PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "Police have never found the murder weapon, but have identified it as a Ruger .22 rifle bought from a Queanbeyan gun dealer shortly before the murder.The dealer did not identify Mr Eastman as the buyer, but there were suggestions from other witnesses that Mr Eastman had been seen at the dealer's house. There was also evidence from witnesses about a blue car similar to Mr Eastman's in a street near the Winchester family home in the days before the murder. But Mr Eastman's lawyer George Georgiou rejected the theories about the motive, and questioned the evidence from those who sought to link Mr Eastman to the crime. He took particular aim at the tapes which he said were of such bad quality as to be not appropriate evidence in a murder trial. Mr Georgiou pressed the alternative theory it was a mafia hit, related to Mr Winchester's involvement investigating drug crops outside Canberra."
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KEY POINTS:
- Prosecutors say "too many coincidences" for Mr Eastman to be innocent
- Defence points to possible mafia involvement
- Mammoth trial has run for almost six months.
STORY: "David Eastman trial reaches final stretch as jury retires to deliberate," by reporter Elizabeth Byrne, published by ABC News on November 13, 2018.
GIST: "A trial lasting almost six months. Legal documents piling up to 36,000 pages. More than 100 witnesses. Dozens of statements. Those
figures form the backbone of a mammoth decision for 12 men and women as
to whether David Eastman, a former Canberra public servant, shot senior
Australian Federal Police officer Colin Winchester as he got out of his
car in 1989. It is the second time Mr Eastman has been tried over
the killing, after a 2014 inquiry found there had been a miscarriage of
justice because of problems with the original evidence. Prosecutor
Murugan Thangaraj delivered a circumstantial case to the ACT Supreme
Court, telling jurors there were "too many coincidences" for anyone else
to have been the killer. He said Mr Eastman had a motive, after Mr Winchester refused to help him out of assault charges. Mr Thangaraj said Mr Eastman was concerned the charges would harm his years-long bid to return to the public service. Prosecutors also said Mr Eastman had made threats, including telling one person the police should be taught a lesson. Tapes of Mr Eastman talking to himself in his home, which Mr Thangaraj said included admissions, were also played to the jury. And there was also evidence Mr Eastman had been searching for a gun through the Canberra Times classifieds. Police
have never found the murder weapon, but have identified it as a Ruger
.22 rifle bought from a Queanbeyan gun dealer shortly before the murder.
The
dealer did not identify Mr Eastman as the buyer, but there were
suggestions from other witnesses that Mr Eastman had been seen at the
dealer's house. There was also evidence from witnesses about a
blue car similar to Mr Eastman's in a street near the Winchester family
home in the days before the murder. But
Mr Eastman's lawyer George Georgiou rejected the theories about the
motive, and questioned the evidence from those who sought to link Mr
Eastman to the crime. He took particular aim at the tapes which he said were of such bad quality as to be not appropriate evidence in a murder trial. Mr
Georgiou pressed the alternative theory it was a mafia hit, related to
Mr Winchester's involvement investigating drug crops outside Canberra. Police
said they had found no connection between the killing and Italian crime
groups, and the prosecution said it would be unlikely a professional
hit man would buy a gun from a dealer in Queanbeyan. The jury must
now decide whether there is enough evidence to prove, beyond a
reasonable doubt, Mr Eastman was the one who pulled the trigger. But
for two of the 14 jurors who have sat through the entire trial there
was bad news today. Their numbers were pulled out from a barrel, and
they learned their role in the trial had ended, leaving only 12 to deliberate:"The entire story can be read at:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-11-14/david-eastman-trial-canberra-jury-retires/10494180
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. 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/
