many others. But they couldn't find what they needed. They hadn't uncovered any fresh evidence so there was no grounds for a new appeal. Colleen decided to approach an unlikely ally. John Quigley was a well-known lawyer who spent 25 years working with the police union, defending police officers accused of wrongdoing. He rarely lost a case. His reputation was exceptional, known as one of the best lawyers you could get. He was also a big personality who loved the law night and loved the camera.

Colleen knew this from her crime reporting days. But Quigley had recently quit law and had taken up politics, becoming a labour party backbencher. During the four years she had been working on the case, Colleen had changed jobs. It just so happened she was now working for a newspaper covering politics. Quigley knew everything there was to know about police procedures and practices. It's what made him such a good person to approach. But it was risky. 25 years of defending police officers had developed some solid relationships and contacts.

He was the only non-police officer to be given a life membership of the police union. Colleen approached him and let him know she strongly believed there was an innocent man behind bars. What better way to start a career in politics? Helping get an innocent man out of prison. Quigley didn't make any promises but he told Colleen he would have a look at the case and get back to her. It didn't take him long to find a problem. It was what happened after the first interview when Andrew was charged with assaulting police. Andrew was homeless at the time.

It was very unusual for somebody to be released on bail if they had nowhere to go. He compared this fact with the evidence of Detective Brandon, who arrested Andrew on the warrant a week later and conducted the second interview. Brandon said he was just driving around and by chance happened to see Andrew in the park. So he arrested him on the warrant. Quigley was able to put it together pretty quickly. He realized Andrew was released because they were running an undercover operation and Brandon didn't just happen to drive past him in the park.

They knew where he was the entire time. It was unusual that there was an undercover operation and it wasn't mentioned in the trial at all. The approach to Quigley had paid off. These were things that stood out to him that the others just didn't see. And Quigley assumed that there was probably more that had been hidden. He decided to meet personally with the forensic pathologist Dr Cook. Quigley asked him how it came to be that a wrench was determined to be the murder weapon. Dr Cook said he had no idea.

He told Quigley the same thing he says he told the detectives in charge of the case and the prosecutor. I find it hard to believe a wrench could have caused those injuries. Quigley showed him the sketch that Andrew had drawn of the Sidcrome wrench. Dr Cook had never seen it before. This was enough for the ball to start rolling. Quigley used his political connections to be given the prosecution file. All they had at that point were the court transcripts. It surprised them to say that tests had been done back in 1994.

To see what wounds a wrench made on a pig's head. The wounds were different to the wounds suffered by Pium. This test was never disclosed to the defence or brought up at the trial. The prosecution file also confirmed what Quigley had already worked out anyway. That there was an undercover operation. Several years had now passed since the trial. The prosecutor, Cam Bates, who was in one of his first high profile cases, was now a highly respected prosecutor with a good reputation.

John McKechnie, who was the top prosecutor in the state at the time and who gave the detectives the go ahead to charge, was now a serving Supreme Court judge. Detective Sherville and Cape Horn were now assistant police commissioners. Detective Brandon, who arrested Andrew and conducted the second interview, was now a superintendent. Not surprisingly, there was resistance to what Quigley was saying. Headlines read that Quigley was trying to get a vicious murderer off the hook on a non-disclosure technicality. Officers in charge of the case and the prosecutor's office

maintained that the case against Andrew was strong. He had made a solid confession and a jury was convinced beyond a reasonable doubt he was the killer. But enough had now been uncovered for the case to be referred back to the court of criminal appeal. The prosecution was determined to fight the appeal. They conceded that, yes, they should have disclosed all of the information, but they maintained it was just an oversight. And it wouldn't have affected the outcome of the trial. Well-known barrister, Malcolm McCusker, whose letter got Colleen interested in the case, was now defending Andrew.

And because the case was back before the court of criminal appeal and full disclosure had been made, there were a few more issues that came up. Michelle, the girl Andrew was living with at the time of the murder, was made to give several charges against him. What she was living with at the time of the murder was made to give several different statements to police. Each one slightly different, adding or taking out little details to better fit the theory that Andrew was responsible. Only her last statement was given to the defense. Catherine Barsden, the 13-year-old witness who saw the suspicious man in the shop,

also made a sketch of the man she saw as soon as she got home. And she wrote a statement out herself, different to what was later presented at court. Catherine had also failed to pick Andrew out of a photo line-up, and she didn't identify him in court as the man she saw. It was found that a forensic report had also been amended. The amended version was the one supplied to the defense and presented as evidence at the trial. It was amended to remove the part that said there was no trace of salt water on Andrew's clothing. If you remember back to Andrew's theory on the crime,

he said that the killer washed his clothes in the salt water because it fucks with the forensics. As they were relying on his third person rinse as a confession, it didn't look good if there was no blood and no traces of salt water on his clothes. But if there was no mention of the salt water not being present, Bates could still give that theory to the jury. Andrew washed his clothes in the river, that's why there was no blood. So Andrew's defense team were arguing that evidence was withheld and statements were changed in order to make the case look a whole lot stronger than what it was. The case was heard in the court of criminal appeal before three Supreme Court judges.

On the 3rd of December 2003, they made their ruling, which was again unanimous. Appeal dismissed, conviction upheld. To keep it simple, basically they agreed with the prosecution, yes there were clearly nondisclosure issues, but no, those nondisclosures wouldn't have affected the outcome of the trial. Neither Sherville or Cape Horn were called as witnesses by the prosecution in the appeal, meaning that offence could not cross-examine them. On the 27th of October 2004, Andrew's defense team presented their case to the High Court.

