Casefile True Crime - Case 39: Janelle Patton

Episode Date: December 3, 2016

After a string of failed relationships and other disappointments, Janelle Patton made the decision to relocate from Australia to Norfolk Island in search of a fresh start. With a population of around 2000 people, the small South Pacific island was considered a safe and friendly place, with no major crimes having occurred there in over a century. ---  Victoria Dieffenbacher researched and co-wrote this episode. For all credits and sources please visit casefilepodcast.com/case-39-janelle-patton

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Music Norfolk Island is a small island in the Pacific Ocean, situated between Australia and New Zealand. A place of spectacular scenery and peaceful beauty. The total area of the island is 34 kilometres squared, or 13 miles squared. With a population of only around 2,000 people, Norfolk Island is a tight-knit community with a unique and complex web of friendships and relationships. The island was discovered by Captain James Cook in 1774,

and it was first used as a jail for the worst convicts from the Australian colony. The island is a self-governing territory of Australia with its own laws, including strict customs and immigration regulations. Tourists from all over the world flock to Norfolk Island for its unique history and its reputation for being a paradise. It's considered a safe and friendly place. Somebody's always willing to give you a helping hand. Doors and windows are left unlocked at night.

Violent crime almost doesn't exist. There hadn't been a murder on Norfolk Island since 1893. Music Ron and Carolyn Patton married in 1968 and spent their honeymoon on Norfolk Island. They never suspected that 31 years later, their daughter Janelle would make the island her home. Janelle Patton was born in Pennant Hills, the suburb of Sydney, on 30 June 1972. She was a bright girl who loved music. She played the piano, the clarinet and performed in the school band.

At the age of five, her parents received a report card with a message from a teacher that stuck with them over the years. Janelle has settled in quite well and is academically above average. There is, however, a social problem. Janelle tends to take over her friends, her work sessions and her play sessions. Unless this can be rectified, I fear her husband will be sorely hand-packed. Both Ron and Carol agreed that Janelle was above all a perfectionist. After finishing high school, Janelle started a university course in orthopedics, but quit during the first year. She started work as a settlements clerk at Westpac Bank, where she stayed for four years.

She moved to foreign exchange at Bankers Trust and went on to work for a number of other different banks over the next five years. Throughout those years, Janelle had several relationships. One of them was to a Navy seaman. He asked Janelle to quit her job in Sydney and move to Adelaide with him. Janelle didn't make the move, however, continued to see him when he was back in Sydney. The relationship ended with the Navy seaman facing a charge of assault. Everyone believed he broke Janelle's jaw, despite her claims she had fallen over on her dance floor. This relationship left Janelle so scarred emotionally and physically that she never fully recovered from the experience.

Janelle started a new relationship with a man named Todd. She wanted to settle down with Todd, however, he didn't feel the same way. They broke up and Janelle's self-esteem went spiraling downward. She began drinking heavily and taking antidepressants. In October 1999, when she was 27 years old, Janelle decided she needed to get away. She took a job as a housemaid at the South Pacific Hotel on Norfolk Island, 1,673 km away from Sydney, just over 1,000 miles. When she broke the news to her parents, Carol told her,

I don't think it's really your scene, Janelle. It's very quiet. Janelle thought otherwise and responded, maybe that's what I need. It wasn't until March 2002 that Ron and Carol saw Janelle again. They visited her for the first time over the Easter weekend. They arrived on the island on Saturday, the 30th of March. Ron, Carol and Janelle spent that evening at Janelle's new workplace, the Castaway Hotel, where she was in charge of the dining room. Janelle seemed like she was on top of the world. She looked healthy, vibrant and was very excited about her parents' visit. At 9pm, Janelle said goodnight and Ron and Carol went to the room they booked at the Panorama Garden Apartments.

Janelle arranged to meet them at their room the next day, around 1pm, after she took her daily walk. At 7am the next morning, Easter Sunday, the 31st of March 2002, Janelle, who was 29 years old, entered the Castaway Hotel and performed her morning work routine. She set the tables, helped serve the food and chatted with the guests. Janelle finished work at 11.10am. From the Castaway Hotel, she made her way to Foodland Supermarket, located in the shopping mall on the centre of the island. Janelle was captured on security footage walking to the checkout counter of the supermarket at 11.16am.

As she was leaving, Janelle bumped into her landlady, Ruth McCoy. Janelle had bought Easter eggs for Ruth and her family, so she gave her the eggs and wished her a happy Easter. Janelle lived in a small cottage at the back of Ruth's house. She was seen by Ruth's husband pulling up to the cottage at 11.30am. A few minutes later, Janelle walked out of her cottage wearing sports gear and headed off on her daily walk. She always walked the same path, down Rudy Hill Road to Queen Elizabeth Lookout. Marie Forsythe lived in the last house before reaching Queen Elizabeth Lookout. She saw Janelle talking with one or two people sitting inside a car.

A mother who was driving around trying to get her child to fall asleep passed Janelle walking near the lookout. The mother circled around and drove the same way about ten minutes later, but there was no longer any sign of Janelle. At 11.45am, two men were having a cup of tea inside a house on Rudy Hill Road. They heard a noise they described as being similar to a child's wailing. One of the men assumed it must have been his brother arriving with his children. He walked outside to greet them, however to his surprise there was no one there. He took a look around but saw nothing and heard nothing else suspicious. At Norfolk Island Golf Club, located just down the road from Queen Elizabeth Lookout, two men inside the clubhouse heard a loud scream.

