October 2006 Issue 21

Inside this Issue: NSW Branch Newsletter NSW Branch ANZFSS Inc ABN 33-502-753-392 NEXT MEETING: “Bugs and bodies: insects as decomposers and Congratulations!! forensic detectives” By Dr James Wallman 2 After the solemn occasions we have reported in the last few ANNUAL DINNER: newsletters, it is with much “Who Killed Dr Bogle & Mrs Chandler?” excitement that we announce By Peter Butt 2 the arrival of two bundles of joy to the world: Review: “The Forensic Armed Robbery Congratulations to Christie Wallace-Kunkel, who gave birth to a Unit” By Michael Bell & bouncing baby boy on 10th August. They named him Tyson Jennifer Raymond Trevor Kunkel. ANZFSS Meeting, 16th August 2006 3-4 Congratulations also to Donnah Day, who gave birth to a little girl on 3rd October. They named her Megan Rose Skinner. Welcome to new members 4

REVIEW: All the little ones, mums and dads are doing well. “The Bodies in the Barrels: How Forensic Investigation Solved the ” New Website By Andrew Bosley & I have agreed to manage the NSW Ted Silenieks Branch Website. At present it is ANZFSS Public Night fully functional, and in the future I 15th September 2006 5-8 hope to develop it into something more aesthetic. For all the latest News from the NSW Branch President 8 news, and to check out the pro- gress so far, go to: Idiom Investigation: Breaking down the Lingo http://www.anzfss.org.au/nsw By Donnah Day 9 (Or follow the links from the National ANZFSS website) Caption Competition 10 At present, you can view the latest news, download the latest Newsletter & Contacts 11 newsletter, meet the Committee members, and view the newslet- ter archive.

Enclosed with this newsletter If you have comments or questions about any of the information Is a brochure for the contained in the website, please contact Shaheen Aumeer- 2006 Annual Dinner Donovan by email: [email protected] - Keep a look out for that! Hope you enjoy!! - Shaheen ANZFSS NSW Branch Newsletter, October 2006 Page 2 of 10

NEXT MEETING: “Bugs and bodies: insects as decomposers and forensic detectives” by Dr James Wallman Dr James Wallman is a Senior DATE: Wednesday, 18th October 2006 Lecturer in the School of TIME: 6:30 pm for refreshments, Biological Sciences at the 7:00 pm start University of Wollongong, VENUE: Department of Forensic Medicine, where he has worked since 50 Road, Glebe 2001. Prior to that he lectured COST: Free to members, $5 for non-members in the Departments of Zoology and Environmental Biology at In this lively presentation, Dr James Wallman the University of , will give the audience an insight into the wh e re he g ai ned hi s fascinating lives of the insects attracted to dead undergraduate and doctoral animals, including humans. The focus will be on qualifications. James’ field of expertise is the flies, since they are the earliest and primary biology and evolution of carrion-breeding flies invaders of dead bodies. James will outline and their application to forensic science. He acts actual Australian murder investigations that regularly as a consultant in forensic entomology insects have helped to solve, and, highlighting to the state police services of , aspects of his own research at the University of South and . James is also a Wollongong, discuss some important limitations Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society of of forensic entomology as applied to criminal London and the Vice-President of the NSW prosecutions. Branch of the ANZFSS.

You are invited to our

2006 Annual Dinner

“Who Killed Dr Bogle & Mrs Chandler?”

DATE: Friday, 24th November 2006

TIME: 7:00 pm - Midnight

VENUE: Courtyard by Marriott, 18 - 40 Anderson Street PARRAMATTA 2124

COST: $45 for members, $55 for non-members

SPEAKER: Peter Butt

The full brochure & registration details are available on the web- site. Those who have opted for email will be notified about this. ANZFSS NSW Branch Newsletter, October 2006 Page 3 of 10

REVIEW: “The Forensic Armed Robbery Unit” by Michael Bell and Jen Raymond ANZFSS Meeting, Wednesday 16th August 2006 Michael Bell and Jen Raymond kindly agreed to speak to us about the newly formed Forensic Armed Robbery Unit (FARU) in the NSW Police Forensic Services Group. [Note: this is a “Unit” and not a “Team” for the obvious reasons!].

