Casefile True Crime - Case 56: Anita Cobby

Episode Date: July 22, 2017

On the morning of February 4 1986, a dairy farmer in the outer Sydney suburb of Prospect noticed his cows had been behaving strangely. For hours, they had stood gathered at one particular spot in his paddock. The farmer went to see what they were doing and found the brutalised body of 26-year-old nurse Anita Cobby. ---  Episode narrated by the Anonymous Host Researched and written by Victoria Dieffenbacher For all credits and sources please visit casefilepodcast.com/case-56-anita-cobby

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Music Our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents. If you feel at any time you need support, please contact your local crisis centre. For suggested phone numbers for confidential support, please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on our website. Today's episode contains information about murder and sexual offences committed against both humans and animals. And while we do not focus on it, it is mentioned and won't be suitable for all listeners. Music Blacktown is a large local government area in western Sydney, 37 kilometres inland from Sydney's central business district.

It encompasses a group of suburbs, including the suburb also called Blacktown, and the suburb of Prospect. Prospect sits on the outskirts, around the Prospect Reservoir and Nature Reserve. In the 1980s, the area was speckled with acreage and open land, which was used mostly for farming. Many of the roads were still dirt, and although it was on the verge of Sydney's suburban housing estate boom, it had a sense of the country. Blacktown was no stranger to crime. In the mid 1980s, drugs, crime and high levels of unemployment were a major issue in the area. According to the New South Wales Police annual report for 1986 and 87, there were 98 murders recorded across the entire state of New South Wales, of which 69 were solved. 55 of those solved murders were classified as domestic killings, leaving 14 that were committed by offenders unknown to the victim. Violence was an escalating problem, and the New South Wales government saw a need for growing the teams of specialist police squads that focused on violent crime.

Although the community was used to crime, in early 1986, a crime would rock Blacktown that would change things forever. On Tuesday, February 4th, 1986, a dairy farmer in Prospect noticed something strange. All morning, his cows had been gathered in the same spot at a place he called the Boiler Paddock. He first noticed it at 9.30am while he was leaving the house to go to a cattle sale. When he returned home two hours later, the cows were still standing in the same spot. It was something he hadn't seen before, so he decided to check it out. What he found was the body of a woman, naked, lying on her stomach. The farmer ran to his motorcycle as fast as he could, and sped to his house to call the police.

It didn't take long for the first officers from Blacktown Police Station to arrive. They questioned the dairy farmer and asked him if he'd seen or heard anything unusual. He said he had. He couldn't remember if it was Saturday or Sunday night that he was woken from a deep sleep by loud screams. The screams had come from the direction of Rean Road, which was located near the farmer's property. Rean Road was actually named after his family, who were respected dairy farmers in Prospect. He didn't investigate the screams or call the police, because it wasn't anything unusual. Rean Road was a narrow, desolated lane, surrounded by trees, often visited by young couples and groups of teenagers, especially on weekends. The farmer believed the screams came from young people who were partying.

He went back to sleep and didn't think any more of it, until now. The area was cordoned off with police tape, and forensic police started examining the scene. Detective Sergeant Graham Rosetta was on leave when his phone rang. There was his boss, who informed him that the body of a young woman had been found, and he had to drop everything and drive straight to the crime scene. Rosetta's partner picked him up, and the both of them fetched a medical examiner to further analyse the body. Rosetta would work the case with Detective Sergeant Ian Kennedy from the Homicide Squad. Kennedy would become the lead investigator in the investigation. Rosetta noticed that the victim was lying 70 metres from the paddock's fence, and the ground appeared well-trodden.

What stuck with him most were the victim's eyes. Detective Rosetta, quote, The look in the girl's eyes I will never forget, those dead eyes. You could see she had gone through hell. You could see it. It was obvious to everyone present that the victim had suffered greatly. The only item they found at the scene was the victim's wedding ring. It didn't look like a regular ring.

It was a Russian wedding ring with three interlocking bands. One made of white gold, one made of rose gold, and one made of yellow gold. Kennedy believed it would help identify the victim because of its rarity, and he placed it in an exhibit bag. The first thing Kennedy did upon returning to Blacktown Police Station was to check the missing person reports. It didn't take long for him to find a report made by a man named Gary Lynch. He'd reported his 26-year-old daughter missing since Sunday, February 2nd, and he'd left the photograph of her. Kennedy knew it was her. Her name was Anita Cobby.

Kennedy called Gary Lynch and arranged to meet with him. He grabbed the exhibit bag containing the wedding ring, and together with another detective, they made their way to the Lynch's home. When they got there, three people were waiting for them. Anita's parents, Gary and Grace Lynch, and her sister, Catherine Lynch. Through them, detectives got to know more about Anita. Anita was born on November 2nd, 1959. She was the oldest daughter of Gary and Grace Lynch, and her younger sister, Catherine, had always considered Anita her role model. They were a very close-knit family, and Anita had always shown kindness, generosity, and an altogether wholesome spirit.

Among her favourite activities, she loved shopping with Catherine and drawing. She could lose herself drawing for hours. She'd attended Evans High School in Blacktown, where she'd been a top student, and in 1979, she participated in a beauty pageant to become Miss Western Suburbs. She won the pageant and could have continued on that path and became a model, but she craved something else. She liked caring for people, so she decided to become a nurse, like a mother Grace had been before her. She started training that same year at Sydney Hospital and moved to the nurses' quarters in Winston Lodge, located in Plunkett Street, a short distance from the hospital in Central Sydney. It was there that she met John Coby. John was three years older than Anita. In some ways, they were a contrast, but in other ways, they were similar.

John spent his younger years in the Eastern suburbs of Sydney. He never cared much about school or his education, but had always gotten acceptable grades. Once he was done with school, he didn't know what he wanted to do with his life, but nursing was nowhere near his radar at the time. He spent a year travelling around Australia with his girlfriend at the time. He worked odd jobs and spent most of his time surfing. After travelling around Australia, he returned to Sydney, then followed his family 90 kilometres north to the Central Coast. He spent three weeks unemployed until he found a job in the laundry department at Gosford Hospital. It wasn't long until he grew tired of that, so he applied to become a wardsman. The manager told him he wasn't big enough, but he did say he had good enough grades to become a trainee nurse.

A vacancy opened up a few days later, and John took it. Once he started training, John found that he genuinely loved nursing. However, after an argument with his superior, he decided to leave, and for two years, he went back to travelling and working odd jobs while surfing. After that, he thought of becoming a nurse again, and he applied at Sydney Hospital. He was accepted, and he moved to the nurse's quarters in Winston Lodge. It was there at age 23 that he first saw Anita, who was 20 at the time. John remembered the first time he laid eyes on her, quote, Just these ringlets of hair everywhere. God, she was beautiful, and I thought far too good for me.

It was Anita's sixth week as a provisional trainee nursing student, and every time John saw her, he believed she would never be interested in a guy like him. He started asking around about her, and found out that she had been Miss Western suburbs. With that snippet of information, John's hopes plummeted even further. He truly believed she would never give a second glance at him. But one day, they started talking, and Anita seemed interested in continuing the conversation. John plucked up the courage and asked her out. Anita said yes, and some days later, John took her to a Lebanese restaurant in Surrey Hills called The Prophet. It was only a few kilometers away from the hospital.

After that first date, they returned to The Prophet again the following night, and soon they became regulars, even entering the kitchen to say hello to the staff. They went as far as meeting and becoming friends with the owner of the restaurant, Michael Ciarri. Ciarri thought Anita and John seemed smitten with one another. It wasn't long before Anita and John became so close that they spent most of their free time together. They tried to keep the relationship between themselves, but everyone at the nurse's quarters knew they were together. A little over a year into the relationship, they decided to get married. They set the date for March 27th, 1982.

The excitement was even bigger when Anita broke the news that she was pregnant. John was happy at the prospect of becoming a father, and Anita was simply ecstatic. However, a few weeks later, they lost their baby. They were both devastated, but strongly believed they would have the chance to become parents again. John described their wedding as a typical Australian wedding with nothing pretentious about it, just two people in love. They didn't go on a honeymoon and decided instead to use their savings to run a house in the Rockdale area in South Sydney, close to John's family home. Anita had a very good relationship with John's sister Gaynor and his mother Terry, so she would often drop by their house to visit, even without John.

Anita continued working at Sydney Hospital, where she was building a reputation as a gentle, reliable and caring nurse, who took the trouble to get to know the people she treated. John worked in different hospitals, doing temporary nursing work because it paid better. The years continued and they maintained a routine of sorts. They worked, went out to restaurants and concerts, and since John had always wanted to own a yacht, they bought a 24 foot Triton sailing boat. Anita wasn't very much into sailing, but she enjoyed sitting on the deck with the two dogs they owned. The routine they built came to an end in 1984, when they both felt they needed to try something new. John had always wanted to train horses, and he had a cousin in Coffs Harbour who could help him out.

