Networked Knowledge - Media Report

[This edited version of the report has been prepared by Dr Robert N Moles]

Mallard v The Queen 2005
Andrew Mallard homepage
Article: Australian law on miscarriages of justice
Article: UK law on miscarriages of justice
Article: USA law on miscarriages of justice

On 7 August 2007 Colleen Egan of the Sunday Times reported “Caporn: 'I didn't feed Mallard info'”

Special Blog on the Mallard case by award winning journalist Colleen Egan - details here

She said Assistant Commissioner David Caporn has denied feeding critical information about the Pamela Lawrence murder to Andrew Mallard, a psychiatric patient at the time. Under questioning at the CCC this afternoon, Mr Caporn denied showing Mr Mallard a photograph of the deceased Mrs Lawrence's injured head during the 1994 investigation. He also claimed that Mr Mallard was the first to suggest that a wrench may have been used - just three hours after another detective learned that a wrench might have been missing from the murder scene.

Mr Caporn interviewed Mr Mallard for more than eight hours on 10 June 1994, immediately after he was released from Graylands psychiatric hospital. At 5.30pm that day, Detective Mal Shervill, the senior officer on the investigation, was told by Mrs Lawrence's husband that a large spanner may have been missing from the shop where his wife was killed.

The interview notes reflect that around 8.30pm, Mr Mallard raised the possibility that the killer had used a spanner. Mr Caporn said Mr Shervill, now also an assistant commissioner, did not tell him about Mr Lawrence's report of the spanner while the interview with Mr Mallard was still progressing. "The first mention of a wrench in this matter came from Mr Mallard," he said. "I was not told before Mr Mallard told me it was a wrench."

Mr Caporn rejected an allegation that he showed photographs of Mrs Lawrence's head wounds to Mr Mallard during the interrogation. Mr Mallard told an undercover policeman days after the Caporn interview that "they showed me photographs". His father reported to a Legal Aid staff member a few days later that Mr Mallard told him the police "shoved photos of bashed woman at him and yelled: 'You did this'."

The CCC is continuing.

Earlier today - Caporn 'badgered' Mallard - CCC

David Caporn waited for Andrew Mallard to come from a psychiatric hospital before questioning him for eight hours to get a false confession, it was claimed today. Then-detective David Caporn waited for Andrew Mallard to be released from Graylands Psychiatric Hospital before badgering him for eight hours to get a false confession for murder, CCC lawyer Jeremy Gormly SC claimed today. Mr Mallard, who had previously been interviewed with a psychiatric nurse present, broke down crying after several hours at Curtin House police station, alone with detectives.

Mr Caporn, now an Assistant Commissioner, agreed that Graylands staff would probably have terminated his interview with Mr Mallard on 10 June 1994 regarding the murder of Pamela Lawrence. "You could be right," he said. "I'm a detective, not a doctor. I never planned it (the interview) would go so long."

Mr Gormly accused Mr Carporn of hassling the psychiatric patient to get a confession.
"You in effect badgered him over a prolongued period until ultimately, in a state of distress, you finally got some confessional material from him?" "No, I did not," Mr Caporn replied.

Mr Gormly: "From what you knew of Mr Mallard, any admissions that you obtained from him would always have been suspect of unreliability?" Mr Caporn. "No. But I agree when you look back at everything I know now that there might be something what you're saying. But I certainly didn't have that in my mind on 10 June (1994)."

Mr Caporn said he did not ask Mr Mallard's psychiatrist whether he might have recieved a psychiatrically inspired false confession, despite knowing that Mr Mallard was prone to fantasy at the time. Mr Mallard spent almost 12 years in jail for the murder, which is now believed to have been committed by Englishman Simon Rochford.

Source: 7 August 2007 Colleen Egan Sunday Times “Caporn: 'I didn't feed Mallard info'”

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