Another man playing the sixth hole also heard the scream, but they didn't see anything suspicious and heard nothing else. Janelle failed to show up to Ron and Carol's room. At 2.30pm, Ron and Carol called her cottage, but didn't get an answer. They assumed she was either on her way, or perhaps something had come up that made her stop somewhere else. So they decided to enjoy the day while they could. They stuck a note on the front door of their room, letting Janelle know where she could find them. They then went to Emily Bay, a popular swimming spot. After spending over an hour there, they returned to their room to see if Janelle had arrived.

She hadn't. The note was still stuck on the door, there was no sign of her anywhere. In the meantime, a couple and their two children visited the Cockpit Waterfall Reserve, a popular attraction on the other side of the island. While still taking in the sights, they realised they had left their camera in the car. The couple sent their 14-year-old son back to the car to fetch it. On his way, he ran past a black plastic sheet that looked like it was covering a person. The boy thought it was probably just somebody sleeping, so he didn't mention it to his parents. That afternoon, there had been a significant heavy downpour of rain on the island.

This made for perfect conditions to slide down the hill at the Cockpit Waterfall Reserve on bodyboards. At 3.57pm, four boys rode down the hill on their boards, laughing and yawing. They were recording themselves on video camera. On a few of the frames, that black plastic sheet is visible in the background as they slide down the hill. At 4.13pm, Ron and Carol tried calling Janelle again. Still, they got no answer. They started to worry and decided to visit her cottage. The first thing they saw was her car.

The driver's window was down and there was a lot of water inside due to the torrential rain. The door to Janelle's cottage was unlocked, which wasn't unusual. There was common practice on the island. They had a look around inside, but didn't find anything out of the ordinary. 20 minutes later, a friend of Janelle stopped by to visit. Ron and Carol were still at the cottage and they shared their concerns with her. Janelle's friend called the Castaway Hotel to see if Janelle had returned to work. But she wasn't there.

Her friend knew about Janelle's daily walks and the exact path she took. So they all completed that walk, but found no sign of Janelle. Ron and Carol returned to the panorama apartments and told the manager about their concerns. The manager made some calls to different places around the island, but nobody had seen or heard from Janelle since she had finished work. Ron and Carol returned to Janelle's cottage. This time they saw Ruth McCoy and her husband. They learned Ruth had bumped into Janelle leaving the supermarket

and her husband had seen her leaving for her walk at 11.30. Ruth and her husband thought they had better call the police. The call to the police was made by the patents at 7.50pm. They were asked to go to the police station right away. When they entered the station, the first person they saw was a doctor with a stethoscope around his neck. A chill instantly came over the patents. They didn't feel this was a good sign. They were taken into a room and the detective asked Ron and Carol to sit down before saying,

I believe your daughter is missing. Can you describe her? Carol gave the description. The detective then said, Before we go any further, I've got to tell you there's been an incident. A body of a young woman has just been located. We need to know whether it's your daughter or not. Janelle's body was officially found at 6.30pm by a New Zealand woman on holiday.

While walking through Cockpit Waterfall Reserve, she saw the black plastic sheet. She had a closer look to see what was underneath and then immediately called the police. A detective was on scene within 10 minutes. Although he fully suspected Janelle was dead, he felt for a pulse to make sure. She was cold and the arm he touched was stiff. She was lying face down and her shorts and underwear were cut and pulled down. The first impression the detective had was that Janelle had been sexually assaulted.

Robbery didn't seem to be a motive of any sort since she was still wearing a lot of jewellery. He looked for any weapons or any other evidence nearby but came up empty. Other officers soon arrived and lighting was put up so the crime scene could be processed. Janelle was formally pronounced dead at 7.56pm. Only six minutes after Janelle's parents called the police to report her missing. Janelle's landlady, Ruth McCoy, formally identified her body. By mid-evening, half of the island already knew about Janelle's death. News travelled quickly.

Janelle's body was taken to the morgue where it stayed untouched until Tuesday 2nd April when a forensic team and a pathologist arrived from Canberra. Norfolk is part of Australia's Commonwealth. Janelle's murder was the first on the island for over 100 years. The local police didn't have the experience or the resources to properly investigate. So assistance was sought from the Australian federal police and they took charge of the investigation. The forensic pathologist in charge of the post-mortem was Dr Alan Carla. Janelle had five date cuts on her legs, purple bruising on her right leg and more bruising on her left leg,

an odd M-shaped bruise on her thigh and a dislocated ankle. Three of her ribs were broken and her pelvis was fractured. She had suffered multiple stab wounds. There were several major lacerations on her face as well as many smaller wounds including cuts to her neck. Her skull was fractured and in her hair, small pieces of green glass were located. There were incisions on her fingers described as textbook defensive wounds, sustained from trying to fend off the knife attack. The wounds led Dr Carla to believe Janelle had fought with everything she had.