Coffs Harbour is 530 kilometres north of Sydney. He made the proposal of moving there, and Anita agreed. In Coffs Harbour, John worked as a nurse by night, and by day he trained three horses he owned. Anita also got work as a nurse there. It was one year after they moved north when they were at the races with Michael Surrey, the owner of the Prophet Restaurant where they had their first date. John placed a bet on one of his horses, and it came first, winning him $10,000. John believed it was Anita's chance to choose what she wanted to do, and she chose travelling. They visited the United States first, Los Angeles then New York, before going to Italy.

At one point they ran out of money and asked their families back home for a loan so they could continue travelling. When that money ran out, they had no other option but to return home. It was mid-1985 when they got back to Sydney, and they returned to their old routine. While John was happy with it, Anita felt restless and wanted to travel again. John wanted to start a family, but Anita wanted to continue exploring and trying new things. It came to a point where it was clear that they were at different stages in their lives, and they wanted different things. For that reason, they decided to take a break from each other and see how things went. John went back to live with his mother and sister in the South Sydney suburb of Rockdale, and Anita returned to live with her parents in Blacktown.

Six weeks after their separation, on Sunday, February 2nd, 1986, Anita woke up early and had breakfast with her mother, Grace. Anita told Grace she would be home late that night. As after work, she was going out for dinner in Redfern with two friends from the hospital. But the next morning, Grace checked Anita's room, and she wasn't there. After discussing it with Anita's father, Gary, they thought Anita had probably just slept over at one of her friends' houses after dinner. It was something she often did. They put their minds at ease with that belief until they got a call from Sydney Hospital that afternoon. It was Anita's superior.

She wanted to know if they had any idea where Anita was, since she hadn't turned up for her 1.30pm shift. The superior found it strange, because Anita was always reliable and punctual. Gary and Grace started to worry. It was very unlike Anita not to tell anyone where she was. They both felt something had happened to her, because there couldn't be any other explanation. Not with their daughter. At 6.30pm, Monday, February 3rd, Gary went to Blacktown Police Station carrying a picture of Anita and reported her as a missing person. In the meantime, Grace made phone calls to Anita's friends.

She phoned every friend she had the number of, but none of them could tell her where Anita was. At 8.00pm, Grace made the last phone call that was to John Coby. She called him at his mother's place in Rockdale, and it was his mother, Terry, who answered the phone. Grace asked Terry if Anita was with John, and Terry told her she had no idea, but she knew where John was, so she'd call him and tell him to call her back. John's mum, Terry, hung up and immediately called the prophet, Anita and John's favourite restaurant. The owner of the restaurant and friend of Anita and John, Michael Sowery, answered the call. John was having dinner with his father and a friend. Sowery put John on the phone, and Terry told him Grace had called, asking if Anita was with him.

John thought that was unusual, and immediately made the call to Anita's parents. He told them that Anita wasn't with him, and the last time he'd spoken to her was the day before, Sunday, February 2nd. They'd talked on the phone during the morning, since they still stayed in daily contact after their separation. John asked Anita if she'd like to spend some time together after work, but Anita declined. She already had dinner plans, and had promised her parents she'd be home after dinner. John didn't protest, and that was the last time he had spoken to her. Once he put the phone down, John was deeply worried. He knew as well as most that Anita wasn't the type to just disappear and not tell anyone where she was.

He went back to the table, and told his father and his friend that it was very sorry, but he had to go. His father, who had a complicated relationship with John, started arguing. But John explained that Anita was missing, and he had to go. John first drove 40 minutes south to Lily Pilly, where he dropped his friend home. From there, he made the one hour and 20 minute journey northwest to Blacktown, stopping at a shop to buy a bottle of Scotch on the way. When he arrived, he bought a Scotch for himself and for Gary. John wasted no time asking Gary where they'd searched for Anita, who they'd called,

and if they'd contacted hospitals to see if perhaps she was hurt. Gary didn't have the best relationship with John, and didn't take the amount of questions kindly. He thought it sounded like John was assuming they weren't doing everything they could to find their daughter. While they were talking, Grace was pacing around the house nervously, and John soon felt he wasn't welcome. He didn't want to start a fight with his father-in-law, and he didn't want to create a disturbance in an already stressful situation, so he decided to leave. The next day, John woke up and did exactly what he had planned to do all week. He'd arranged with Anita to go to Shelly Beach on the Central Coast, about 100km north of Sydney.

His sister Gaina had rented a house there to celebrate her birthday. John hoped that Anita would be at their house with Gaina when he got there, with some explanation as to where she had been, and then they could spend some quality time away together like they had planned. On the drive to Shelly Beach, he was listening to the radio and thinking about Anita. He remembered how they would sing along to the songs played on the radio, especially to Madonna and Cold Chisel. It was while he was listening and lost in his thoughts that suddenly the music was interrupted by a news broadcast. John heard the following words come out of the speakers. The naked body of a young woman has been found in a paddock at Prospect in Western Sydney.

Police are yet to identify her. John immediately thought of Anita. Gone was his hope of Anita sitting with his sister Gaina, chatting away at the house in Shelly Beach. All he could think of was that the young woman found in a paddock at Prospect could be her. He found an emergency phone, jumped out of the car and quickly called the operator, asking to be connected with Grace and Gary. It took a while for the operator to put him through as John was yelling and wasn't very coherent. Eventually he was connected and the phone was answered by a voice he didn't recognise. It was a woman's voice, but that's all he knew.

He heard the words, you've got to get back here John, and he never heard anything else. He jumped back in his car, did a U-turn and drove straight to Anita's home in Blacktown. When he arrived, he walked to the back door and suddenly it all became too much. He stopped and sat on the stairs and started to cry. When he was done, he stood back up and entered the house. In front of him he found Gary, Grace, Anita's sister Catherine, Catherine's husband and two detectives. Before John arrived, the detectives had already shown the Russian wedding ring to Anita's family. When Catherine saw it, she said it looked like Anita's, but this one had rust on it, so it couldn't be hers.

Detective Ian Kennedy had to correct her. What she thought was rust was actually blood. Now that John was there, he was shown the wedding ring as well. He recognised it. It was definitely Anita's. Kennedy separated John from the rest of Anita's family and asked him if he would be willing to go to the morgue to identify her body. John said no, he simply couldn't bring himself to see his wife like that. Kennedy needed someone to formally identify her and the one who offered was Grace. She told Kennedy that she was a nurse and she'd seen hundreds of bodies so she could do it, but Kennedy refused. He didn't want Anita's mother to see her. The only other option was Gary, who accepted. Catherine's husband went with him for support.

The detectives drove Gary to Westmead Hospital. They entered the morgue and the moment the sheet was removed, Gary's knees buckled and he fell. The two detectives were quick to catch him and they held him until he felt strong enough to stand on his own. When he was able to speak, he said, I wish I could say it's someone else's daughter, but it's not. Is it? After the identification, Kennedy drove Gary back home to Blacktown. On the way, Kennedy tried to be as honest as possible. He told Gary that what they'd just done was probably the shortest step in the entire investigation. Long days would lie ahead while they tried to figure out what exactly had happened to Anita.

On top of that, the case would get a lot of media attention. From the first moment Kennedy saw Anita, he knew that due to the brutality of the murder, it would generate a lot of media. Kennedy asked Gary to talk to reporters as much as he could to tell them who Anita was. In order to solve the case, they would need as much help as they could get, so Kennedy was more than open to using the media to inform the public in the hope that it would generate tips. Lastly, Kennedy told Gary that as part of the investigation, they would need to question everyone who was close to Anita. It was simple procedure, and Gary said he understood. The first person who was questioned was John Cobby.

As soon as Kennedy got back to Blacktown after the identification, he told John to come with him to the station. John went, not really knowing what to expect. When they got to the station, John was asked to sit in a small interview room. Kennedy started by asking simple questions, like how long had him and Anita known each other, and how long they'd been married. Then he asked about the separation, and soon he got to deeper questions. He asked where John had been on the Sunday night Anita went missing, and the day after. Johnny answered that on Sunday night he was at home, and on Monday night he was at dinner with his father and his friend, and that's when he first heard Anita was missing.

Kennedy asked if the relationship between Anita and him was rocky. They were going through a separation after all. Johnny answered that they were trying to patch it up and get together again. Kennedy pushed the separation with John, before asking, did you kill her? John felt hazy. The questions kept coming, and he was suddenly not answering them. The next thing he knew, he was being pushed into a wall, being accused of murdering Anita. His answer then was, yep, I did it. Must have. An anonymous call had been made to police earlier that day, suggesting that detectives look into John Coby. Also, the two nurses who Anita went to dinner with the night she disappeared were interviewed,

Lynn Bradshaw and Elaine Bray. They stated that ever since the separation, John had been repeatedly calling Anita at work, and he seemed visibly devastated by the fact that they were apart. According to them, he was trying to get her back at all costs. In addition, they stated there was a chance Anita might have been seeing another nurse from the hospital, Ian McIntosh. Ian had known John for several years, but had only recently met and become friendly with Anita. This information had gotten the attention of detectives, and John was high on the suspect list. But after reading the autopsy report, detectives were sure of two things.

