Gordon Wood acquitted of murdering Caroline Byrne
Lisa Davies, Louise Hall and Paul Bibby
February 24, 2012
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/gordon-wood-acquitted-of-murdering-caroline-byrne-20120224-1tsiv.html#ixzz1nWfsZMkb
Gordon Wood's murder conviction has been quashed, an appeal court today unanimously acquitting him of killing his girlfriend, Caroline Byrne, 16 years ago.
The former chauffeur to flamboyant stockbroker Rene Rivkin, who has served 3½ years in jail awaiting his appeal, was not in court for the decision.
Mr Wood's solicitor, Michael Bowe said he would be released from jail "in the next couple of hours".
"An order will be sent from this court to Goulburn jail and he'll be let out."
He will be met by his ecstatic family, members of whom were present in the packed NSW Court of Criminal Appeal this afternoon.
Mr Wood's sisters cried as the 252-page judgment was handed down by the three appeal court justices - Chief Judge at Common Law Peter McClellan and justices Megan Latham and Stephen Rothman. The sisters sat holding hands, eyes closed as Justice McClellan read his brief remarks.
The justices were unanimous in finding that there was insufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr Wood had killed Ms Byrne.
They found that it was unclear how Ms Byrne fell to her death or whether Mr Wood had any involvement.
Michele Wood, Mr Wood's sister, wiping away tears, said: "It's just a relief, that's what it is."
His other sister, Jacqueline Schmidt, said she was unsure whether the family would spend the night in Sydney. "It depends how quickly the courts move", she said.
"Relieved is an understatement - it's been a very long journey. One I wouldn't wish on anybody.
"Obviously we were hoping for it but we weren't expecting it - hope kept us going along the way."
"I don't think anyone can imagine what it's like to have your freedom taken away from you and have no hope, or have that hope taken away from you.
"He'll be very very relieved to have his freedom back.
"I don't think anyone can appreciate what it's like to be an innocent person and to have no hope or very little hope of it being restored. Today we've had justice served."
The decision ends one of the state's longest-running sagas but also raises a string of questions about the police investigation and the conduct of the state's senior Crown prosecutor Mark Tedeschi, QC.
Justice McClellan appeared to criticise the Crown's "killer point", referring to "the illogicality of the prosecution's argument that Mr Wood had 'esoteric knowledge'".
Justice McClellan: "My evaluation of the whole of the evidence satisfies me that the jury's verdict cannot be supported. I am not satisfied beyond reasonable doubt of the applicant's guilt."
He also said, "The suggested evidence of a motive involving Rivkin is so thin that it should never have been left with the jury."
Outside the courtroom, Mr Wood's solicitor Michael Bowe telephoned his client at Goulburn jail to give him the good news.
Speaking to the Herald immediately afterwards, Mr Bowe said Mr Wood was simply "overwhelmed".
"He went very quiet, I don't think he could quite believe it," he said. "It's been a long time coming."
Ms Byrne's father, Tony Byrne, appeared philosophical about the decision, accepting the commiserations of his family and the police involved in the investigation into his daughter's death.
Mr Byrne declined to comment on the result as he left court, walking with Detective Paul Jacob - who headed the police investigation into Ms Byrne's death - to a waiting car.
Professor shocked
Associate Professor Rod Cross said he was "shocked" by the acquittal.
"All I can say is they did not properly understand from a scientific point of view what I did or why I did it. If they have been critical of what I did I would say they didn't understand what I did.
"It was done very scientifically."
Justice McClellan said Associate Professor Cross "conducted a series of not particularly sophisticated experiments".
Associate Professor Cross said: "They don't have to be sophisticated. They are accurate. If they were inaccurate, that would be a criticism.
"Its clear to me they have misunderstood. They are not scientists. They don't understand science. They are lawyers."
A tragedy at The Gap
Ms Byrne's body was found at the base of cliffs at The Gap, in Sydney's east, in the early hours of June 8, 1995.
She had visited her GP the day before, reporting she was "very depressed".
Dr Cindy Pan immediately made her an appointment with a psychiatrist for the following day - but she did not keep the appointment.
Despite an initial police assessment that she had probably committed suicide, immediate doubt was also cast on Mr Wood, who had claimed to find her body.
He told Ms Byrne's family that he had woken in the night to find her missing, saying "her spirit guided" him to The Gap where he located her car.
However, locals reported possible sightings of Mr Wood and Ms Byrne that day, one witness telling the court he had seen two people resembling the couple arguing late that cold, wintery evening.
He protested his innocence and said he felt like a victim under attack from the media and a suspicious public.
A coroner's inquest returned an open finding, but Mr Wood left Australia a short time later to escape the glare of the speculation.
Meanwhile, a homicide investigation got under way, consulting Associate Professor Rod Cross.
By 2006, he had finally concluded the only way Ms Byrne could have landed in the spot she did at the base of the cliffs was if she had been thrown in a spear-like fashion from a point at the top.
This, the then-DPP Nicholas Cowdery decided, was enough to support a murder prosecution.
Mr Wood was extradited from London by homicide detectives, where he was ultimately tried before a jury in August 2008.
He remained on bail and the case attracted widespread media attention for its 3½-month duration.
A string of notable court appearances from the likes of former Labor power broker Graham Richardson, deportment expert June Dally Watkins and a host of eastern suburbs socialites provided colour and contrast to the intricate physics evidence presented.
Ultimately, a jury convicted Mr Wood of murder.
A wide-ranging and detailed appeal was lodged 12 months ago. Mr Wood's appeal barrister Tim Game, SC, argued the verdict was unsafe, based on the evidence.
Over nine meticulously argued grounds, Mr Game argued they had been "put into an evidentiary straightjacket that just doesn't fit".
He submitted that at the very least a retrial should be ordered but said there were "powerful discretionary reasons" not to.
"It's not in the interests of justice to allow the Crown to go back and construct another case with other witnesses," he said.
However the appeal was contested just as keenly by the Crown prosecutor on the appeal, Wendy Abraham, QC, who argued the appeal should be dismissed.
"The verdict is not unreasonable: an independent examination of the evidence clearly reveals that it was open to the jury to find the applicant guilty of murder beyond reasonable doubt," Ms Abraham told the court.
The original Crown case centred on expert scientific evidence that, given the short run-up distance available, Ms Byrne could not have propelled herself as far from the cliff as she landed, and must have been thrown.
But the appeal cast doubt on the scientific evidence and a number of other key areas, including the way the state's most senior prosecutor conducted the case.
1. What is the legal basis of Mr Wood’s acquittal?
2. What was Justice McClellan’s criticism of the original case?
3. What was Associate Professor Rod Cross’ reaction to the acquittal? Why?
4. What does Mr Wood maintain occurred at the Gap?