A microscopic inspection of Janelle's body and clothes was performed and the forensic scientists found particles of green coloured paint in Janelle's hair beneath her fingernails and on the shorts she was wearing. He determined the paint was a rare one and due to its composition, if the origin was found, the killer would be found. On Wednesday the 3rd of April, the lead detective from the Australian federal police arrived, Detective Bob Peters. The case was given the code name Operation Dunedin. On Sunday the 7th of April, Carol went to Janelle's cottage to collect her belongings. They found her diary underneath her pillow, which they handed in to police. Due to the strict customs and immigration laws on Norfolk Island,

it wasn't long before police had a complete list of every single person who was on the island the day Janelle was murdered. Around 2500 people in total, including permanent residents, tourists and visitors. In May, every person over the age of 10 who was on the island that day was sent a survey to complete. The survey asked what they did the day of the murder, if they knew Janelle personally, if they'd seen her and if they had any other information they would like to add. 84% of the visitors and tourists completed it, but only 56% of the residents did. Many said they weren't involved and knew nothing, so they saw no reason to complete it. Others saw it as an invasion of privacy.

The police went a step further and organised the mass fingerprinting of every person between the ages of 15 and 70 who was on the island the day of the murder. Fingerprints had been found on the black plastic sheet covering Janelle's body and the police were looking for a match. There were a few different sets of prints on the sheet, not just from one person. A match didn't necessarily mean they had their killer, but they still made it to identify those prints. Booths were set up in a community centre. The then Chief Minister of Norfolk Island was one of the first people to approach the booths and provide his prints. To those who had since left the island, police asked them to make an appointment with their local police station to have their prints taken. They could then be forwarded on to the investigation team.

77% of the people on the island that day eventually came forward and provided their prints voluntarily. The investigation caused some people to turn against one another. Suspicious eyes were cast all over the island and everywhere you went whispers about who did it could be heard. In May 2004, more than two years had passed since Janelle's murder and Bob Peters was nowhere nearer to finding the killer. The authorities decided to hold an inquest, an open examination of the circumstances surrounding Janelle's death. The Chief Magistrate for the Australian Capital Territory was also Norfolk Island's principal coroner. He flew from Canberra to Brazil over the inquest. It was a difficult investigation for many reasons.

Not only had the heavy rain washed away any chance of footprints, tire marks and DNA evidence. The small, tight-knit population of Norfolk Island, with its complicated web of friendships and relationships, presented unique challenges. Detective Bob Peters had this to say about it. Quote, I don't think anyone from outside could give you a good assessment of what Norfolk Island is really about after a couple of years. Even after a number of years. It's a fairly unique sort of a place. In some regards, it's a little bit like a small rural community, but they're surrounded by ocean with no roads going in or out.

During the inquest, Bob Peters revealed publicly for the first time that he had come up with a list of 16 people he considered persons of interest. The first two were no surprise, Ron and Carol Patton. Most people are murdered by somebody they know, and Ron and Carol arrived on Norfolk Island only 24 hours before Janelle was killed. However, Ron and Carol were more than cooperative with the investigation. They voluntarily provided fingerprints and fully cooperated with every other police request. They actively canvassed the media, the government authorities, and the police to ensure that the investigation into their daughter's murder received every possible support and maintained momentum. There was nothing linking them to the murder, and they weren't considered high on the list of persons of interest. Still, the police wouldn't have been doing their job if they didn't consider the possibility.

Susan Fields was next on the list. Susan met Janelle in 1999, not long after Janelle first arrived on Norfolk Island. Susan helped Janelle find a place. She introduced her to her neighbour, Charles Mengetty, who had a spare room in his house. This living arrangement didn't last long, as Janelle confronted Susan about having an affair with Charles. Susan was married with a 10-year-old son. Susan and Janelle got into a fight over her accusation, and as a result, Janelle was kicked out of Charles' home after only one week. The bad blood continued between Janelle and Susan.

In August 2000, they got into a nasty fight in a bar, which resulted in Susan being charged with assault. Naturally, Susan was looked at as a suspect. On the day of Janelle's murder, the accounts of her whereabouts were contradicting. Susan said she didn't leave home until about 1.30pm to go to the gym. However, her husband insisted it was closer to 11am that she left. A witness reported seeing Susan driving near Rudy Hill Road, close by to where Janelle was walking. After weighing up all of the information, Bob Peters stated at the inquest that although Susan and Janelle clearly didn't like each other, there was no evidence of direct contact between them on 31 March 2002.

And although they had a physical fight previously, the level of violence was nowhere near that used in Janelle's murder. Plus, Susan happily provided her fingerprints, which did not match those found on the black plastic covering Janelle's body. Charles Mencetti was the fourth person on the list, Susan's neighbour, who Janelle lived with for one week. Charles said he kicked Janelle out after only a week because she would stay up drinking until the early hours of the morning and play loud music. She would lecture him about his diet and ripped his phone handset from the wall because he received too many early morning calls. He said Janelle proved too difficult to live with, so he asked her to leave. Police received several tips about Charles in the days after Janelle's murder. There were reports of a fire in his yard the night of the murder.

Five days after the murder, one of his friends reported that Charles said to him, if the cops ask you about me, tell them I was drinking with you last Sunday. But they probably won't ask. Another tip came from an anonymous caller who said in early 2002, Charles allegedly walked up to Janelle, pulled her hair and threatened, stop this shit or I'll sort you out. Soon after Janelle's murder, Charles booked a flight off the island. Because of the active investigation, he did tell police he was leaving and would be returning soon. All of this raised a few eyebrows and on the 12th of April, police searched Charles' house and his cars.