One of them was that Anita's murder happened somewhere between Sunday night and the early hours of Monday morning, and the second was that there was probably more than one killer. Although John Coby was a suspect, and even said he must have done it while being pressured in that first interview, it didn't look like a crime of passion, so detectives continued to investigate all other possibilities. There were 20 detectives working the case on that first day of the investigation. They looked at Anita's movements on the day she went missing. She had arrived at work at 7am. She worked the same shift as Lynn Bradshaw and Elaine Bray, who she went out to dinner with after work.

Their shift ended at 3.30pm, and afterwards they stayed in the visitor's room of the hospital, drinking coffee and chatting, until about quarter past five. Then they changed out of their uniforms and went to the restaurant. They had dinner along with two bottles of wine and left the restaurant at 8.30pm. Lynn offered to drive Anita to Central Railway Station, which was about 800 metres from the restaurant, and Anita agreed. Lynn left Anita at the Yeti Avenue entrance to the railway station about 9pm, and before they parted ways, they said they'd see each other the next day. It was the last time anyone saw Anita.

That same night, Lynn woke up from a nightmare in a cold sweat. She dreamt about leaving Anita at the railway station, but this time, when she told Anita she'd see her the following day, Anita responded, No, I'm dying, Lynn. Lynn was so unsettled by the nightmare that she checked all her doors and windows to see if they were locked. Anita's body was found two days later, Tuesday, February 4th, and when Lynn found out what happened, she believed the nightmare was an omen. It was a few minutes after midnight, the very early hours of Wednesday, February 5th, when one officer made the first big breakthrough of the case.

He was a rookie who had actually gone to school with Anita. He was also the officer Gary first spoke to when he went to Blacktown Police Station to report Anita missing. Now, the rookie officer was working hard to find anything that could help lead to the killer of the woman he'd known from school. While he was checking the station message sheets, which had notes from all the calls made from the public to the police station, he saw one particular message that got his attention. It was a call from a boy who, along with his sister, had heard screams coming from outside his house. When they both looked out their window, they saw that a woman was being forced into a car. The boy and his sister lived in Newton Road, which was located between Anita's house and Blacktown Railway Station.

All detectives knew for certain so far was that Anita had been dropped off at Sydney's Central Railway Station. They didn't know for certain if she'd taken the train from Central Sydney to Blacktown, but if she had, it's likely she'd been abducted after getting off the train at Blacktown. The notes on the message sheet stated that the call from the boy was made on Sunday night. Officers did respond and conducted a patrol at the time of the call, but found nothing. When the rookie officer saw the notes on the message sheet, he notified detectives and they all went to Newton Road to find out more. They knocked on the boy's house where the call came from. The boy and his sister who saw the woman being forced into the car both answered the door.

The boy, John, was 13 and his sister, Linda, was 14. Linda explained that on the Sunday night she was in the living room when she heard screams from a woman coming from the street. She looked out the window and noticed that a dark-haired woman was being dragged into a car by a man. She was screaming and trying to break free. Linda immediately called out to her brother, John, who ran to the window and saw what was happening as well. John ran out the front door to stop the woman from being taken, but it was too late. She was already in the car and it was speeding off. John hurried inside and called the police.

Minutes later, their older brother Paul and his girlfriend Lorraine arrived home. John and Linda told them what had happened. Paul told them to wait for police and he and Lorraine drove in the direction John and Linda had seen the car going. Linda described the car as a dirty white car. John described it as a white Holden sedan that had a grey undercoat. The direction in which Paul and Lorraine went that Sunday night took them to Rean Road in Prospect. They believed that since the place was a known lovers lane, the girl might have been taken there. When they got to Rean Road, they saw two different cars.

One was a red sedan and the other was a white Holden sedan with a grey undercoat. A car exactly like John had described. Paul and Lorraine approached the Holden slowly and checked inside. They saw nothing suspicious, so they decided to return home. The police patrol car responding to the call from John also later patrolled through Rean Road, but saw nothing. After speaking to John, Linda and Paul, detectives discovered further witnesses in Newton Road. Just across the street from their house, a woman and her 16 year old son Stephen heard the screams as well. They were watching television in the living room, when at 9.45pm Sunday night, their viewing was interrupted by screams coming from the street.

Stephen ran outside in his pyjamas and saw a dirty white car speeding off with its lights off. He looked across the street and saw John, who said to him, a girl has just been picked up by two guys in that car. Stephen asked if he was talking about the car that had just left, the one with the lights off. John said yes, that was the one. Stephen ran to his next door neighbour, who had only just arrived home, and together they tried tailing the car, but they couldn't find it. Another neighbour heard the screams, and when she looked outside, she saw not two, but three men taking a woman by force. However, detectives couldn't prove the woman was Anita. It was two kilometres from Blacktown Railway Station to Anita's house.

On most nights, Anita would call her father Gary to pick her up. But detectives discovered that on Sunday night, all the telephones at the station, 12 in total, had been vandalised, so Anita couldn't call Gary. The next option was a taxi. Detectives focused on interviewing and checking the records of taxi drivers. But Gary said Anita would never have taken a taxi. Sunday night had been a pleasant summer night, so Gary had no doubt Anita would have walked home. Detectives kept their minds open and looked at every single possibility. From Wednesday, February 5th, 1986, Anita became the headline of every newspaper and media outlet in Sydney.

All of Sydney was shocked to the core by the crime, and Anita was described by every single person who knew her as a living angel. No one had a bad word to say about her. Calls flooded into Blacktown Police Station, with people giving different names and suggestions as to who could be the killer. This led the police in different directions, including checking every sex offender in Blacktown. But it all led nowhere. As well as John Cobby, police had interviewed another early suspect. He made his way onto the suspect list just 45 minutes after Anita's body was found. The man was sitting in his car right next to the crime scene.

Police approached him and searched his car, where they found a sheath for a kitchen knife, hedge cutters, a tomahawk and a spade. The man was taken to Blacktown Police Station for questioning, and he explained that there'd been a strike at his job that day, so he decided to park and stay in his car because if he went home, his wife would get mad at him for not being at work. Detectives looked into his story and it all checked out. He was eventually eliminated. At 9am on Friday, February 7th, on the popular 2GB radio station, radio host John Morse decided to read something no one was ever expecting to hear publicly. Anita's autopsy report. Upon hearing the disturbing details of the autopsy, listeners flooded the station with calls. They were outraged, both at the information being read, which they found utterly disrespectful to Anita and her family,

and they were also outraged at the case itself, finding it hard to believe that such horror was possible. But the most outraged of all was the investigating team, especially John Avery, the NSW Police Commissioner at the time. He couldn't understand how the autopsy report was leaked and sent to the radio. An internal investigation was launched, but it was never determined who leaked the report. It was this public reading of the autopsy report that placed Anita's case into the national sphere, since John Morse was so popular throughout the country. The Premier of NSW at the time, Neville Ren, had actually met Anita in person in 1979, when she won the Miss Western Suburbs Beauty Pageant. He took an active interest in the investigation from day one and requested a daily briefing from police. When he was first sent the autopsy report, he was only able to read the first page.

He found it too disturbing and said, quote, These acts are so despicable, they are not the acts of a human being. Premier Neville Ren offered a $50,000 reward for any information given that helped catch the killer. He doubled the reward just a few days later. It was the highest reward offered in any case after such a short amount of time, and this, combined with John Morse's reading of the autopsy, made Anita's case one of the most well-known in Australia, a crime that shocked the nation. Detectives were feeling the pressure to solve it. Not only was the Premier of NSW pushing them, but now all of Australia was as well.

Although they had no positive evidence placing Anita on the train to Blacktown Railway Station or placing her in Newton Road, they decided it had to be her who the witnesses had seen being forced into a car. Detectives decided to do a re-enactment. They got Debbie Wallace, who was a probationary police officer, to play Anita. She was about the same age and looked similar to Anita. Detectives arranged for Wallace to go shopping with Elaine Bray, one of Anita's friends who she'd been out to dinner with the night she was murdered. They went from store to store until they found clothes that were exactly like the ones Anita had been wearing that night. Since no clothes were found at the crime scene, detectives had to rely on Elaine's memory of how Anita looked that night.

The re-enactment took place on Sunday, February 9th, one week after Anita was murdered. It began at Central Railway Station at 9pm. Reporters were allowed to follow Wallace during the entire re-enactment. Police believed the more publicity the case got, the faster they'd be able to catch the killer. At 9.12pm, Wallace got onto the train beyond for Blacktown. Other detectives walked through the carriages in the train, asking all passengers on board if they'd taken the same train the previous week, and if they did, if they'd seen anything suspicious, or if they'd seen Anita. Choosing the 9.12pm train to board was based on Lynn Bradshaw's statement that she believed it was 9pm when she dropped Anita at the train station.

9.12 was the first available train to Blacktown. On the walk from Blacktown Railway Station to Anita's home, Wallace stated, quote, It was quiet and eerie walking in her footsteps towards what we knew were most likely her last moments. It was not a nice feeling. The re-enactment saturated the media for days. Detectives didn't get any leads pointing them towards the killer, but what they did find was that Anita hadn't taken the 9.12pm train to Blacktown. She'd taken the earlier 8.48pm train.