Michael began with an overview of FARU, which was instituted because of the growing number of serial armed robberies at pubs and clubs. It was set up to emulate the “Flying Squad” model established in England in 1919 to combat armed offences after WWII. They dealt Jennifer Raymond & Michael Bell with commercial armed robberies and provided a fast time response to “tiger” kidnap situations, where, for example, the bank manager’s daughter the use of databases, cross crime / border link- is kidnapped and a ransom demanded. They had ing, improved resource use (especially when it forensic support embedded in each office, and comes to DNA). Other benefits have been the found that major success came from fibres analy- availability of career progression for SOCOs, a sis in ram raids where there were no fingerprints platform for innovation, increased support to or DNA. investigators and general duties police, a proac- tive approach to problem solving, and an ease on Examples of problems that needed to be ad- the burden of Crime Scene Sections and Local dressed before FARU were inconsistencies in Area Command SOCOs. response, the limit time to assist after scene ex- amination, limited intelligence capacity, cost- New FARU members undergo 2 weeks of inten- effectiveness and the fact that the response was sive training, including fingerprint training so always reactive. The initial proposal was to set up they can assist with that, digital imaging, elec- a team of crime scene examiners that only exam- trostatic lifting, training with the SICAR foot- ined armed robbery scenes and processed exhib- wear database, PhotoTrac, NAFIS, as well as its and vehicles. Within 2 months, the entire op- note-taking and plan drawing. eration was set up and fully functional! The initial duties are to provide 24 hour cover- At present, there are 10 SOCOs involved. They age, with no on-call, and they now attend all offer 24/7 scene examination services, a “cradle armed robberies of commercial and industrial to the grave” approach”, targeted rapid turn- premises with no shots fired and no injuries. around for DNA and Fingerprint evidence, no Michael also showed us some statistics on the limit to the collection of evidence, the use of al- number of offences committed, the workload of ternative techniques, the piloting of a footwear the team, and the retrieval rates of the different database, collection and sharing of intelligence, types of evidence. rapid search of CCTV images on PhotoTrac (although there has been no success as yet with Jen then spoke to us about what it is like to be a this last service). FARU team member. She has found that their location amongst the other investigators has The planned outcomes were high standards, rapid brought about a “Water Cooler” approach that identification of offenders, closer liaison with has been very effective. An example of this was investigators and analysts, forensic intelligence, the “Romantic Robber” case where an armed ANZFSS NSW Branch Newsletter, October 2006 Page 4 of 10

REVIEW: “The Forensic Armed Robbery Unit” by Michael Bell and Jen Raymond ANZFSS Meeting, Wednesday 16th August 2006 robber had held up a florist and taken a bunch of These types of crimes are generally highly or- roses with him. The perpetrator’s car was later ganised, so there is less fingerprint and DNA stopped for other offences and in the back seat evidence. However, there is the possibility to was the bunch of roses. Without the communica- examine the combination of shoes at scenes that tion between others at work, there would not can be used to link offences. Modus Operandi is have been that link with the florist hold-up. an important piece of intelligence, for example, how the cars are broken into. The SICAR database has been a useful addition to the investigation of armed robbery offences. FARU is also involved in trying to help busi- From April to June 2006, 201 shoe marks were nesses and banks to fix better guidelines for the recovered at 255 scenes. Jen showed us how the installation of ATMs. SICAR database works, and her hope is that in the future the database will be used in the investi- The benefits of the job are that it is more inter- gation of volume crime. esting because it is not “sausage factory” type of production line work anymore. It is now the in- Strike Force Piccadilly was formed in August tegration of forensic science into the investiga- 2005 to target ram raids of ATMs and related of- tion process. fences. In 1 year, there were 85 ram raids, and 93 vehicles were examined and various types of evi- Michael finished by commenting that there is a dence were recovered. The best run without a high potential for the unit to expand into other ram raid has been 6 days so far!! areas, such as drugs, fraud, gangs etc.