Again, it was initially like an application process. This time they were successful. The judges granted special leave for the High Court to hear the appeal, but there was still a long road ahead. All that meant was that they got their foot in the door. It would be another year before the case was actually heard, but their day in the High Court finally came and five judges sat on the panel to hear the appeal.

After considering all the evidence and all the issues around the case, they reached a decision. And again, it was unanimous. Conviction quashed, a retrial was ordered. They believed there had been a miscarriage of justice. Shortly after the High Court ruling, the Corruption and Crime Commission started investigating allegations of misconduct by the lead detectives and the prosecutor.

The prosecution initially didn't back down, declaring they had every intention of pursuing the retrial. But their attitude changed when a judge ruled that those unrecorded and unsigned confessions wouldn't be admissible in the second trial. With that information in mind, the prosecution elected not to pursue a retrial. They took a parting shot, saying the only reason they weren't pursuing the case is because vital evidence was ruled inadmissible and that Andrew remained their prime suspect.

The police agreed, saying the case would remain closed. Andrew was their man, but he had just been let off on a technicality. After being locked up for 12 years, Andrew was free. Just after Andrew's release, a blood splatter expert was in Perth testifying in an unrelated trial. He studied the photos of bloody clothing that had been taken after PM's murder. Based on those photos, he formed an opinion on who killed PM. His report wasn't good news for PM's husband, Peter Lawrence.

Despite the police saying the case would remain closed, public pressure mounted and they were forced to reopen it and have another look. They formed a squad to re-examine every piece of evidence in the case. New technology was now available that didn't exist 12 years earlier and it was hoped that this new technology might help uncover new information. And it did. A partial palm print was fed through the computer system and it quickly produced a match. In July 1994, just seven weeks after PM's murder,

an English backpacker, Simon Rockford, was arrested for the murder of his girlfriend, Brigida Dickens. Simon had been in Perth for only six months at the time. Brigida was the local he met when he arrived to you. The cause of her death was traumatic brain injury. Simon bludgeoned her to death with a weapon he had made himself using an old weight and an old handle. Simon had spun a whole heap of lies to Brigida about who he really was and what he was doing. He gave grand tales of being rich and successful, when really he was a criminal who had overstayed his tourist visa.

Brigida eventually caught on to what he was doing. Brigida eventually caught on to his lies and confronted him. She threatened to report him to immigration. But Simon couldn't have that. He was the prime suspect for a stabbing murder back in England. Simon dumped her body in the boot of a car and left the murder weapon there too. The murder weapon that he had made himself, which he had painted blue. The wounds on Brigida were the same as Pam's.

The unknown pieces of blue material in Pam's wounds are perfect match to the paint from Simon's murder weapon. Finally, Pam's killer was known. Andrew actually remembers Simon from prison. He thought he was strange. He would always stare at him but never say a word. Some of the prisoners even got their cases mixed up. They would say to Andrew, you're in here for that girl in the boot murder, aren't you? Andrew would reply, no, that's the other guy. I'm innocent of my crime.

Simon made full admissions to police when he was arrested. But he kept the truth about Pam's murder to himself. Simon's interview was actually conducted by Detective Brandon. The same detective who had only just conducted Andrew's second interview a month earlier. Simon was sentenced to life in prison with a non-parole period of 15 years. Five years or less than Andrew. Brigida's autopsy was conducted by the same forensic pathologist who conducted Pam's. Some of the same detectives were involved in both cases.

The wounds were the same. The crimes happened close together. But no one was able to link the cases at the time. Aspects of that blood splatter report naming Peter Lawrence were later criticised. Clearly it was wrong. Peter had nothing to do with his wife's murder. The real killer was now known. The corruption and crime commission later came to a conclusion as well.

Their reports stated, The commission is satisfied that detectives Cape Horn and Sherville, who were together involved in the process, either by persistent and repeated questioning, or by deliberately raising doubts in the witnesses' minds until they became confused, uncertain, or possibly open to suggestion, were instrumental in causing the witnesses to change their statements, by being less particular as the clothing and headwear colour

so that more general descriptions could apply to Mr Mallard. The process demonstrates a pattern which the commission is satisfied cannot have been accidental or coincidence. They found that the detectives were blinded by tunnel vision. They thought the injury was the killer, so they changed aspects of the case to make it fitting better. They ruled that Sherville and Cape Horn, who if you remember were now assistant commissioners,

be disciplined for misconduct, and that there were reasonable grounds for termination of their employment. Prosecutor Bates got the same recommendation. Despite the findings in the corruption and crime commission report, the police commissioner couldn't use those findings as a basis to sack the officers involved. By law, he had to conduct his own inquiry. Before that happened, Sherville resigned with full benefits.

And Cape Horn resigned and took up another government job. Prosecutor Bates resigned and received a payout. The judges involved in the trial and the appeals process carried on with their careers. Andrew received a $3.25 million payout from the government. He left Australia and returned to England eager to find a wife and to have children. We will never know what really happened inside Flora Metallica that day, or why Simon did what he did.

Because when Simon Rockford was declared a prime suspect in PM's murder, he took a putty knife and hacked through his wrist and his neck, ending his life. You