The train ride from Central to Blacktown Railway Station was approximately 45 minutes, and the walk from Blacktown Railway Station to Newton Road was about 12 minutes. According to the witnesses on Newton Road, Anita had been abducted at 9.45pm. So if Anita had taken the 9.12 train, she wouldn't have been at Newton Road until about 10.09pm. But the 8.48pm train would have her at Newton Road right on 9.45pm. The exact time witnesses heard the screams. The day after the re-enactment, Monday, February 10th, was Anita's funeral. It was held at Pine Grove Cemetery.

Lots of reporters and onlookers attended. Nurses from Sydney Hospital carried her coffin inside the church. When the reverend spoke about Anita, he mentioned how much she loved her family, how dedicated she'd been to other people during her lifetime, and how during the last year of her life, she'd found a passion in painting. She'd been drawing from a young age, but right up to her death, she kept on trying and loving new things. Gary and Grace remained composed throughout the service, but Anita's husband, John Cobby, wasn't able to.

John turned to alcohol and drugs after Anita's death. Up until that point, John had found drugs repulsive, but now he didn't care about anything. He confessed that all he wanted was to feel hurt and to die, but he never had the guts to kill himself. He entered the church surrounded by family and friends. His father held him upright all through the service, since he was too sedated to stand on his own. In the middle of the service, John interrupted by screaming out, Don't take her away from me, please, don't take her away.

He fell down, and his father and a friend had to carry him outside. At this point, John had been cleared from the investigation. His alibis checked out with several people confirming his whereabouts. Plus, the potential motive of jealousy that detectives had considered had fallen apart. Lynn Bradshaw and Elaine Bray had stated that Anita was possibly seeing another nurse, Ian McIntosh, but this relationship proved to be strictly platonic. Detectives were now well and truly heading in another direction, and it was the day after Anita's funeral that a major breakthrough occurred.

On February 11th, Detective Graham Rosetta got the lead that changed it all. He was informed that a car that looked very similar to the one witnesses had seen on Newton Road, a dirty white Holden sedan with a grey undercoat, had been stolen on Sunday, February 2nd, the day of Anita's murder. Rosetta was told that the men responsible for stealing the car were John Travers, Michael Murdoch, and a Leslie Murphy. John Travers' name had been mentioned before. An anonymous tip was called in in the first days of the investigation,

telling police to look into him. John Travers was 18 years old and lived in Doonside, a suburb right next to Blacktown. He'd been brought up in poor conditions and had a history of physical abuse, drug use, and violence towards others. Two things struck detectives about Travers. One of them was Travers being wanted in Western Australia for a number of offences, including the rape of a man. During the rape, Travers kept a knife against the man's throat. The second thing was a story that was going around about Travers. It was said that on Travers' 18th birthday, he not only raped a sheep,

but while he was doing it, he slipped the sheep's throat. When it was done, he cooked the sheep and ate it. His history of violent, disturbing behaviour, and the fact he had been named as being responsible for stealing a car that matched the description of the vehicle of interest in Newton Road, got the attention of investigators. Travers was known as a ringleader. He moved mostly with the two young men named in the stolen car with him, Michael Murdoch and a Leslie Murphy.

Michael Murdoch was 18 years old, and wherever Travers was, Murdoch was right beside him. Leslie Murphy was 22 years old, and usually wasn't too far away from Travers and Murdoch either. He was also dating Travers' sister. Travers, Murdoch and Murphy were at a party on Sunday night, February 2nd, and they all disappeared from the party for a long time. When they returned, they each told a different story as to where they had been. The entire task force was sworn to secrecy regarding the new lead of Travers, Murdoch and Murphy. They knew given the media saturation of Anita's case, if the three suspects did have some involvement,

they would be keeping their heads low, and it wouldn't be easy to find them. Travers, Murdoch and Murphy didn't really follow a daily routine. They were constantly on the streets, couch surfed, and spent most of their time drinking and doing drugs. Most of what they did was financed through burglary and similar crimes. Detectives tried to blend in as best they could, close to known hangouts and haunts of the three suspects. They worked with informants to try and track them down. They posted undercover officers at Travers' family home to see if he would show up there. But there was no sign of any of them for a few days.

Not until Leslie Murphy appeared at Travers' family home. It was around this time they also got a lead on the whereabouts of Travers and Murdoch. They were apparently staying at Travers' uncle's home. At 6am on Friday, February 21st, 1986, the task force assembled in the operation room of Blucktown police station. They broke into two groups. One of them was led by Detective Graham Rosetta, and the other was led by Detective Ian Kennedy. The plan was for each group to raid a different home at the same time. Along with detectives from the task force, each group was also accompanied by officers from the tactical response group.

Who were used in high-risk operations. Before the two teams separated, Kennedy spoke to everyone involved in the raids. Given the brutal nature of the crime, emotions weren't only running high in the community, but amongst the investigators as well. Kennedy pleaded with everyone to keep control, as hard as he knew it would be. The last thing they needed were allegations of police brutality, putting a clear out of it. The last thing they needed were allegations of police brutality, putting a clear out over the investigation. Once everyone was ready, the teams split up. Kennedy's team went to Travers' family home in Doomside.

The tactical response group forced entry with a sledgehammer and found a Les Murphy hiding inside. Murphy didn't resist and didn't ask for a lawyer. They did find a stolen car on the property, but it wasn't the stolen car used in the abduction of Anita. At the same time, Rosetta and his team were at Travers' uncle's home in Wentworthville, 15km south-east of Doomside. When they kicked in the front door, they failed to see a large fish tank in the main hall and it broke into pieces. They found Travers sleeping in the same bed as Murdoch. They didn't offer any resistance and didn't ask for a lawyer. During a search of their house, they found a blood-stained knife covered with a sheath underneath the bed Travers and Murdoch were sleeping in.

The knife was taken into evidence. Once the three suspects were at Blacktown Police Station, the plan was to question them regarding the theft of the car first, then connect the car to the murder later. Murphy admitted that he was involved in the theft of the car, but denied any knowledge or involvement in Anita's murder. Murdoch admitted he was involved in the theft of the car as well and agreed to go with police to the place they stole it from. Like Murphy, he said he wasn't involved, nor did he know anything about Anita's murder. After signing statements about their involvement in the theft of the car, Murphy and Murdoch were charged and granted conditional bail by police, so they were free to leave. This was all part of the plan, because as soon as they left the station, they were put under surveillance and every step they made was being watched. Police were sure they were involved in the murder, but there was no evidence of that yet, and they still had Travers in custody, who was the main target.

They believed he was the ringleader and the others followed him. During questioning, Travers also admitted his involvement in the car theft. Rosetta then pulled out the knife he'd found at their house underneath the bed and asked him how the blood got there. Travers looked at him coldly and responded. I didn't slit that slut's throat. Rosetta was shocked, since he hadn't made any reference to Anita or her murder yet. It hadn't been mentioned to Travers at all up to this point. Travers continued, explaining that the blood actually belonged to a sheep.

Rosetta pretended he'd never heard of the story about the sheep, and he asked him to elaborate. Travers' response was again cold and to the point. He shrugged his shoulders and said, you gotta eat, or cut its throat. Throughout the questioning, Travers picked at a finger with a paper clip. He drew blood and sucked it. He didn't admit to anything further, and Rosetta ended the interview. After Travers signed a statement about his involvement in the car theft, he was charged. He also had to give a blood sample in relation to the rape allegation and other alleged attacks in Western Australia. Given those interstate matters were still outstanding, Travers wasn't released. He was kept in the cells.

It wasn't long before Travers asked to call his auntie to bring him cigarettes. His auntie was his uncle's girlfriend. Travers had a close relationship with them and often stayed at their house several nights a week. It's where he was when he was arrested. One of the senior detectives on the case, Detective Rao, was made aware of Travers' request, and he decided to allow it. We will refer to Travers' auntie as Jennifer. That's not her real name. The call was made to Jennifer at 5pm. There was Detective Rao who spoke to her, not Travers. Jennifer remained silent for a few moments, and when she finally spoke, she started sobbing uncontrollably. She said, I need to talk to you. I need to talk about John. It's about his behaviour towards women.

She told Rao that if he hadn't called, she would have called police herself sooner or later, because for two weeks she'd been unable to sleep. She needed to speak to them about John Travers and asked if she could meet them somewhere. Rao agreed, and they arranged to meet at Wentworthville Leagues Club. Detective Rao, Detective Rosetta and another detective arrived at Wentworthville Leagues Club at 6pm. A few minutes later, a nervous-looking woman appeared to be on the lookout for someone, glancing around in different directions inside the club. Rao approached her and told her who he was. He asked if she was Jennifer, and she nodded. Sensing her discomfort, Rao let her outside into an unmarked police car. Once inside the car, Jennifer opened up. She said that Travers confided in her and had told her about crimes he'd committed.