There are two types of ATM theft: We would like to thank Michael and Jen for this ♦ Ram raids where a 4WD type vehicle is very interesting and entertaining presentation. used to ram and drive through the premises such as a shopping centre, then another van is used to take the ATM. A particular haz- ard to be aware of is the cables from the broken ATM. ♦ Break-ins where the shopping centre is bro- ken into and the ATM is cut and opened. This process can leave behind metal filings that can be searched for on a suspect or in their vehicle. Review by Shaheen Aumeer-Donovan

Welcome to New Members The NSW Branch ANZFSS extends a warm welcome to its newly ratified members:

Daniel COGHLAN Linda GRETOREX Catherine OLDCORN Michelle STOCKWELD Alan WAINWRIGHT

ANZFSS NSW Branch Newsletter, October 2006 Page 5 of 10

REVIEW:

How Forensic Investigation Solved the Snowtown Murders This ANZFSS Public Night was held on 15th We would like to thank Andrew Bosley and Ted September 2006 at the University of Technology, Silenieks for flying up from to show Sydney. Our Vice President Dr James Wallman us this presentation. We would also like to thank the opened the event, which proved to be very popular! ANZFSS National Body for sponsoring the airfares of our speakers.

The first speaker was Andrew Bosley, who ♦ Robert Wagner: who lived next door to introduced the case, explained the backgrounds Bunting, was of low intellect, and lived of the main victims and perpetrators, and with a man called Barry Lane. detailed the initial investigation and evidence ♦ Mark Haydon: who had met Bunting collection. through a welding course, and was also fo low intellect Brevet Sergeant Andrew Bosley has worked for ♦ James Vlassakis: who was abused as a the SA Police since 1985, concentrating on child. He met Bunting through his mother. crime scene work since 1991. He currently He was a heavy drug user, and Bunting works within the Physical Evidence Section of was like a hero figure to him. Vlassakis the Police, where his duties have involved ended up being a star witness in the case. collecting forensic evidence associated with homicides and sudden deaths, fatal vehicle The initial victims were as follows: accidents and bomb scenes. He has also ♦ Barry Lane, who was a paedophile, assistsed with disaster victim identification and homosexual and transvestite. He was identification of stolen motor vehicles. More reported missing in 1997 recently he has been involved with fire casue ♦ Clinton Trezise: who had a relationship investigation. He previously spoke about the with Barry Lane and was found in a Snowtown case at the ANZFSS Symposium in shallow grave in 1997 2004. ♦ Thomas Trevilyan: who was the boyfriend of Lane. He was found dead hanging from The Snowtown Murders is Australia’s largest a tree. This was originally deemed to be a serial killing. There were four main offenders: suicide. ♦ John Bunting: a 32 year old who was ♦ Susanne Allen: who had fallen in love with abused when young, and had a hatred for Bunting. In 1998 she was identified as homosexuals, paedophiles and child another missing person who knew Bunting. molesters. He had taken it upon himself to ♦ Elizabeth Haydon: wife of Mark Haydon rid the world of them. ANZFSS NSW Branch Newsletter, October 2006 Page 6 of 10

REVIEW: “The bodies in the barrels: How forensic investigation solved the Snowtown murders” The investigation into these deceased and miss- ing persons began because their accounts were being accessed and withdrawals were being made by Bunting and Wagner. At this stage, there was only enough evidence to bring a fraud case against the pair. They were not arrested despite their activities being declared a major crime. In- stead, listening devices were installed.

Another potential victim was identified: ♦ Ray Davies: who was Suzanne Allen’s boy- friend was also missing

Intelligence information lead to Snowtown, where a Landcruiser known to belong to the sus- pects was found outside a disused bank vault in the main street. Andrew Bosley and Ted Silenieks

Andrew gave an explanation of the bank layout ♦ Frederick Brookes and photos of the crime scene. The most promi- ♦ Garry O’Dwyer nent memory that he has of the scene was of the ♦ David Johnson many air fresheners that were distributed over the bank vault, and the strong smell of decomposi- Each had a link with one of the four suspects, or tion. were suspected of being paedophiles, and were found bound, gagged, mutilated and dismem- The vault entrance was constructed with a black bered. The personal property of the victims had plastic inner door. Immediately inside was some also been kept. knives, shoes, handcuffs, gloves, and more air fresheners. At the crime scene, some bags of cement were found. It was later discovered that Bunting had 6 black plastic barrels were located inside. These planned to cement the barrels, charter a boat and were opened by investigators in full hazard gear tip them overboard in the not too distant future. to avoid exposure if there were hazardous materi- als inside. Andrew described what was in each Also at the crime scene were a number of items barrel, and explained the troubles they had re- that were used as torture equipment, such as a moving the barrels, which were very full and power drill, and electrical cables. emptied easily with a slight tilt or jolt of the bar- rel. He also showed pictures of the bodies that Arrests of the suspects were coordinated to oc- were recovered from the barrels. cur simultaneously at 6:40am on 21st May 1999.

