An ordinary morning in the suburbs spirals into horror | Forensic Files

[Music] our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents if you feel at any
time you need support please contact your local crisis center for suggested phone numbers for confidential support
and for a more detailed list of content warnings please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on our
website this episode was originally released on Case Files patreon Apple premium and Spotify Premium feeds as an
early bonus for our paid subscribers these episodes are designed to be slightly shorter allowing us to
cover a broader range of cases to receive these episodes early and add free you can support case file on your
preferred platform it was just after 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday March 13 1996 when a team of eight
detectives were called to a residence in the New South Wales suburb of albian Park
rail detective Sergeant Danny shaky who headed the crew quickly drove to the address in sheerwater Boulevard
accompanied by several colleagues the house was easy to spot thanks to an ambulance parked
outside as the detectives pulled up to the small one-story brick home they saw a tall darkhaired teenager doubled up on
the front lawn with an older man next to him the teenager was crying and asking repeatedly what's happened who's done
this he was so distraught that the paramedics rushed him to hospital detective shaky briefly spoke
to the old man a neighbor whose name was Steve Bailey Steve described how he'd been out
side talking to a friend when the teen ran out of the home screaming that something had happened to his mother and
sister Steve had entered the residence only to be confronted by a terrible side in the front
bedroom he immediately called the police detective shaky carefully entered the house and headed straight towards
the dimly lit front bedroom the windows were closed with the blinds drawn but amongst the darkness
was a double bed a dressing table and a treadmill on the floor lay a broken denture plate a pair of slippers and a
book with the words Love Story printed in bold on the back cover detective shaky could make out a
figure laying on the bed it was a woman dressed in a nighty partially covered with a blanket the mattress and a pillow
beneath her head were soaked with blood the woman herself was unrecognizable she had suffered multiple
severe fractures to her skull and facial bones causing extensive underlying brain
trauma the cause of death appeared to be a shotgun blast to the Head looking around the room shy saw
several family portraits along the wall they depicted a family of five consisting of a mother a father and
their three adolescent children all smiling [Music] [Music] the deceased woman was identified as 41
year-old Jennifer deuchi she lived at the home with her husband Wayne and their three children
18-year-old Matthew 15-year-old Adrien and 13-year-old Sarah detective shaki moved out of
Jennifer's bedroom and into the next one along the hallway a big white teddy bear Sat by
the door and band posters decorated the wall a portable Walkman cassette player lay on the floor by a single bed with
pink sheets lying on the bed on top of the floral blanket was 13-year-old Sarah deuchi
she was wearing pajamas and one of her legs was dangling over the side of her bed though her face was half concealed
by a blood soaked cushion it was clear that Sarah had also sustained severe and fatal head
injuries detective shaky and his team did a quick walkthrough of the premises careful not to touch
anything they needed to make sure there weren't any other victims inside or an offender after they confirmed that the
house was clear they called in the crime scene examiners a pathologist estimated that
Jennifer and Sarah deuchi were killed between 8:00 p.m. and 1:00 a.m. the previous
Night Jennifer appeared to have been targeted first she had gone to bed read for a while then taken off her glasses
and put them on the bedside table before turning off the light and going to sleep while Jennifer's pillow and
Mattress were soaked with blood the absence of blood elsewhere suggested that the killer had covered her head
while attacking her injuries to her hands indicated she had woken during the assault and tried
to defend herself small spots of blood on the wall above the body were swabbed for further
analysis as was a small reddish stain at the bottom of the wash basin in the on Suite next to be examined was Sarah's
room the Walkman on the floor indicated she might have been listening to music through its headphones when her mother
was attacked preventing her from hearing the assault the blood soaked cushion which
partially covered Sarah's head had come from a chair in the dining room the killer had presumably taken it into
Sarah's bedroom to cover her face during the murder just like they'd done to Jennifer as Sarah raised her right arm
in defense her killer pressed the cushion down on her head smothering her notably Sarah had a bruise on her
right forearm that resembled a tram track it was about 15 cm long and 5 mm wide with two parallel lines that seemed
to close off at the [Music] end throughout the house various cupboards had been left open
disconnected cords in a cabinet under the television suggested a video cassette recorder had been stolen in
Matthew dei's bedroom drawers and a wardrobe appeared to have been rifled through and a metal Money Box sat on the
floor aside from these disturbances the house was neat and tidy valuable items including a jewelry box containing
earrings necklaces and Rings had been left untouched there was no sign of forced
entry but some of the windows and the rear sliding door had been left unlocked detectives noted that the house
backed onto a reserve that joined into the banks of auna bay a quiet picturesque
Inlet they considered the possibility that an intruder had entered the property from the reserve with the
intention of committing a burglary and then kill Jennifer and Sarah during the course of the
crime a search of the deuchi backyard fish pond and roof space turned up nothing of Interest the shotgun believed