He said that he'd raped both men and women in different places, and he always carried a knife with him everywhere he went. Jennifer had been feeling uneasy ever since she'd heard about the Anita Cobby murder. She couldn't help but think that Travers had something to do with it. She couldn't prove it, and he hadn't told her anything about it, but with each passing day, she had the nagging feeling that he was responsible. Rao listened to everything Jennifer had to say, and when she was done, he told her he'd get back to her soon. Jennifer exited the car and walked back home, and the detectives returned to Blackdown Police Station. They called Detective Ian Kennedy to join them, and they discussed what to do next. They decided they would get Jennifer to visit Travers in the cells and give him cigarettes.

They would let them have a regular chat to see if Travers confided in her about Anita's murder, like he had confided in her about other crimes he had committed. On the morning of Saturday, February 22, 1986, Jennifer attended Blackdown Police Station. Detective Rao explained that he wanted her to talk to Travers normally. He mentioned that a car had been stolen by Travers, Michael Murdoch, and Les Murphy, and they suspected that same stolen car was used to abduct Anita Cobby. So he believed that because Travers had been brought to the station in the first place due to the stolen car, he might mention that to her. But still, the main instruction Rao gave her was to simply listen. There was no said or prepared questions she'd have to ask. The idea was for the conversation to be as natural as possible, so Travers wouldn't suspect there was anything off about it.

On the way to Travers' cell, Rao reassured Jennifer that she was doing the right thing, and they wouldn't let anything bad happen to her. When they got to the cells, Rao led another officer escort Jennifer. He knew that if Travers saw anything suspicious, he wouldn't say anything, and if he got a hint that Jennifer was helping detectives, he could even send someone to kill her. Rao was watching from a distance and was concerned. He could see that Jennifer's legs were shaking uncontrollably. She was speaking to Travers through the gap in the cell that allows food to be passed through, but he thought if he could see it from a distance, Travers could most likely see it from his cell. But if Travers did notice anything, he didn't show it. Jennifer passed him the pack of cigarettes, and they spoke for about 20 minutes.

After the conversation, Detective Rao led Jennifer through a side door into a courtyard. She immediately broke down in tears and said, He did it. He killed her. Detective Rao hurled Jennifer as she cried. When he saw she was composed again, he let her to an office and sat her down to take a statement. Jennifer said Travers whispered to her. They tried to pin that murder on me. She extended her hand to reach for his, and while she was holding his hand, she asked him, Did you do it, John? Travers said yes. He then asked Jennifer to go to his house and get a knife, one that had a brown wooden handle in the knife drawer.

When Jennifer asked if it was the knife he had used to kill Anita, Travers said, Yes, it's my best knife. Travers also asked Jennifer to get rid of other evidence. He instructed her to find a pair of jeans, which were really faded and had blood on them. He also instructed her to go and see Les Murphy to tell him to get rid of the stolen car. The stolen car that had been used to abduct Anita still hadn't been recovered by police. Travers told Jennifer that it hadn't just been him, Michael Murdoch and Les Murphy who abducted Anita. There were also two more men involved. They were Les's older brothers, Gary Murphy, who was 28, and Michael Murphy, who was 33. Both Gary and Michael had extensive criminal records. Michael had actually escaped from jail and was a fugitive at the time.

Travers said all five had abducted Anita. When he was telling Jennifer what they did, he started laughing. Jennifer had to tell him to stop because it wasn't funny. Travers finished by telling Jennifer they were all saying do your thing. The thing Travers was referring to was the splitting of the throat, like he had done to the sheep before. Jennifer detailed the conversation in a signed statement. Rao then asked her to go a step further. Although the statement was extremely helpful, it may have been an issue in court. It was Jennifer's word against Travers, he said. Travers could easily take the stand and deny he said any of it. On top of that, Jennifer had a checkered past herself.

She had a criminal record and was a former heroin addict, something defense lawyers could use against her at trial to diminish her credibility. For this reason, Rao asked Jennifer if she would be willing to speak to Travers again, but this time with a tape recorder. Jennifer considered it for a moment and nervously agreed. Rao prepared a warrant requesting permission to record Travers. While waiting for the warrant to be authorised, detectives visited Travers uncle to get him on side. They realised Jennifer was taking a big risk and Travers uncle may not be supportive of the fact that she was helping police in a case against his nephew. However, when detectives filled him in on everything, he reassured Jennifer that she was doing the right thing. Travers uncle even helped police as well.

Detectives followed through on the instruction given by Travers to Jennifer about getting rid of the car. They were hoping by passing Travers' message on to Les Murphy, he would lead them right to the stolen car that they were still searching for. Travers uncle and Jennifer delivered the message to Les Murphy, but Murphy stayed where he was, he never went to the car. When Travers uncle and Jennifer returned to Blacktown police station, the judge had authorised the warrant to record Travers. Detectives had some major concerns though. Surveillance recording in 1986 consisted of a fairly large reel-to-reel tape recorder that had several wires and the microphone had to be as close to the subject as possible. They were concerned that Travers would notice the wires or microphone, but it was the only option they had. Like he had done during the first confession, Ralph walked Jennifer down to the cells and reassured her that everything would be okay.

He again allowed another officer to escort her to Travers' cell as he watched from a distance. As soon as Travers saw Jennifer, he asked her if she took care of the knife and the jeans. Jennifer answered that she took care of the jeans, but she never found the knife. She asked if maybe he had already gotten rid of it and forgotten, to which he replied, No, it's my best knife. I want to keep it if you find it. As the conversation continued, Jennifer asked why they killed Anita. Travers answered that it was because she'd seen them. She'd seen their faces, so he had to do it. Then he changed the subject and gave her a new set of instructions.

Travers' new idea was to escape from prison, mainly because even if he didn't think that police had anything on him in Anita's case, they still had his blood sample to connect him to the previous rapes he committed in Western Australia, so he knew he wasn't getting out any time soon. Travers' idea was to derail a train so it would crash and crumble the walls of the police station, allowing him to escape, as Blacktown Railway Station was almost next to the police station. But as he explained his plan, even he realized how far fetched and difficult it seemed, so he decided on a new plan. He said to Jennifer, quote, Tell Gary and Mick Murphy to be at the back of the police station here with a couple of shoddies between 3 and 3.30 in the morning before I go to court.

It's only a skeleton crew at that time. The oldest bloke has got the keys. They don't check on me when the sun comes up, just during the night, about four times. Jennifer told Travers she would deliver the message to the two Murphy brothers before bidding him goodbye. The technical team removed the tape recorder and detectives congratulated her and reassured her once more that she'd done the right thing. However, it wasn't the last time they needed her help. The following day, on Sunday, February 23rd, they asked to wire her up again. This time, the person they needed her to record a conversation with was Michael Murdoch. Police had kept Les Murphy and Michael Murdoch under surveillance ever since they were released from the police station,

but the names of Les's older brothers, Gary and Michael Murphy, were only new in the investigation, so police had no idea where they were. The plan detectives had was to send Jennifer to visit Michael Murdoch, since Murdoch knew Jennifer well. They hoped Murdoch would spill his guts to her, and also hoped he would lead them to the whereabouts of Gary and Michael Murphy, but things didn't go according to plan. When Jennifer visited Murdoch at his mother's house, she told him that she knew everything that Travis had told her. But Murdoch was a lot wearier than Travis. He was hesitant to share any information and simply stated that he might be leaving to go somewhere else soon, but that was all. Jennifer left the house and met up with undercover officers who were waiting for her down the street. It was now time for police to keep their promise to Jennifer. They promised they would protect her and they stayed true to their word. From that moment on, she entered the witness protection program, along with Travis Uncle and their children. She was referred to as Miss X during the investigation.

Detectives then moved on to their next plan, arresting Michael Murdoch and Les Murphy for the murder of Anita Cobbie. They did it near midnight. Again, they split up into two groups. One of the groups went to Michael Murdoch's mother's house, where he was still staying. Just like before, he didn't resist. The other group went to Granville, a suburb 17 kilometres south-east of Blacktown. They forced entry and found Les Murphy in bed with two women. Again, he didn't resist. Next, detectives executed a search warrant at John Travis' family home and conducted a thorough search throughout the entire house. They found the bloody jeans Travis had used the night of the murder and several knives that were sent for examination. In the meantime, Michael Murdoch and Les Murphy were questioned again. They now both admitted to knowledge of Anita Cobbie's murder, but they both said Travis was the sole person responsible. In fact, according to Murdoch and Les Murphy, they didn't even see the murder, even though they admitted to being there. Their accounts were somewhat similar, but did have some variations.

When their interviews were concluded, detectives decided to interview Travis again. It was 4.30am. Detective Rosetta woke Travis up and told him that they had new information on the Anita Cobbie case, and it all pointed at him. Travis was quick to get up. He looked at Rosetta in the eyes and said, who gave us up? Rosetta didn't answer and instead opened the cell to take him to the interview room. Travis didn't take long to be up front and say exactly what happened on the night of Sunday, February 2nd, 1986. He said that he, Michael Murdoch, Les, Gary and Michael Murphy were all driving in the stolen car through Newton Road in Blacktown when they saw Anita walking through the street on her own. Travis and Murdoch were the ones to get out of the car and grab her. They forced her into the car and they immediately ripped her clothes off while they continued driving. After a while, they stopped at a service station to put more petrol in the car. In order to pay for the petrol, they stole money from Anita's purse.