He was later formally interviewed by police, but nothing came out of it. They couldn't find anything that linked Charles to Janelle's murder. When Janelle was asked to leave Charles' place, she ended up moving in with his brother, Paul Mancetti, also known as JAP. JAP and his new partner, Robin Murdoch, were the fifth and sixth persons of interest to name. JAP was a 50-year-old widower with four children. He maintained a romantic relationship with Janelle while she lived with him. This lasted about nine months, before JAP thought it best for her to leave. Janelle left and moved into another place for a short period of time before settling in the cottage at Ruth McCoy's house, where she remained until her death.

Despite moving out, Janelle and JAP continued to see each other. Two or three times a week, JAP would visit Janelle. She wrote about these encounters in her diary, a sample of which reads, May 9th, 2001, JAP stood me up for tea. June 13th, 2001, JAP over for tea, told me a few home truths about where I fit in. Five days later, she wrote, JAP down for tea and spat on me. In August 2001, JAP broke up with Janelle for good, and by September he was seeing Robin Murdoch, who was the Chief Executive of the Norfolk Island Administration, where he also worked.

On October 19th, Janelle wrote in her diary, Spoke to JAP, fuckwit, found out he's been rooting Robin and has been since Kurt's birthday or their abouts, told me he's my first enemy in Norfolk. After this, Janelle appeared at Robin's house on three separate occasions, knocking hard on the door and the windows. She also appeared at JAP's house, and he ended up threatening to call the police on her. Janelle continued to call them both frequently. Despite this, there was no evidence that JAP or Robin ever retaliated. JAP was questioned by police a week after Janelle's murder. He said Janelle could be possessive, complicated to live with, and a clingy sort of person who was just making time.

He explained that he encouraged her to go back to Sydney. The last time they spoke was six weeks before her murder. There were whispers that Robin had been seen driving along Rudy Hill Road in the afternoon of Janelle's murder, but this was denied by Robin and was never proven. Both JAP and Robin provided their fingerprints, and there was no match to those found at the crime scene. The seventh person of interest was Dana Mangetti, JAP's oldest daughter. When Janelle moved into JAP's house, Dana was 16 years old and finishing school in Brisbane. After school, Dana returned to live permanently with her father, and she instantly disliked and rejected the idea of Janelle being there.

They fought frequently, and Janelle made several diary entries expressing her dislike for Dana. Dana was questioned by police, and she freely admitted that she sometimes felt like hitting Janelle, but she never did. She provided her fingerprints, and again there was no match, and the police could not link Dana to Janelle on the day of the murder. The eighth person on the list was Laurence Quintill. He and Janelle had a relationship while she was still seeing JAP on and off. Laurence and Janelle's relationship was a volume. In January 2002, they had a fight, and Janelle was left with bruises on her neck, chest and arms. Laurence apologised, but beat her again a few weeks later. The last time he saw Janelle was three days before her murder.

They were both at the RSL club, and a fight started between Laurence and another man, Raymond Yeager. This fight was because Laurence accused Raymond of visiting Janelle's cottage. Police found a note Janelle had written to Laurence. It said, Look, Bucket. Bucket is Laurence's nickname. I'm sore, I'm bruised big time, I'm devastated by everything you said and did to me last night. On top of that, you'd been also bitching behind my back, and I never thought a friend would do that. You made it clear your opinion of me, so let's just leave it at that. I have to go now. Sorry. Laurence had an alibi. He was at work at the time of the murder.

He allowed police to search his house and his car without a warrant. He agreed to be interviewed, and freely gave his fingerprints without question. Just like with the others, there was no evidence to link him to the murder. Raymond Yeager was the next person on the list, the man Laurence had a fight with in the days before Janelle's murder. Bob Peters noticed Raymond after reading an entry in Janelle's diary from December 2001, where she wrote that after going out to different bars, she crashed at Ray's, and there was no sex. They had reportedly met up several more times since then. There were some inconsistencies in Raymond's story as to where he was and what he was doing at the time of the murder.

The day after the murder, he was overheard talking about it and seemed to know a lot of details. What interested police the most was that Raymond visited a travel agent shortly after Janelle's murder and asked about urgent flights to Sydney with a connecting flight to Perth. He did actually book these flights and leave the island. The moment he got to Perth, police were looking for him. He gave them permission to search his home and truck and offered to be examined in Perth, where he freely gave his fingerprints. Further investigations revealed that his trip to Perth had actually been talked about prior to Janelle's murder. He was visiting his child and former partner.

However, at the time, police considered it to be cause for alarm. Raymond's fingerprints didn't match and nothing else of interest was located that pointed towards him. Michael Prentice was next on the list. He appeared in Janelle's diary after a coffee date. An employee at the Castaway Hotel also came forward and said Michael had been ringing the hotel constantly prior to Janelle's death. The employee actually warned Janelle to stay away from Michael, as according to her, he does not know the meaning of the word no. At the inquest, Bob Peters said he'd received information suggesting there was a romantic relationship between Michael and Janelle. However, he never got to confirm it.

There was no proof they had any contact on the day of Janelle's murder and Michael had an alibi. Plus, his prints didn't match. Kim Friend was the 11th person named. He was spotted driving through Riddie Hill Road at 11.45am the day of Janelle's murder. A woman was spotted in his car and a witness thought it may have been Janelle. A second man was also spotted in the car. Plus, Kim had been seen with scratches on his arms and wrists after the murder. However, he had an alibi.

