'Fighting for the truth': Lloyd Rayney calls for new investigation into wife's murder
'Fighting for the truth': Lloyd Rayney calls for new investigation into wife's murder
14 October 2018 — 11:39pm
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Perth barrister Lloyd Rayney is calling for new investigation into his wife’s murder, claiming a different police team is needed to find his wife’s real killer.
The father-of-two once named as the “prime and only” suspect in the investigation into Corryn Rayney’s murder – and who was later acquitted of the crime in the WA Supreme Court – told Channel 9’s
60 Minutes he was “fighting for the truth” and questioned WA Police’s handing of evidence and leads in the case.
The show also aired claims a seed pod found in Mrs Rayney’s body bag had been planted by police.
Mrs Rayney went missing after a boot-scooting class in Bentley on August 7, 2007, her body later discovered buried in King’s Park.
Police could not establish a cause of death but soon focused their efforts on Mr Rayney, which he said biased the investigation and missed the opportunity to find the person actually responsible for his wife’s death.
In the
60 Minutes report, forensic specialist Robin Napper said two alternative suspects – Ivan Eades and Allon Mitchell Lacco – were both linked by evidence to the vicinity of the Rayney home leading up to Mrs Rayney’s disappearance, but neither were properly investigated.
Lacco lived in an apartment block near the Bentley Community Centre, where Mrs Rayney took boot-scooting classes, and sold drugs in its car park.
Eades – Lacco’s cousin – lived near the Rayneys and a cigarette butt containing his DNA was found discarded outside their house.
Both men were convicted violent sexual offenders, and Mr Napper said evidence placed both of them near the Rayney house on the day Mrs Rayney disappeared.
Mr Napper said phone records showed Lacco making calls from a phone block about a block from the Rayneys’ home on the day Mrs Rayney disappeared, and was pulled over days after her body was found for driving without a license.
When Lacco’s car was searched police found a knife, as well as sand in the boot. In the course of being arrested, Lacco mentioned Mrs Rayney’s disappearance, including a claim – that she had been carjacked – which hadn’t been aired in any coverage of the case.
60 Minutes also reported Lacco was alleged to have told passengers “there’s a body going in there” when driving through King’s Park before Mrs Rayney went missing.
As for the seed pod found by police in Mrs Rayney’s body bag, Mr Napper said an inconsistency with forensic material found in the pod raised suspicions it was planted by police.
Despite being “loaded” with material from the Rayney home, there was nothing to suggest the pod had been buried in the sandy bush grave in King’s Park.
The judge presiding over Mr Rayney’s murder trial also doubted the validity of the seed pod as evidence and refused to accept it.
60 Minutes also aired the revelation a resident living in the area had reported a scream coming from King’s Park, ignored by police despite several others claiming to have also heard the scream. It contradicts police’s claim Mrs Rayney was murdered at her home.
At Mr Rayney’s trial in the WA Supreme Court much was made of the couple’s turbulent private life as emails between the two revealed a marriage breakdown and allegations of infidelity.
On the night Mrs Rayney went missing, the two were to meet to discuss their separation.
But Mr Rayney – who gave police access to their emails at the start of the investigation – said a lot of claims his wife made in them were “exaggerated” or “simply not true”.
He said despite being cleared of any wrongdoing twice in court, and
after winning a defamation case he brought against WA Police last year, there was still public animosity against him.
Mr Rayney said he believed it was “most likely” his wife was attacked after she left boot-scooting.
Martin Bennett, Mr Rayney’s lawyer, said the damage from the case would continue “for the rest of his career”.
“All that occurs is that people now say ‘oh well he obviously didn’t kill her, he arranged for someone to kill her’,” Mr Bennett said.
“They just adjust their view to still attribute guilt but in a ‘he must be very clever to have got away with it’ type of thing.”
Mr Bennett also revealed he had received anonymous hate mail since representing Mr Rayney in his trial – as had forensic experts whose evidence strengthened the case for acquittal.
Mr Rayney called for “proper, right-minded” police independent from the initial investigation to “do their job now” and look for his wife’s real killer.
WA Police declined to be interviewed for the show,
60 Minutes reported.