While they were at the service station, they held Anita down in the car so nobody would be able to see her. After getting petrol, they continued driving to Rean Road in Prospect. They pushed her out of the car and dragged her to a deserted area. Travis gave a full and detailed confession about what they did to Anita and admitted he was the one who killed her when they were finished. Travis saw in the confession and in total, the interview lasted 3 hours and 15 minutes. They had Travis, Murdoch and Les Murphy in custody. Now they needed to find Gary and Michael Murphy. Detective Kennedy visited Anita's parents, Grace and Gary. He wanted to make sure they knew of the arrests before it made the news. As soon as Gary opened the door, Kennedy said, We got the three of them Gary, but there's another two. By 9am on Monday, February 24th, all of Australia was aware that three of the five men who killed Anita Coby were in custody.

The public reacted to it, fiercely. Travis, Murdoch and Murphy had to be taken for their first court appearance. The court was next to Blacktown Police Station and that morning a large crowd was waiting. They all wanted the same thing, but Travis, Murdoch and Murphy to hang. The crowd hung a dummy from a building near the police station and they carried signs, some of which said, Hang the bastards, kill them. And I refused to pay taxes to keep these mongrels in jail, hang them, but flogged them first. When the crowd got a glimpse of the three accused, they shouted death threats towards them. The three of them were placed in cars to get them to the courthouse so they didn't have to walk through the mob.

To this day, Detective Kennedy remembers that moment. Quote, It was unbelievable and something I've never seen in Australia before or since. The crowds were rocking the police car trying to get them. We were driving through them slowly with the mob completely surrounding the car. The reading of the charges in court only lasted five minutes. They were charged with car theft, rape and murder. They all remained silent. Afterwards, they were taken back to the police station.

The crowd stayed outside the entire day. All available officers had to be used to guard the station. In the meantime, Detectives focused on finding the other two offenders, Gary and Michael Murphy. They released pictures of them to the media. Calls flooded the station with tip-offs about different sightings and a police raided a number of different homes in the days that followed, but they didn't find them. It was through a trustworthy informant that Detectives received a positive tip-off on Wednesday, February 26th. Both brothers were hiding in a house in Glenfield, a suburb located 32km south of Blacktown.

At 10pm, more than 50 heavily armed officers surrounded the house and a police helicopter was flying nearby just in case. The Tactical Response Group officers smashed the door in with a sledgehammer and police rushed in. Michael Murphy sat on a sofa with a woman and her baby. Gary Murphy was standing behind them. Gary ran into the backyard and Michael was about to follow, but Kennedy got to Michael first. He pointed a shotgun in his face and told him to get on the ground. Gary Murphy made it to the back fence, but as soon as he touched the fence, several officers grabbed him.

Gary's head ended up going through the fence to stop his escape, leaving a big gash using with blood. Gary Murphy also wet himself. Pitches were taken of the raid, which later appeared in the news. An officer who was there was glad about the fact that Gary wet himself. Quote, They were locked seeing that inside. The other prisoners will see him as the coward he is, and it won't be pretty for him. Back inside the house, detective Kennedy had Michael Murphy against the ground,

with his boot on his head holding him down and the shotgun never far removed from his face. Kennedy stated later that there was a woman and a child inside the room, and he wasn't going to let anything happen to anyone. Quote, Murphy was a hardened criminal, convicted of a number of armed hold-ups and an escape. He was dangerous, and I wasn't going to take any chances. Michael and Gary Murphy were placed inside different police cars. Michael Murphy started talking almost immediately. He told the detectives in the car that he had been at Anita's murder, but he never participated in anything.

He never touched her, and it was Travers who killed her. The detectives listened, but didn't comment. The formal confession had to be recorded at the police station, otherwise it wouldn't hold up in court. When they got to the police station, it was Detective Kennedy who led the interview of Michael Murphy. Michael Murphy began by saying that they started the night at the Doonside Hotel, then Travers proposed to get a party in Windsor, a town 23 kilometres north of Doonside. They drove to the party in the stolen Holden sedan, then they left the party and drove back to Doonside, passing through Blacktown,

and it was there that they spotted Anita. John Travers was the one who wanted to go after her. Michael Murphy, quote, He seen that Anita walking down the street. I was driving. He said, go turn around, I'll grab her. And he said to Mick Murdoch, you're going to help me. Mick said, yes.

We drove past her and pulled up as she walked past. John jumped out of the car and grabbed her and started dragging her in. He said to Mick, help. Mick jumped out of the car, Mick jumped out of the car and helped drag her in. I drove off. The door was still open. John said to her, shut up and you won't get hurt.

She said, why are you doing this? I'm married. Again, John told her to shut up. Then he started giving directions and I didn't know where to go, so I told Gary to drive. The car was still going and we swapped places as the car was going. We came to this kind of hill. The car stalled.

I think we were going to run out of petrol. We started the car again. John and Mick pushed the girl onto the floor and told her to be quiet. It was at that moment that the group arrived at the service station and stole $15 from Anita to pay for petrol. Then they continued on their way until they reached Ring Road in Prospect. Michael Murphy continued, quote. Lez said there's a car parked down in front,

so Mick said take her into the paddock. There was a fence. Mick went through the fence. John grabbed hold of her and started pushing her to the fence. I lifted up the wire so she could get through. As she was going through, Mick grabbed hold of her hair and said, keep your head down and don't look at anyone. Michael Murphy claimed he was the only one who didn't rape Anita

as he couldn't get an erection. They got scared when they saw the headlights of an approaching car. They forced Anita further into the paddock so they wouldn't be seen. He claims they left her naked and unconscious and started to run, except for John Travers. Michael Murphy, quote. John sang out, come back. I looked back.

I've seen John had hold of her arm. I think he was trying to drag her. The car went straight ahead so we started walking back up. She looked unconscious and John said I'm going to cut her throat. I said no, let's leave her. John said no, she's seen us. I said no, come on, leave her. She has a head dinner, leave her.

Michael Murphy claims he, his two brothers and Murdoch all kept walking, but Travers remained. He claims Travers later caught up to them with blood all over him, telling them what he'd done. Murdoch asked him what it felt like. Travers said, like nothing. Michael Murphy continued by saying they drove back to Travers' house in Doonside and they burnt their clothes in a fire in the backyard.

The only person who didn't burn his clothes was Travers. Michael Murphy doesn't know why. Michael Murphy signed his confession. His account was the one most similar to Travers, but still, like the others, he tried to downplay his own involvement. And the one major difference to Travers' account is the actual killing. Travers said the other four were standing around encouraging him, which is quite different to what Michael Murphy said happened.

In the interviews of Michael Murdoch, Les Murphy and Gary Murphy, they remembered certain parts, said they couldn't remember other parts and also claimed they had a minimal role and were pressured by the others present to participate. Detective Kennedy, quote, They all said others did it. They were and are the ultimate cowards, which I suppose was to be expected.

Throughout the rest of 1986, all five of them made numerous court appearances in preparation for the trial. Anita's family remained strong and continued facing the media every time they could. They wouldn't stop until these five men were behind bars for good. But one person who continued crumbling was Anita's husband, John Cobby. After Anita's funeral, his family decided the best thing to do was to send him away.

They didn't believe being in Australia would do any good for him with the heavy media coverage and every corner he turned being a reminder of Anita. John had a friend who lived in Michigan in the US and John's family asked Kennedy if it would be okay for him to go there. Since John was no longer a suspect, Kennedy approved. It was rumoured that Kennedy in a way had protected John Cobby from the media. Kennedy had a good relationship with many reporters and he had told them to leave John alone.

He knew that John's state of mind was a mess. Like all detectives in the case, Kennedy proceeded with respect first and foremost. When John had told Kennedy in his interview that he must have done it, he must have killed Anita. He truly believed it. Not because he had any recollection of doing something specific, but for the simple fact that he wasn't there to protect her

and if he had been, it would have never happened. John's friend in Michigan was a psychologist and he tried to help, but John spent his days drinking heavily, snorting cocaine and doing heroin. When Travers, Murdoch and the three Murphy brothers were arrested for Anita's murder, John's friend wanted to let him know so he could find some peace of mind. But when he began telling him, John didn't want to hear it. He didn't want to know anything about whoever hurt Anita. John's friend helped him sign himself into the psychiatric ward of Pontiac Hospital in Michigan.

John stayed there until the man he shared bunk beds with cut himself and the blood fell on top of John's face. He signed himself out of the hospital immediately, horrified by what he'd seen. He got back to his friend's house and managed to get a job as a nurse dresser, which was mainly so he could earn money to buy more drugs. When he wasn't working or using, he went running for hours until every muscle in his body hurt. All he could think about was Anita and he continuously caught himself at Coward for not being there, for not protecting her.

One day he sat down and wrote a letter to Catherine, Anita's sister. He told her that he was very sorry that he wasn't there to help out the family, but he had to leave. He had to get away from everything that reminded him of Anita. His stay in Michigan came to an end when a journalist appeared at his doorstep asking for an interview about Anita. John had no idea how the journalist found him as it was supposed to be his secret, so his family arranged for him to stay at another friend's apartment in San Francisco. In San Francisco he continued doing drugs and alcohol until he ended up in hospital with a broken foot and no recollection of what had happened. He felt disgusted with himself and believed he was too far away from the person he wanted to be.

