STORY: "Concern about destruction of Keogh evidence," by reporter Jeremy Roberts, published by InDaily on February 27, 2014.
GIST: "The
state’s forensic science laboratory destroyed its last remaining
evidence in the Henry Keogh murder conviction 15 months before its own
policy required, it has been revealed. In a leave to appeal application by convicted murderer Henry Keogh in
the Supreme Court this month the Director of Public Prosecutions Adam
Kimber SC admitted that Forensic Science South Australia (FSSA) had
destroyed all remaining samples from the 1994 autopsy of Anna-Jane
Cheney. Keogh is serving a minimum 26-year sentence for the murder of his
then-fiancee. This year he became only the second person to use new
appeal rights to test his conviction based on new evidence, with the
six-day hearing ending on Monday afternoon.........The revelations in court led to disquiet among Justice Nicholson and Keogh’s lead counsel Marie Shaw, QC. Nicholson said: “It’s an interesting proposition, given the evidence
we heard yesterday about the importance of retaining this sort of
material, virtually indefinitely.” Shaw pointed out that at the time of the destruction Keogh had a live
petition before the Governor to have his conviction reviewed. This raises a separate question for FSSA to address. The State
Records schedule requires that records not be destroyed if “an agency is
aware that records may be required for use in litigation … or
government inquiry …” It goes on: “In such cases the records must be retained until two
years after all cases and inquiries are complete, including appeals.” Keogh and his lawyers have never lost interest in agitating his case
and have brought about numerous court actions and at least four
petitions to the Governor of South Australia for a review of the
conviction. The destruction raises the question as to how FSSA could not have
known of the continuing legal moves in relation to the Keogh conviction
when it destroyed the autopsy tissues."
The entire story can be found at:
http://indaily.com.au/news/2014/02/27/state-forensic-lab-destroys-keogh-evidence/
PUBLISHER'S NOTE:
Dear Reader. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog. We are following this case.
I
have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses
several thousand posts. The search box is located near the bottom of
the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this
powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and
myself get more out of the site.
The
Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible
years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr.
Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of
Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic"
section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It
can be found at:
http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith
Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.ca/2013/12/the-charles-smith-award-presented-to_28.html
I look forward to hearing from readers at:
hlevy15@gmail.com.
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog.