In addition to the missing persons already identi- Vlassakis became the informant, and told inves- fied, the following victims were found in the bar- tigators about the bodies of Allen and Davies rels: who were buried elsewhere. ♦ Michael Gardiner ♦ Gavin Porter A total of 15 houses and 19 vehicles were exam- ♦ Troy Youde ined, and thousands of exhibits collected. ANZFSS NSW Branch Newsletter, October 2006 Page 7 of 10

REVIEW: “The bodies in the barrels: How forensic investigation solved the Snowtown murders”

Ted Silenieks then gave further details about the ♦ Human hair and nail clippings investigation of the physical evidence. ♦ “Glo balls” ♦ A chain glove (perhaps from Bunting’s Ted Silenieks is a Senior Technical Officer at Fo- abbatoir days?) rensic Science, SA. He has worked in forensic ♦ Adenoid clamp science for 22 years. He is an expert in the detec- ♦ Anastamosis clamps (perhaps used to tion and recovery in biological evidence from crush the toes of the victims?) exhibits collected from scenes of crime. He has ♦ Teeth (these turned out to be Wagner’s worked in areas such as general forensic science, baby teeth!) forensic serology and biological evidence recov- ♦ Scalpel set ery and has made numerous presentations at ♦ Saw (which was not actually used ANZFSS symposia on these subjects. He recently ♦ Knives presented workshops to WA and QLD Police ♦ Other mutilation equipment crime scene investigators concerning the detec- ♦ Ponchos tion of seminal staining at crime scenes, and in ♦ Shoes particular the use of the Polilight for the detec- ♦ Bent coathanger (it is still not known what tion of semen fluorescence. Ted spent more than this was used for) a year examining over 350 case items relating to ♦ Tape (used as a gag) the Snowtown matter. This was the first major ♦ Rope (murder weapon, torture) case in SA where trace, or contact DNA, was presented to the courts. Ted explained more about the victims in the bar- rels, and revealed that they had been forced to Ted began with more details about the relation- record statements before their death that were ships between the victims and suspects. played to family members. The messages in- cluded statements like they were fed up with The evidence recovery was based on proving that their lives and were leaving and didn’t want to the suspects were in the bank, and to identify the be contacted by their families. The purpose of victims, namely by DNA. This was the first case this was to prevent the family from reporting in South Australia to use trace DNA evidence. A them missing. total of 386 samples were sent for DNA analysis. It was also necessary to link the suspects or vic- A number of torture items were found, which tims to other locations, and to link the crime suggested that the victims were subjected to a scenes. horrific ordeal before their deaths. These items included an electrical device that could adminis- Another crime scene was a U-Store-It self storage ter electric shocks to the genital areas, as well as unit that was covertly examined. The process is sparklers that were inserted into the penis and lit. to videotape the whole scene, go inside and look around, then to play back the videotape to check Among the evidence were 107 gloves. The ma- that everything was back in its original position. jor dilemma here was whether to examine them for DNA or fingerprints. It was decided that a Among the items examined further were: portion of the glove would be treated for finger- ♦ Unusual liquids such as ether and jurocyl prints, and another portion would be swabbed ♦ Syringes for DNA. Overall, 1 fingerprint ID and 42 trace ♦ Victims clothing - some containing fecal DNA profiles were obtained. material ♦ Heavy duty wire A tape of “Selling the Drama” by Live was also ANZFSS NSW Branch Newsletter, October 2006 Page 8 of 10

REVIEW: “The bodies in the barrels: How forensic investigation solved the Snowtown murders” Vlassakis pleaded guilty to 4 counts of murder before the trial, and became a star witness.

On the 27th September 2002, Robert Wagner pleaded guilty to 3 counts of murder, and was found guilty on the 8th September 2003 of 7 counts of murder.

On the 8th September 2003, John Bunting was found guilty of 11 counts of murder.

On the 2nd August 2004, the trial of Mark Hay- don began. He was charged with 2 counts of murder and 6 counts of assisting an offender. In December 2004 he was found guilty of 5 counts of assisting Bunting, Wagner and Vlassakis.