He was playing tour guide to a couple that day and that's who had been seen in his vehicle. His injuries occurred after working with Barbed Wire. His fingerprints didn't match and the sightseeing couple were located and confirmed his story. The 12th person on the list was Stephen Cochran. He was one of many who voluntarily provided his fingerprints to police. His prints actually matched one of the sets of prints found on the black sheet that covered Janelle. Search warrants were immediately issued for his house and his truck. He had already completed the community survey about his movements on March 31st and when asked at the police station, he repeated them.

He was at home until 11.30am until a couple of friends picked him up. They then drove to meet up with a group of other people and they all spent the rest of the afternoon together. It was a rock solid alibi. There were a lot of people who were vouching that Stephen was with them the entire day. When asked about the fingerprints, Stephen explained he handled black plastic sheets on a regular basis as a carpenter and joiner. Stephen's alibi was solid and police couldn't link him to Janelle at all. He said he had never met her and that there was no evidence suggesting otherwise. Plus, there were still other sets of prints on the plastic sheet yet to be identified.

Andrew Rowe was the 13th person named. He was a temporary resident who had come from New Zealand and seemed to have very few friends on the island. Nobody knew much about him. He was considered a loner. There were also reports he was a peeping Tom. Several residents reported seeing him in the area around the time of Janelle's disappearance acting strangely. A seat and a section of carpet was missing from his car. He was questioned and he insisted he didn't know Janelle and had never seen her before in his life. He said the seat had been taken out of his car for repairs and the section of carpet was missing because it needed cleaning.

He couldn't clearly remember what his movements were on the day of the murder. His house and car were thoroughly searched and his fingerprints were taken. In October 2003 he was stopped at the airport. He was found to be carrying a knife. It was confiscated and sent for testing to see if it could have inflicted the injuries on Janelle but there was no match. His prints didn't match either. No forensic evidence was located in his house or car. Next on the list was Terrence Jope. Terrence met Janelle the month before her death. Call records show they exchanged 81 calls in the weeks prior to her death.

Yet Terrence was one of the very few people on the island who didn't attend Janelle's memorial service. Which surprised detectives given their frequent contact prior to her death. After the murder a woman came forward with a disturbing report. Allegedly she woke up one night to find Terrence standing over her bed. She was petrified and didn't know what to do. Other reports came in that Terrence had threatened to assault Janelle's former partner Lawrence Quintall. During the inquest Bob Peters said he had active concerns about Terrence. But his fingerprints didn't match those found on the black plastic sheet.

Next was Rodney Menzies. Who had reportedly approached Janelle several times while she was sunbathing and had asked her out for a cup of coffee. Janelle repeatedly refused his advances. And on one occasion it's alleged Rodney tried to follow her back to her cottage. There were several rumors across the island that Rodney had stalked other women previously. However it was never confirmed. The story he gave of his whereabouts at the time of the murder was contradicted by others. He also said he hadn't spoken to Janelle for three months prior to her murder.

However a witness said they had seen Rodney and Janelle talking just three nights before her murder. His fingerprints didn't match. And no other evidence was found that could link him to the murder. The 16th and final person named as a person of interest at the inquest was Greg Magry. Janelle's closest friend on Norfolk Island. He became part of the investigation after one person reported seeing him driving along Rudy Hill Road between 11.45am and 12.15pm on the day of Janelle's murder. He was seen with a woman who looked like Janelle.

Greg strongly denied this and gave an alibi. Upon further questioning his story about his movements that day changed slightly. It also didn't completely match with what others were saying. The detectives weren't sure if these were just minor inconsistencies or if there was actually a gap in Greg's story. Detectives asked him about his relationship with Janelle and he said they were just good friends and at times he'd act as a mediator between her and her boyfriends. Greg said that despite not having a good relationship with several people on the island,

Janelle never worried about her safety. The last time he saw her was three days before her murder. She seemed happy and he suggested they catch up again soon. But he never saw her again. There were others on the island who had a different version about how that meeting went. One reported that Greg looked bothered by something while talking to Janelle. Another reported that Janelle said Greg had threatened to burn her with a cigarette during that meeting and she looked very upset while talking to him.

However, Bob Peters told the Inquest, To date, I have found no factual or forensic evidence to connect Gregory Magry to the death of Janelle Patton or the disposal of her body at Cockpit Waterfall Reserve on Sunday 31st March 2002. It was no ordinary investigation. That was a lot of people connected to Janelle. It was a highly unusual step for Bob Peters to release the names of all those persons of interest. Some had motive. Some were reported to be seen near where Janelle disappeared from.

Some displayed strange behavior after the murder. Some displayed strange behavior before the murder. Some had been physically violent towards her. Some had a combination of many of those things. At the conclusion of the Inquest, police were still no closer to arresting the killer. All that was clear was that a lot of people could have done it. But they didn't have to wait long for a major breakthrough. They had been slowly reviewing every single piece of evidence in the police file.

As part of this review, every single fingerprint sample on record was looked at. Not just those given voluntarily during the murder investigation. And it was during this review that police found the fingerprints of Glenn McNeil. McNeil was a chef originally from Nelson, New Zealand. He moved to Norfolk Island in June 2000 with his girlfriend Alicia Taylor. They married in January 2002. McNeil had provided his fingerprints, not voluntarily because of the murder investigation, but because of an investigation into a minor break-in to a tourist shop.