to have been used in the double homicide was nowhere to be found Matthew guci had spent the night
at his girlfriend's house he'd arrived home that morning to discover his mother and sister
murdered there was no sign of Jennifer's husband Wayne or the couple's middle child 15-year-old
Adrien given it was a Wednesday officers contacted adrianne's school to see if he
was there he hadn't turned up for class the washing machine in the deuchi laundry contained two towels and a pair
of of rubber gloves the items had recently been washed yet some faint staining remained on the towels which
looked like blood investigators theorized that the killer had used these items to clean up
the scene in the tiled hallway that connected the bedrooms testing of some faint reddish stains revealed them to be
blood diluted with water this indicated that someone had tried to wash the blood away rather than
simply wiping it up perhaps this meant the killer had bled too and tried to remove any evidence of their
presence next to Jennifer's side of the bed something else caught the eye a large piece of carpet had been cut
out from the floor and removed closer inspection revealed that two smaller sections of carpet had also
been exiled and taken tffs of carpet fibers around the cuts suggested these removals were
recent detectives surmised that the killer had done this to hide identifiable evidence there were more reddish stains
in the family bathroom this time in the bottom of the wash basin and on the mirror above the vanity unit in a faint
red smear on one of the vanity unit doors was a partial fingerprint after the entire house had
been examined from top to bottom the forensic investigators turned their attention to the property's garage
there was no internal connecting door between the garage and the house access was either through the garage doors at
the front or via an exterior door at the rear of the house detectives were cautious as they
approached the garage it occurred to them that the perpetrator could be inside hiding with shotgun
ready they carefully opened the door wondering if they would find an armed Adrian deguchi inside
but instead they saw a body spra across the floor its upper half was concealed by a
blanket that had blood pulled beneath [Music] it the body was identified as 15-year-old Adrien
DUI he lay next to an oozing glue gun and an overturned small wooden chair it looked as though he had been fixing the
chair when he was attacked when crime scene examiners pulled back the blanket they confirmed
that adrianne's injuries were as brutal as Jennifer and Sarah's his head had been so severely
wounded that a number of his teeth were lying on the ground next to him flaks of
castoff blood Streed across the ceiling indicated that Adrian's body had only been covered after the violent
assault beneath adrianne's t-shirt his chest was marked with the same parallel [ __ ] track like of bruises as Sarah's
right arm there was also a circular mark But unlike his mother and sister Adrien had
no defensive injuries when it came time to transfer adrianne's body from the crime scene
investigators noticed large areas of skin peeling off his left arm where it had been in contact with the concrete
floor as soon as his body was removed they were hit with the strong strong smell of petrol his clothing was soaked
with it a red Jerry can sat nearby it appeared that the killer had poured petrol on Adrian's body as if intending
to set him a light before changing their mind the triple homicide was sustained and extremely violent a number of police
who attended the crime scene were subsequently diagnosed with post-traumatic stress
disorder while the brutality they saw in the deuchi home wasn't the only reason they acquired this mental health
condition it was a contributing factor given that all three victims had been killed in the same way the attacks
were likely committed by one person yet autopsies revealed that the murder weapon was not a shotgun as
initially believed the victim's head and facial injuries were actually caused by
repeated blows with a heavy object such as a crowbar or wheel brace the handle of a wheel brace the
device used to loosen and remove the nuts on a car wheel before changing a tire could cause the long parallel
bruises found on Sarah and Adrien the circular wound Adrian sustained to his chest could also
correspond with the wheel brac's round head Jennifer dci's Toyota Seeker was parked in the family's driveway a search
of the car revealed a tuft of carpet fibers on the floor near the back seat similar in color to the great carpet
removed from Jennifer's bedroom it had a tiny reddish stain that looked like blood an expert concluded it
was highly probable that the tuft had its origin in the bedroom carpet the rear space that contained the
car jack was closed but it hadn't been clicked shut the Jack was inside but there was
no sign of the wheel brace in the boot detectives found a brand new spare tire the car itself was less than a year
old if the tire had never been changed it seemed odd that the Jack Hatch was open and the wheel brace was
missing police sourced a wheel brace from the same model Seeker from a local Toyota dealer when they compared the
tool to Sarah and adrianne's injuries they found that it was a perfect match right from the start the investigators
knew there was something about the deuchi murder scene that wasn't quite right Jennifer and Sarah had been in bed
not disturbing an intruder and Adrien was in the garage where the killer would have had to actively seek him
out while a burglar interrupted in the ACT might ass sold a homeowner in order to get away quickly committing a triple
homicide of such violence seemed an extreme way to cover up a Breakin the frenzied nature of the crime
was also in contrast with the careful efforts the killer had made to clean up the
scene if the robbery was staged the detectives had to look at alternative theories the most likely being someone
wanted members of the deuchi family dead and had tried to throw the police off with Matthew deuchi having been