The sentences received were: ♦ Vlassakis: life imprisonment, 26 year non- Schematic showing the location of Snowtown, SA parole period ♦ Bunting & Wagner: life imprisonment, no found playing on a loop. Apparently Bunting be- non-parole period lieved that by killing his victims, he was making ♦ Haydon: 25 years imprisonment, 18 year them good. non-parole period

Andrew then returned to show the outcomes of We would like to once again thank Andrew and the trials. Ted for giving their time to share this with us.

On 4th March 2002, the trails started. There were Review by Shaheen Aumeer-Donovan 15 jury members appointed to the trial because it was expected that some would have to retire due to the gruesome nature of the crimes. 230 wit- nesses gave evidence over 10 months.

News From The NSW Branch President Claude sends his sincere apologies for not being able to send a message to you in this newsletter. He has been jet-setting around Europe with his family for business and a bit of a holiday. As you can imagine, it has been a very busy time for him.

I’m sure Claude will share his experiences with us in the next newsletter, when he returns.

- Ed

ANZFSS NSW Branch Newsletter, October 2006 Page 9 of 10

I DIOM INVESTIGATION: Breaking Down the Lingo By Donnah Day

Ever had trouble understanding a forensic scientist, police officer or lawyer? Never fear! Donnah is here to analyse the jargon for us.

Blood:

Blood – the medium in which dissolved nutrients, gases, hormones and wastes are transported around the body. It is a sticky, opaque fluid with both solid and liquid components. Blood is a complex connective tissue in which the living blood cells, or formed elements, are suspended in a non-living fluid matrix, the plasma. All mammals have blood. Insects have hemolymph.

Properties of blood - Blood is heavier than water and five times more viscous (thicker), largely because of its formed elements. Blood is slightly alkaline with a pH of between 7.35 and 7.45.

Blood volume - on average accounts for 8% of total body weight. Is 5-6 litres for males and 4-5 litres for fe- males. A 40% blood volume loss internally or/and externally is required to produce irreversible shock (death). A blood loss of 1.5 litres internally or externally is required to cause incapacitation

Surface tension – the elastic property of the surface of a liquid that makes it tend to contract, caused by the forces of attraction between the molecules of the liquid.

Colour of blood – indicates the amount of oxygenation; Scarlet = oxygen rich; Dull red = oxygen poor.

Footwear Impressions:

Deformable impression – an impression that causes the surface to deform, either permanently or temporarily. Permanent deformable impressions would include those impressions in sand, soil and snow, whereas a tempo- rarily deformed impression would include those on skin, carpet, etc.

Dorsiflexion – position of the foot with the toes pointed down.

Dual density – a term used for midsole-outsole combinations, where the outsole and midsole are composed of materials having different densities.

Midsole – the component, found on some shoes, that is placed between the outsole and the shoe upper.

Outsole – the outermost sole of a shoe. The portion of the shoe that contact the found and is exposed to wear.

Stippling – small raised designs sometimes placed on the otherwise smooth sur- faces of a midsole or outsole mould.

Flat foot – a foot without a longitudinal arch.

Hallux – the large toe of the foot.

Expert contributions gladly accepted - please send your definitions to the editor ANZFSS NSW Branch Newsletter, October 2006 Page 10 of 10

Caption Competition Create a caption for this picture - the best caption will win an ANZFSS T-shirt. Send your entries to the Newsletter Editor at [email protected]

Newsletter by Email If you would like to receive the newsletter by email, please send an email indicating your name, mem- bership number, and the recipient email address to [email protected]

Contact Details Your Committee:

If you have any query, comment or suggestion about this news- President: Claude Roux letter or any information contained within, please do not hesitate Vice President: James Wallman to contact us. All correspondence regarding general enquiries, Treasurer: Peter Jamieson membership renewal, payment etc, can be addressed to: Secretary: Lisa Mingari Merchandise: Alison Sears NSW Branch ANZFSS Newsletter Editor: Shaheen Aumeer-Donovan PO Box 207 Memberships: Aldo Severino Lidcombe NSW 1825 Public Officer: Denise Donlon Phone: 0406-931-619 Committee Members: Donnah Day Fax: 02 9514 1460 Shirleyann Gibbs Email: [email protected] Aaron Heagney Editor: [email protected] Eric Murray Meiya Sutisno Specific recipients (eg. the President, Treasurer, Membership Tamara Sztynda Officer, etc.) can be reached C/o the details above.

Website: http://www.anzfss.org.au

Final Words: “Science is a way of thinking much more than it is a body of knowledge” Carl Sagan (1934 - 1996)