For this reason, McNeil's fingerprints remained in a separate file and weren't discovered until 2004 when the mass review of all fingerprints on record took place. Police ran McNeil's prints against the prints found on the black plastic sheet that was covering Janelle's body. McNeil's prints matched two of the prints found on that sheet. When they looked further into McNeil, they found that a white Honda motor vehicle was registered to him. This got the attention of police as a white Honda had been reported as being seen around the crime scene. McNeil had since left Norfolk Island and returned to New Zealand. He had split up from his wife Alicia and was now living with a new partner.

Police on Norfolk Island put out an alert requesting people keep a lookout for McNeil's white Honda. It didn't take long for 70-year-old Dudley Hudson to respond. Dudley had found a white Honda abandoned on his property. He hadn't reported it yet, but when he heard police were looking for a white Honda, he called in straight away. Checks on that Honda revealed it was McNeil's car. Police towed it for forensic examination. They also examined McNeil's former house on the island. In both his car and his former house, police found green glass, just like the glass found in Genel's hair.

In McNeil's garden, they found a black plastic sheet, the same as the one that covered Genel's body. A specialist determined there was a high degree of probability that the glass found at McNeil's house in his car and on Genel were from the same melt, meaning they had been produced at the same time for the same use. They also found a tiny section of paper from a wine label stuck to one of the fragments, so they believed a bottle of wine could have been used in the attack. Along with the glass, they found a sample of hair in the boot of McNeil's car. Unfortunately, the hair was found without root. In regular DNA analysis, the hair root is what's examined, so they had to try something different. They sent the hair to a laboratory in Pennsylvania, USA, where they do mitochondrial analysis.

Essentially, in this type of analysis, what's examined is the mitochondria, which can produce a match to the maternal cells, but can't produce the identity of the person. So hair samples of Genel's parents were sent along with the hair found in McNeil's boot to try and get a match. This is not as strong as regular DNA analysis, and for that reason, it doesn't always hold up in court. It took a long time to get the results back. The reports didn't come back until early 2006. They said Genel and her maternal relatives couldn't be excluded as sources of the hair. It wasn't a positive identification, but it still indicated McNeil could have been involved in the killing or disposal of Genel's body. Glenn McNeil wasn't just named as another person of interest on Bob Peters' list. He went straight to prime suspect. On Wednesday 1st February 2006, Bob Peters met with two New Zealand police officers and handed them the arrest warrant for Glenn McNeil.

McNeil was back living in Nelson, New Zealand. When they knocked on the door, McNeil opened. He was wearing his black and white chef's trousers with no shirt and no shoes. The detectives from New Zealand informed him he was under arrest for the murder of Genel Patton. McNeil's response was to invite them inside. The detectives informed McNeil of his rights before asking him to put on his shirt and shoes. They also asked for his passport. Then they handcuffed him. All of this happened in front of his new partner, who was dumbfounded, not really understanding what was happening. At 5.30pm they walked out of McNeil's home and made their way to Nelson police station. On the way, the detectives purposefully made small talk and spoke about anything but the case.

They didn't want McNeil saying anything about it until they got back to the police station. When they arrived, they took McNeil to an interview room. They showed him the notes they had made in relation to his arrest and asked him to confirm their accuracy. Then they introduced him to the lead detective, Bob Peters. Peters explained the forensic evidence they'd found, the fingerprints match, the glass fragments in McNeil's car, the hair found in his car, the DNA result which suggested the hairs found in the boot of the car belonged to Janel. He told McNeil he didn't have to say anything, but anything he did say would be used as evidence. McNeil surprised the detectives by instantly confessing.

He said he was driving that morning under the influence of marijuana. At one point he bent down to pick up a packet of cigarettes and it was while doing this with his eyes off the road that he accidentally hit Janel. He stopped and found a body underneath his car. Peters wasn't expecting such a quick confession and the video camera wasn't actually turned on yet. Peters asked one of the New Zealand detectives to write down everything McNeil had just said. Peters then read it back to McNeil, who confirmed it was accurate and then placed his signature on each page. Peters asked McNeil if he was willing to answer further questions and he nodded in agreement. The questioning continued for just under an hour. This time it was all recorded.

They stopped to change videotapes and it was at this point that McNeil asked to call his lawyer. They did call, however the lawyer wasn't available. They offered McNeil the services of a different lawyer, however he declined. He said as long as his lawyer was there for him at court the next morning, that's all he wanted. He said he was happy to continue the interview. The interview continued. McNeil gave the following version. After he saw Janel underneath his car he thought she was dead, so he placed her in the boot, drove back to his place where he remained for an hour or two.

He then heard groaning noises coming from the boot. He realised Janel was still alive but thought he had gone too far to take her to the hospital for treatment. So he grabbed the 15cm fish filleting knife, opened the boot and stabbed her. He stabbed her repeatedly to make sure she was dead but couldn't remember exactly how many times. Once he was sure she was dead he found the black plastic sheet and wrapped Janel's body in it. He then drove to Cockpit Waterfall Reserve where he placed Janel near the barbecue area. He returned home feeling nervous and agitated and aware that he needed to remove any evidence left in his car. He filled up a spray bottle with water and cleaned the boot.

Once he was done he went inside and played video games on his PlayStation. After that he picked up his wife Alicia from work. He never said anything to her about what he'd done. The following day he threw the knife in the ocean and went to take a look at the crime scene with Alicia. By then it had been sealed off and there were police, media and onlookers everywhere. To finish off his confession McNeil said, Ever since that day I've felt what I've done. It makes me sick and sad. I only wish it had never happened and I kept my eyes on the road. Alan Carla, the forensic pathologist, went over the transcript of McNeil's confession and didn't believe it.

