PODCAST: "From The Age and Sydney Morning Herald, Trial by Water is an investigative podcast series about Robert Farquharson, who has been locked up for decades for an unthinkable crime: murdering his three sons in a dam on Father’s Day, 2005. Now scientists and lawyers are asking the question: did we get it wrong? And is this man in prison for a crime he didn’t commit?
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QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Greg Roberts, a counsellor and social worker who visits Farquharson in prison, said he was “feeling hopeful and yet also really anxious, and stressed” about the appeal. “[Farquharson is] in a mixed place of trying to be hopeful, but mindful of what this means because of the media and what will happen. The stress and anxiety are prevalent. If his hopes get up and are dashed again, he’ll be worse off,” Roberts said. Farquharson was also aware of the impact it would have on others, including Gambino’s family, Roberts added. “He’s always been mindful of that. I think also, though, that he is exhausted by trying to get across to people that this wasn’t a deliberate act, and he’s not the person that he’s been painted to be.”
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STORY: "Father serving 33 years for murdering sons prepares new fight for release," by Michael Bachelard and Alex Crowe, published by 'The Age' on May 2, 2024. (Michael Bachelard is a senior writer and former deputy editor and investigations editor of The Age. He has worked in Canberra, Melbourne and Jakarta, has written two books and won multiple awards for journalism, including the Gold Walkley. Alex Crowe has worked as a breaking news reporter for The Age since June 2023. Previously, she was environment reporter at The Canberra Times.)
GIST: A Victorian father twice found guilty of murdering his three sons is preparing a new fight for freedom by using laws introduced in Victoria more than four years ago.
Robert Farquharson was convicted of killing his three sons, Jai, 10, Tyler, 7, and Bailey, 2, after he drove into a dam near Winchelsea on Father’s Day in 2005. Farquharson swam to safety but the boys drowned.
The now 54-year-old has signed on a new lawyer who is preparing a fresh bid for freedom under new Victorian laws passed in 2019 that allow a second appeal if there is fresh and compelling evidence that shows a substantial miscarriage of justice has occurred.
The Age has confirmed that Farquharson’s lawyers are considering appealing on a number of grounds, including recent research showing how a car sinks in deep water.
Farquharson’s solicitor, Luke McMahon, said: “We have the evidence we believe will satisfy the standard.”
McMahon said the appeal would be launched some time this year but he did not want to spell out what the elements of the case were at this stage.
“As it is with these cases, as time evolves, we collectively gain a better understanding of both the science and better tools to be able to undertake analysis of the evidence,” he said.
“Robert has always, consistently maintained his innocence. His story has not changed, so people can infer from that what they want.”
Farquharson claims a coughing fit caused him to black out, resulting in his car veering off the road and into the dam. Separate juries in 2007 and 2010 found Farquharson guilty of murdering his children.
He appealed against his first conviction in 2007 because police had not disclosed relevant information about a key witness against him. The court ordered a retrial before he was found guilty again by a jury in 2010. He was denied the chance to appeal against his second conviction at the High Court in 2013.
Farquharson is currently serving 33 years jail in Barwon Prison’s protection unit.
When asked why there should be another appeal after two trials, two appeals and the High Court rejecting an application to hear the case, McMahon said: “There are countless examples of miscarriages of justice where people have exhausted their appeals. Appeal courts are generally not a favourable place to find justice for people who’ve been wrongly convicted.”
Geelong respiratory physician Dr Christopher Steinfort, who gave evidence for Farquharson at both his trials, diagnosed him with “classic cough syncope”. But the police produced another expert, sleep and respiratory physician Professor Matthew Naughton, who convinced the juries the condition was “incredibly rare”.
At Farquharson’s 2010 trial, Justice Lex Lasry said the jury had rejected Farquharson’s coughing fit defence and found he had deliberately murdered his children as revenge against his former wife, Cindy Gambino, for finding a new partner and making his life difficult financially.
Lasry also said: “The jury’s verdict makes it plain that they are satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that when you left the vehicle, you did so with the knowledge and intention that your three children would be drowned and they were. For them, it must have been a terrifying death.”
Gambino, who had two more sons with her new partner, Stephen Moules, died aged 50 in 2022. Moules told this masthead he did not want to get involved in anything further to do with the case.
“As far as I’m concerned, it’s a closed chapter. It’s done and dusted,” he said. “And I’m not the judge. You know, humans make mistakes all the time when it comes to judging people and convicting them. If he’s innocent, so be it. If he’s guilty, so be it. It’s not for me to judge.”
Greg Roberts, a counsellor and social worker who visits Farquharson in prison, said he was “feeling hopeful and yet also really anxious, and stressed” about the appeal.
“[Farquharson is] in a mixed place of trying to be hopeful, but mindful of what this means because of the media and what will happen. The stress and anxiety are prevalent. If his hopes get up and are dashed again, he’ll be worse off,” Roberts said.
Farquharson was also aware of the impact it would have on others, including Gambino’s family, Roberts added. “He’s always been mindful of that. I think also, though, that he is exhausted by trying to get across to people that this wasn’t a deliberate act, and he’s not the person that he’s been painted to be.”
The 2019 reforms were prompted by the findings of two Victorian inquiries revealing misconduct in the criminal justice system involving Victoria Police: one was the case of accused police killer Jason Roberts and the other was former barrister turned police informant Nicola Gobbo.
Roberts was the first person to make an appeal under the legislation, following an Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission investigation into police misconduct. In 2022, following a retrial of almost four months, Roberts was found not guilty of the 1998 murders of Victoria Police officers Sergeant Gary Silk and Senior Constable Rodney Miller.
The entire story can be read at:
SEE BREAKDOWN OF SOME OF THE ON-GOING INTERNATIONAL CASES (OUTSIDE OF THE CONTINENTAL USA) THAT I AM FOLLOWING ON THIS BLOG, AT THE LINK BELOW: HL:
https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/120008354894645705/4704913685758792985
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FINAL WORD: (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases): "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."
Lawyer Radha Natarajan:
Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;
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FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions. They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they've exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true!
Christina Swarns: Executive Director: The Innocence Project;
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YET ANOTHER FINAL WORD:
David Hammond, one of Broadwater's attorneys who sought his exoneration, told the Syracuse Post-Standard, "Sprinkle some junk science onto a faulty identification, and it's the perfect recipe for a wrongful conviction.
https://deadline.com/2021/11/alice-sebold-lucky-rape-conviction-overturned-anthony-broadwater-12348801
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SEE BREAKDOWN OF SOME OF THE ON-GOING INTERNATIONAL CASES (OUTSIDE OF THE CONTINENTAL USA) THAT I AM FOLLOWING ON THIS BLOG, AT THE LINK BELOW: HL:
https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/120008354894645705/4704913685758792985
---------------------------------------------------------------
FINAL WORD: (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases): "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."
Lawyer Radha Natarajan:
Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;
—————————————————————————————————
FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions. They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they've exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true!
Christina Swarns: Executive Director: The Innocence Project;
————————————————————————————
YET ANOTHER FINAL WORD:
David Hammond, one of Broadwater's attorneys who sought his exoneration, told the Syracuse Post-Standard, "Sprinkle some junk science onto a faulty identification, and it's the perfect recipe for a wrongful conviction.
https://deadline.com/2021/11/alice-sebold-lucky-rape-conviction-overturned-anthony-broadwater-12348801
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