He decided to return to Sydney and in May he was stepping off a plane at Sydney Airport. For the next month he was able to slowly stop doing drugs, although he couldn't work. He felt too broken to do anything. Still, he felt he was slowly healing, but it all came to a halt on June 23rd. This was the date of the committal proceedings for Anita's case. The story was all over the media again. John felt once more that everywhere he went he could hear the name Anita Cobbie. He couldn't go anywhere without being reminded of Anita and what had happened, so he decided to leave again.

He sold a racehorse and went to London where he met up with Leonie. Leonie was a nurse John had dated before he started dating Anita. She worked at Sydney Hospital and lived at the nurses' quarters with John. They'd been together for a year and a half before John started dating Anita. At the time, Leonie decided to move out of the nurses' quarters because she had fallen in love with John and it was too hurtful to see him so in love with Anita. She didn't see him again until a few weeks into John and Anita's separation when they ran into each other at the races. Leonie left to go overseas soon after that and it was only a few weeks later that her friend called her to tell her about Anita's murder. Leonie called John to check up on him and they spoke very briefly.

They promised to communicate again soon. When John was in Michigan, he sent letters to Leonie and she answered. They also called each other every once in a while. When John was back in Sydney and he was thinking of leaving again, Leonie told him to visit her in London. When John got to London, they slowly began a relationship of sorts but one that was plagued by guilt from Leonie and by depression and paranoia from John. John felt depressed and paranoid because he couldn't let Anita's memory go and Leonie explained her feelings with the following words. Quote, Throughout the whole time since hearing of Anita's death and being with John, I experienced very strong feelings of guilt.

I loved John but I was only there because of what had happened to her. I used to think often of the terrible things that those men did to her. It was like she was in my head all the time too. I used to have a lot of dreams about her as well. It took a long time to rid myself of those obsessive thoughts. Sometimes though, Leonie and John managed to be happy together and at one point John got a job doing what he loved, training courses. After a while, John thought of returning to Sydney with Leonie but instead he ended up buying tickets to go to Bali, a place where he'd gone several times with Anita. But when they got to Bali, John felt it was wrong to be there with Leonie.

He was paranoid about what others would think on seeing him with another woman. He told Leonie he should go back to Sydney on his own. They had no money so Leonie asked her family to borrow some and she paid for John's ticket. She said goodbye to him as he boarded the plane back to Sydney. It was the last time they were together. Back in Sydney, John started working in psychiatric nursing and on January 23rd, 1987, he did the only thing that he thought could make him forget Anita. He changed his name. At the Department of Births, Deaths and Marriages, he filled out a form giving up the name John Coby to become John Francis.

The trial against Travers, Murdoch and the Murphy Brothers came not long after. It was scheduled to begin on March 16th, 1987 and court five of Dullinghurst Court. Since the public's outrage throughout the entire investigation had been so fierce, security was strengthened. There were temporary metal detectors outside the courtroom doors as well as a heavy police presence. Everyone was searched before entering the courtroom. There was an increasing concern that Anita's father, Gary, would try something. Back in the early days of the investigation, Gary had told Kennedy that given the chance, it would only take him a second to snap a neck. Kennedy had told him that it was natural for him to feel that way but not to stoop to the level of the killers.

But Gary remained calm throughout the entire trial and never attempted anything. Not the same could be said for members of the public, there was still outrage. The fear that someone would try and kill one of the defendants was very real. During the first day of the trial, something happened that no one expected. John Travers pleaded guilty to all charges. He was taken to the cells and didn't return to court until he was sentenced months later. Next was jury selection for the other four defendants. This had been another concern, especially for defense lawyers.

The case was infamous, the media coverage was extensive and the defendants were hated. Defense lawyers saw little hope of a fair trial. Still, the jury selection took place and by that afternoon there were 12 jurors, 8 men and 4 women. Once the jury was seated, the prosecutor gave his opening statement. He picked up a knife and said, quote, There will be no doubt from the evidence given to you that she was brutally and savagely murdered and you would be less than human if you were not horrified about what you will hear in this case. The first witness called was Anita's father, Gary Lynch.

The second day of the trial started with another surprise. A newspaper article was published that stated that Michael Murphy was a prison escapee at the time of Anita's murder. It was a common known fact anyway, but since it was published right after the beginning of the trial and it gave the jury the opportunity to read it, the judge ruled a mistrial. The new trial started the following Monday. This meant that Gary Lynch would have to testify again and when asked about his feelings on it, he said, quote, My wife and I are as strong as whales, lions and elephants. When the trial began again on Monday, March 23rd, 1987, the media focused on another defendant, Gary Murphy

and more specifically the relationship he had with his lawyer, Lee Johnson. Lee Johnson had actually requested a separate trial for Gary Murphy since he claimed he was never even at the murder. He gave a new unsworn statement stating he left the group before the abduction and murder of Anita. This new unsworn statement contradicted what he had initially told the police and being unsworn and meant he couldn't be cross-examined on it. Gary Murphy's lawyer, Lee Johnson said that his initial statement to police had been given under duress as police had fractured his jaw in two places during the arrest. The fact that Lee Johnson stood by Gary Murphy and was a woman around his age

led to rumors in the press that they were involved in a romantic relationship. Lee Johnson had this to say, quote, I was committed to my client no matter what I thought of him. I always have and always will be. People didn't like that and I think resented me for it, quite unfairly. None of the defendants were likable. They had extensive criminal records and were not attractive to look at. In fact, the opposite.

While the media focused on Gary Murphy and Lee Johnson inside the courtroom, the defense team focused on building a defense based on police brutality. While the prosecution had close to 40 witnesses and based its case on extensive evidence, including signed confessions and a tape-recorded confession from travers, the defense team had a different agenda. The lawyers knew that due to the strength of the prosecution case, there was no chance of them being found innocent. So what they went for was trying to reduce the murder charge to manslaughter,

which would mean a much reduced sentence. In order to do this, the defense claimed that the confessions of Murdoch and the Murphy brothers were beaten out of them by police, given under extreme duress. The defense also focused on the point that it was John Travers and only John Travers who used the knife. All four defendants gave new statements, all unsworn, meaning they couldn't be cross-examined.

Each gave new versions and different accounts, reducing their own involvement and putting the blame on others. Michael Murphy said in his statement, quote, I wasn't there, if I was, it was for sex and not for murder. Les Murphy cried while giving his new unsworn statement. Michael Murdoch admitted he was there, but said he was forced to be. The defense team cross-examined police regarding their allegations of brutality and beating confessions out of the defendants.

Detective Kennedy was asked how Michael Murphy had gotten a mark on his cheek after the arrest. Kennedy answered, quote, probably when I had my boot on his head as he lay on the floor. The defense were unable to pin brutality on the detectives involved in the case. Their actions proven to be justified in the circumstances. Easter fell while the trial was still running. Detective Kennedy entered the courtroom and saw four little Easter eggs placed on the defendants' table. The only other person inside the courtroom was Lee Johnson, Gary Murphy's lawyer.

So he asked her who the four Easter eggs were for. She told him that it was a little gesture for the defendants since it was Easter. Kennedy smashed the eggs, breaking them into little pieces. He said the eggs were a security risk and they couldn't have them. He threw them away, but some crumbs were left on the table. When the defendants walked into court, they saw the chocolate crumbs and ate them from the table while giggling at each other. The defendants actually laughed often throughout the trial.

The biggest blow for the defense team came when the last prosecution witness was caught. Misex, Traversani, Jennifer. She had already appeared in the committal proceedings, and there John Travers attempted to jump from his seat and lunged at her. But it was stopped by detectives. There was a fear amongst detectives that that incident would scare her out of appearing at the trial to give evidence. But it didn't. Jennifer appeared and became the star witness. In her testimony, she spoke about her visits to John Travers,

and the tape recordings were played, which clearly pointed to all five defendants being guilty. Closing arguments were given on Tuesday, June 9th, 1987. The jury left the courtroom at lunchtime to reach a verdict. Most observers thought the verdict would be reached within minutes. But by 9pm, there was still nothing. Journalists, TV crews, detectives, friends, relatives and crowds of onlookers all left for home. The jury was taken to a nearby motel. When Gary and Grace Lynch arrived home that night, they didn't know what to think.

They really believed that the deliberations in the jury room would be fast, and they would find the five men guilty without a doubt. But now, they were worried on what the verdict would be. They couldn't sleep that night. John Coby didn't attend the trial. Along with changing his name, he'd shaved his head to become unrecognizable. He kept having a recurring dream that he entered the courtroom wearing a motorcycle helmet and carrying two guns. With them, he killed all five of the men that killed Anita.