He was positive Janel wasn't run over by a car. Her injuries weren't consistent with being run over at all. Also the car that McNeil owned was too low for Janel to get stuck underneath. For her to go under the car, McNeil would have had to have been driving at an extremely slow speed, 20 kilometers per hour or less. Any faster would have resulted in Janel being scooped up going over the front into the windscreen. If that had happened she would have ended up going over the roof or off to the side. Never underneath the car.

And if she had ended up underneath the car, her body would have been covered in dirt or grease. But it wasn't. There was also no hair, skin tissue, clothing fibres or any other evidence underneath McNeil's car. The position in which McNeil said Janel was laying when he stabbed her didn't correlate with the wounds. Carla concluded there was no possible way McNeil could have inflicted the stab wounds in the manner in which he described. Also, there was absolutely no blood found in his car. With the injuries Janel suffered there would have been considerable bleeding and a spray pan. Lastly, when Peters asked McNeil if Janel fought or showed any resistance, McNeil said,

No, that's why I don't understand with her cut. You were saying defensive wounds. She wasn't holding her hands up or anything. Janel had extensive defensive injuries. It was clear McNeil was lying. They believed he did kill Janel but not in the way which he said it happened. He was trying to downplay his actions. Peters said to him,

I think that a lot more happened between you and Janel Patton while she was still alive and conscious. After the interview McNeil was escorted to his cell where he spent his first night behind bars. In the meantime the Australian Federal Police began extradition proceedings so that McNeil could be flown to Norfolk Island where he could be formally charged with Janel Patton's murder. The next morning McNeil appeared in the Nelson District Court for the first stage of the court proceedings. The judge granted the extradition. The following day McNeil was flown to Norfolk Island. When they landed on the island officers provided McNeil a hooded jacket to cover his face since there was a lot of media waiting.

But he declined. He didn't mind his face being shown. He was formally charged with murder on Thursday the 9th of February 2006. McNeil was then flown to Sydney where he was held in Silverwooder Prison. He was flown back to the island for pre-trial hearings which commenced on the 7th of August 2006. McNeil pleaded not guilty. He retracted his confession and said he was in a terrible mental state at the time and would have admitted to anything the police questioned him about.

He denied having anything to do with Janel's murder. On the second day of the pre-trial hearing Catherine Lee, a forensic biologist with the Australian Federal Police testified that she had found an unidentified DNA profile on the shorts of Janel she had been wearing when she was killed. The DNA profile belonged to a woman. More of this DNA profile was found underneath Janel's fingernails and a cigarette found at the crime scene close to the body contained a weak DNA profile of a woman that wasn't Janel. That night there was another development. A friend of Janel's, Tracy Wilkinson, approached Bob Peters.

The last time she had spoken to Janel was a week or two before her murder. Tracy was working behind the bar in a hotel and Janel visited her. Janel asked her if she worked with somebody named Alicia. Tracy said yes, Alicia did work there. Janel asked her what she was like and if she also knew her husband Glenn McNeil. Tracy explained that Alicia was really nice but there were rumors McNeil was sleeping around. Tracy asked Janel why she wanted to know but Janel didn't respond and change the subject. Tracy also gave an incredible story that on the day of the murder she was working at the hotel when she heard a loud scream.

She walked out the back to investigate and saw Alicia who looked like she was swiping in a downward motion at someone behind a bush. She called out to Alicia who turned and walked towards her with what appeared to be blood on her sweatshirt. Tracy said, Alicia, you're bleeding. Alicia said, no, it's paint. She looked strangely red in the face but Tracy didn't go any further with it. She returned inside. After hearing this story Bob Peters warned Tracy about the consequences of being untruthful. He told her she'd be prosecuted if she was lying. It was now four years after the murder. When asked why she didn't bring up any of this information before Tracy explained she thought the murder hadn't happened near the hotel and she thought that what she had witnessed was just a marital dispute between Alicia and Glenn McNeill.

Tracy also said she was burnt out from working three jobs at the time and her mind was elsewhere. Bob Peters wasn't sure whether to put Tracy on the stand or not but in the end he decided to do so. She testified on Friday, the last day of the pretrial hearing. Alicia had already testified on the Wednesday. No questions were asked of her at all in relation to what Tracy says she witnessed. Alicia denied any knowledge of the crime and after testifying was allowed to return back to New Zealand where she now lived as well. After hearing all of the evidence at the pretrial hearing the judge ordered there was enough to proceed with a full trial. The trial started on the 1st of February 2007. Some believed it shouldn't have been held on Norfolk Island as it was impossible to run a fair trial.

However the law made it clear that there was no other possibility. The trial had to be held there. During the trial the prosecution said the autopsy wasn't the only thing that didn't correspond with McNeill's story. As the wage in El's clothes had been left it implied there could have been a sexual motive to the crime. Janelle's clothes had been cut with a knife from the inside out. This indicated it was very deliberate. Despite the way the clothing was left there was no sexual assault. So the defense argued because there was no sexual assault the person responsible for the killing had to be a woman who wanted to make it look like there was a sexual element to the case. Alicia was called back to the stand to testify at the trial. She denied having any knowledge of the murder or any knowledge about the disposal of the body.