The next morning, Wednesday, June 10th, 1987, at 10.20am, the jury reached the verdict. Leslie Murphy, Gary Murphy, Michael Murphy and Michael Murdoch were all found guilty. Everyone inside the courtroom seemed to let out a sigh of relief. Many cried, including Gary and Grace Lynch. Journalists ran to the door to get their stories in. On Tuesday, June 16th, 1987, Travers, Murdoch and the Murphy brothers all stood in the dock in front of the judge as he read his sentence to them. Justice Maxwell, quote, The crown firstly alleged that after having assaulted and robbed the deceased and sexually assaulted her,

they were conscious of the fact that she could recognise them and they therefore agreed amongst themselves that she should be killed. All the others knew that Travers was armed with a knife and they contemplated that Travers would use the knife or might use the knife. She was lying face down when the prisoner inflicted the fatal wounds. The medical evidence established that she was both alive and conscious before the wounds were inflicted. One cannot establish precisely the length of time that she was subjected to the attacks giving rise to the injuries as described, but it is open on the evidence to conclude that it was upwards of at least an hour and a half. There is no doubt that apart from the humiliation, degradation and terror inflicted upon this young woman, she was the victim of a prolonged and sadistic physical and sexual assault.

Wild animals are given to pack assaults and killings, however they do so for the purpose of survival and not as a result of a degrading animal passion. Not so these prisoners. They assaulted in a pack for the purpose of satisfying their lust and killed for the prevention of identification. Indeed, frequently they were observed to be laughing one with the other and frequently were seen to be snickering behind their hands. The crime is exacerbated by the fact that the victim almost certainly was made aware in the end of her pending death. This was a calculating killing done in cold blood, therefore I impose the following sentences. John Raymond Travers Michael James Murdoch

Leslie Joseph Murphy Michael Patrick Murphy and Gary Stephen Murphy First Count of Murder I sentence you to penal servitude for life. Their papers were signed never to be released and the entire courtroom clapped loudly. Not long after the trial, detectives Kennedy, Rosetta and Rao all received commendations from Police Commissioner John Avery for their work on the case. From that moment on, the Anita Cobby case was seen as one of the best conducted investigations in Australia.

The fact that the detectives never stopped searching, even when there was no evidence and John Cobby had told them he did it, made them stand out. The entire investigation took 22 days and although these three detectives were the ones who got commendations, they all said that the commendations should be given to the entire team since every person that was part of the task force gave everything they had. All in all though, they stated that their biggest wish was that there hadn't been a crime to begin with to give commendations for. After the trial, Travers, Murdoch and the Murphy brothers fell out with one another. Although Murdoch remained loyal to Travers, the Murphy brothers all hated him because he pled guilty and he was caught on tape confessing. Travers, Leslie Murphy and Michael Murphy were all sent to Galvin Prison, located 200km south-west of Sydney. In 1996, Travers feigned an illness and while he was being transported to hospital in a van, he tried to hacksaw his way out.

However, he was caught and taken back to Galvin. Throughout his time there, he's been in various fights, both with fellow inmates as well as prison officials. Travers, Leslie Murphy and Michael Murphy are all held in Galvin's supermax prison. They are banned from having anything to do with each other and they are also banned from having any interaction with other high profile inmates such as Ivan Malap. Gary Murphy and Michael Murdoch are moved between prisons every six months or so to prevent them from building up what prison officials call a kingdom. Murdoch became a devoted Christian while in prison and for a long time he was classified as a medium security prisoner until the Sydney Daily Telegraph newspaper launched a campaign in 2015 and he was reclassified to a maximum security prisoner. To this day Travers, Murdoch and the Murphy brothers are threatened constantly by other prisoners and they are often held in isolation for months at a time for their own safety. After being convicted of Anita's murder, Michael Murphy had to reappear at Darlinghurst Court in relation to his prison escape which he was still on the run for at the time of the murder.

During this court appearance, he was unable to sit down. He'd been assaulted by other inmates who held him to the ground, inserted a piece of plastic tubing up his anus and pushed barbed wire through it. Then they removed the plastic tubing and left the barbed wire inside his body. Michael Murphy is the most isolated of the five and very little is known about his time in prison. After the trial ended, a new organization was established called the Victims Compensation Tribunal. Family members of murdered victims had the possibility to claim up to $50,000 in compensation for their grief. Gary and Grace Lynch were considering applying for it, asking for $20,000 for each other and $10,000 for John. John really didn't want any compensation to him that sounded like bloodbunny, taking advantage of Anita's murder.

But his sister, Gaynor, assisted on him applying for it and applying for more than $10,000. She believed his brother's grief and suffering was worth a lot more than that. John ended up applying and went to see a forensic psychologist. The forensic psychologist deemed John as someone deeply disturbed and he was granted $25,000 in compensation. John also remarried. He met Elizabeth, his future wife, at a New Year's party in 1987. She was friends with his sister, Gaynor. John crossed paths with Elizabeth again a few months later and from there on they started a relationship which ended up in marriage on December 16th, 1989. They had two children together. John visited Anita's grave for the first time in 1997, more than 10 years since she'd been buried.

That same year, John started working in Long Bay Jail as a nurse. He remained in that job until 2003. Long Bay Jail had been where Travis was held in custody during the trial, but he had since been moved to Golden Jail. When John was asked if the reason he got the job there was in the hope he'd find Anita's killers, he denied it. However, his sister, Gaynor, didn't. She knew John better than anyone and was sure that her brother got a job in the prison to try and find Anita's killers so he could kill them. In 2005, John and Elizabeth divorced. John's children found out about Anita when they were older. John had kept it a secret until one day a special program on Anita appeared on TV while John was with his son Daniel. John let out a sob and Daniel didn't understand the emotional response from his father until John sat him and his daughter down and explained that he was John Coby, the former husband of Anita.

In 2014, John wanted to start working at Long Bay Jail again, but he was talked out of it. In 2015, there was a memorial held for Anita. John didn't attend, choosing to stay at home and get drunk instead. At one point, he checked the Facebook site dedicated to the memorial and he read all the posts that expressed how sorry everyone felt for what happened. John felt moved by the fact that so many people remembered Anita and he posted a photograph of himself and her. After that, he felt more ready to start sharing his side of the story and he developed a book. The book is called Remembering Anita Coby. In April 2016, John, together with his son Daniel, went back to the Department of Births, Deaths and Marriages and changed his name back to John Coby. The day before, his son Daniel posted the following message on Facebook, quote, Most of you know me as Dan Francis. I wanted to let you know that tomorrow my father and I are changing our surnames back to Coby.

Nothing can change what happened to Anita almost 30 years ago, but tomorrow we are taking a big step in the right direction to having a life with a touch of relief. This is a huge step individually and as a family. I couldn't be prouder of my dad and what he's achieved. Tough times don't last, but tough people do. John's sister, Gaynor, kept the last name Coby even after she married. Anita's parents, Gary and Grace Lynch, stayed in contact and became close friends with several of the detectives involved in the case. They were always deeply thankful to them for having such determination in finding the killers of their daughter. In 1993, Gary and Grace started a support group called the Homicide Victim Support Group, which aimed to comfort all those in grief. They worked tirelessly for the group until their passing, Gary in 2008 and Grace in 2013.

Today, Grace's place is being built. A trauma recovery centre for children and young people and their families to assist in grieving the death of a loved one through homicide. It will include 12 bedrooms for 12 children to be accompanied by 12 adult carers. Grace's place will offer a home away from home, which will include a meeting room, a music room, a playroom, a quiet area, a garden and cancelling and therapeutic programs that will last for periods of 10 weeks. It will be located in Duneside. It's named after Grace Lynch and the woman who follows Grace's footsteps today said this, quote, That was my wish, that the centre be named in her honour because she was inspirational.

When mothers and fathers met Grace, they felt if she could survive the murder of Anita and the horrible way she was killed. They felt they could cope with the murder of their children. This wasn't the first time Grace was described in this way. Detective Kennedy stated that although Gary tended to be the face of the couple and would front reporters every day, Grace was standing right behind him, holding his hand and remaining strong, sometimes for the two of them. There were times where Gary felt he couldn't continue anymore and Grace told him, We have to do it, for Anita. Grace's place is due to be completed by September 2018 and when explaining what the centre is in a nutshell that Spokeswoman said,

It's all about what we can do to make you believe the world is a good place. During the investigation of Anita's murder, many women in Blacktown stopped leaving the house, fearing they would be next. They believed that if that could happen to a young nurse on her way home from work, it could happen to anyone. Blacktown became extremely alert and men would go with their wives, daughters and mothers everywhere. They carried baseball bats, crowbars, hammers and even guns, anything they could get their hands on because they felt nothing was safe anymore. A Blacktown resident of the time said quote, You could feel, taste and smell the fear in the air when the word got out of the brutality of the crime. Some say Anita Cobbie's story is still used to this day as a cautionary tale from mothers to daughters to be careful.

Anita Cobbie is remembered as a kind soul, a free spirited woman. The Frangipenny was her favourite flower. Holding back the years by simply red was her favourite song. She had plans of learning Spanish and plans to look for a new apartment to move back in with John again. In Sydney Hospital there is a plaque dedicated to her that reads, In fond memory of Anita Lorraine Cobbie, whose life ended tragically on February 2nd 1986, A friend and colleague to the nursing staff. May her light shine forever.