She said there was nothing unusual about McNeill's behavior that day and she didn't see any blood on him or his clothes or anywhere else at the house. Tracy Wilkinson was not called as a witness at the trial. There were already doubts over the story she gave about Alicia's behavior the day of the murder. The main doubt being why Tracy waited four years to come forward and since she had testified at the pre-trial her story had changed. She now believed Janelle was the victim of a satanic cult killing and was murdered by six other people. Tracy was deemed to be an unreliable witness. McNeill was allowed to read an unsworn statement at the trial. This type of statement permits the defendant to speak without going to the witness stand to face cross-examination.

He said, My name is Glenn McNeill. I am 29 years of age. Before I was arrested I lived with my partner Shelly and our two children in Nelson, New Zealand. As you know I lived on Norfolk Island for a couple of years with my then wife Alicia. I enjoyed living and working here. Both Alicia and I shopped at food lands and I would frequently use the white Honda for shopping trips. On Easter 2002 I was home in the morning. I'd been sick. Alicia was at work.

Sometime between 11 30 a.m. and 12 p.m. as best I can recall I'm not too sure. I made a toasted sandwich for Alicia's lunch before the lunch and rush hour started. I suppose it took me a couple of minutes to get ready and five minutes or so to make it. I then got into the car and drove down to Hillcrest. I sat with Alicia as she ate her sandwich during her break. I cannot recall what we talked about. As best I can recall I was there for about 20 minutes. I then drove home.

I recall I telephoned Alicia once or twice in the afternoon. Because it was five years ago I can't recall what was said. I stayed at home that afternoon. Watched TV or played PlayStation until about 4 p.m. when Alicia arrived home from work. I didn't see Janelle Patton that day. I didn't drive along Rudy Hill Road that day. I didn't abduct or murder Janelle Patton that day. Alicia and I went for a long drive.

We drove along Prince Philip Drive as well as many other roads on the island. I recall that when Janelle Patton's body was found there was a lot of publicity going around the island. People had all sorts of theories and talked about details of the case. I recall that it was said she was found under black plastic at Cockpit. That she had been run over in a hit and run and that she had been stabbed. It was impossible to go anywhere on the island without hearing talk about what had occurred. I was booked to return to New Zealand in May 2002 to attend my brother's wedding. While I was there I took up the offer of a job by a friend.

I spoke with Alicia about it and we agreed that I should take it rather than to return to Norfolk Island. She had a couple more months to work on her contract and would return later in the year. So I took the job in New Zealand. We spoke regularly but our relationship was rocky at the time. In September 2002 something happened which I didn't plan or expect. I met Shelly, my partner now and I fell in love with her. From this time my life started to get complicated. I had the stress of trying to resolve my relationship difficulties.

I started having employment difficulties and periods of unemployment. I became in debt and people were demanding payments from me. Shelly and I had two children adding to my responsibilities. My life started to spin out of control from then on. My drug taking got worse as the pressure increased. It all came to a head in November 2005 when I cut my wrists. My life was hopeless and no longer in my control. I got a booking for a drug and alcohol treatment clinic in February 2006.

I was dark and numb. I was running on autopilot. This period of my life is just a blur to me. I was arrested on my first day back at work. I spoke with the police. I don't recall now what I told them. I would have admitted to anything due to my mental health problems at the time. I have seen the tape and say what I told police was complete rubbish.

It sounds like it was what I thought they wanted to hear. I am shocked by what I said. I didn't kill Janelle Patton. I didn't abduct her. I have been told about glass in the boot of the Honda. I used this car to take rubbish to go to the tip. It was dirty and not much more than a wreck when I got it and it had no carpet in it whatsoever. It was just a cheap vehicle and I was not worried about the rubbish leaking in the boot.

I have also been told about fingerprints on the black plastic. I do not know how they got onto it. I may have touched the black plastic when I was on Norfolk Island at some time. I am not too sure. I feel very sorry for the Patton family. Their loss is enormous but I didn't murder Janelle Patton. Thank you for listening to me. At 2.30pm on Friday the 9th of March 2007 the jury reached a verdict.

Guilty. McNeil was sentenced to 24 years in prison. Over the years McNeil changed his story again. He told his partner Shelly he didn't kill Janelle but he knew who did. A drug dealing couple left the body for him to dispose and threatened to violently harm both him and Alicia if he didn't. McNeil says he stole this couple's cannabis plants. They found out and the price he had to pay was disposing Janelle's body for them. Since the trial there has been rumours that drug dealers could have killed Janelle since she was actively against them

and many suspected she was an informant for the police. In June 2011 there was talk the case could be reopened because of these allegations. One of the jurors on the case also allegedly said we know he didn't do it but knows who did. He wouldn't tell us so we decided to slot him. On the 23rd of July 2011 the Australian Federal Police stated they refused to reopen the case. McNeil had given them the names of the drug dealing couple and the exact location of latex gloves he said he used to move Janelle's body. The gloves were never found and the police simply said there was no new evidence to reopen the case.

The female DNA found on Janelle's shorts and underneath her nails has never been identified. A DNA test has never been run on Alicia. Bob Peters said it was unnecessary given how unreliable Tracy turned out to be as a witness. McNeil has named the drug dealing couple but there is no information to say whether or not a DNA test was ever carried out on the woman. Even though McNeil has been convicted the case still has a lot of unanswered questions. We still don't know why Janelle was killed or the exact circumstances of her death. And who owns the female DNA and how did it get there?