taken to the hospital that left only the patriarch Wayne deuchi unaccounted for when detectives called Wayne's
workplace they were told that he was on the road but eventually the dci's home telephone rang detective shaki
answered Wayne deuchi was on the other line calling home to check in on his family he sounded surprised to be gred
by a detective in stud Wayne was almost 2 hours away in the greater Western Sydney suburb of
paramat detective shaki carefully broke the news of the family members deaths he
then arranged for officers to collect Wayne and bring him in for an interview upon arriving at the police
station Wayne sat down to provide a statement he explained that he'd spent the previous night at his parents' home
in Western Sydney which he often did on week nights due to his workplace being located there the last contact he'd had
with his family had been when he chatted on the phone with the Jennifer at around
6:30 the night she was later killed Wayne had told Jennifer he intended to stay at his parents' home for an
additional night at the station Wayne was also reunited with his only surviving child
Matthew the teenager had spent the morning in the hospital being treated for shock and the pair spoke to a grief
counselor in his own police interview Matthew elaborated on his whereabouts during the
killings he said he driven to his girlfriend's house the previous night where he'd spent the entire evening
including the crucial time period between 8:00 p.m. and 1:00 a.m. when the crime was thought to have taken
place it was only when he returned home in the morning that he discovered the crime
[Music] scene Wayne and Matthew were permitted to return home to examine their belongings in case anything was missing
that police hadn't noticed they couldn't find Jennifer's purse Matthew also pointed out that some
CDs and a number of other items including two calculators belonging to him and his brother were also
gone as husbands are more usually the perpetrators in family Annihilation cases it was vital that Wayne de gruchi
Alibi be confirmed on the day of the murders Wayne claimed to have attended a company
golf day at penet Hills Golf Club in Sydney before spending the night with his parents two colleagues confirmed that he
was at the club till around 700 p.m. Wayne's dad confirmed he was with his son in the evening until 10:30 when he
went to bed however a neighbor of the deuchi reported having seen a car similar to
Wayne's hold and Bina being driven in sheerwater Boulevard in the early morning hours before the murders were
discovered the driver looked like Wayne detectives began to calculate whether it was possible for Wayne to
have driven back to his house in the middle of the night to kill his family but that theory was scrapped when
detectives found out his Holden bolina had been in an accident and was in for repairs the car Wayne had been driving
at the time was a rented Holden commodor 9 days after the murders a memorial service was held for Jennifer
Adrien and Sarah deuchi among the MERS was Wayne deuchi supported by his only surviving
child sometime after the deuchi triple homicide several local boys were riding their BMX bikes alongside a dam at the
old Boral Brick Works the structure was located on the western side of the princess Highway in
w Huna a coastal suburb 30 minutes Drive North of albian Park rail as they cycled along the boys
spotted a bag in the shallow water they fished it out and went through its contents among other things the bag
contained a hammer and a big piece of carpet the boys helped themselves to a couple of items from the bag then tossed
it back into the dam while they thought nothing of the incident one of the boys mentioned it to
his father a few weeks later it occurred to the boy's father that the bag might hold
some significance to the murder investigation that was currently featured all over the
news the discovery was brought to police attention on Sunday May 12 1996 exactly 2 months after the deuchi
murders the following day officers headed to the old Boral Brick Works Dam police divers Lo located not one but
two bags a red and white sports bag and a black backpack their contents were laid out
onto sheets of plastic there was a VCR a calculator labeled a deuchi various CDs and
videotapes and Jennifer dei's purse the sports bag contained a piece of carpet similar in size to the piece
missing from Jennifer's room and a small Ziploc bag containing a number of UN opened
Band-Aid there were also pieces of a torn-up note one of the officers remarked wouldn't it be funny if that
note was a how-to list the note was carefully dried out and then the pieces were put back
together like a jigsaw puzzle printed on the flip side of the paper was the letterhead for a hotel located further
north along the New South Wales Coast noers on the beach pieced together the handwritten
portion did in fact contain a list it read in part open gate throw bottle down the
track throw things down wall in roof tracksuit pants one knife two T-shirts Two Shoes
two open blinds to see through Sarah mom Adrian in have a shower the note appeared to be a list of
instructions to fake a burglary while it was possible that the items in the bag could have been stolen and discarded by
a random Intruder this seemed unlikely due to the use of one single word mom this was a name only one of
Jennifer's three children would call her and there was only one deguchi child whose name wasn't on the list
at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday June 22 detective shaki found 18-year-old Matthew deuchi at his girlfriend's
house he told the teenager that he wanted to speak to him about the murders of his mother and
siblings Matthew asked when shaki replied now detective shaki and his colleagues
had been suspicious of Matthew deuchi ever since they found a problem with his Alibi in a police interview on the day
the bodies were discovered Matthew said he'd been at his girlfriend's house the previous night from the early evening
on but when detectives checked with Matthew's girlfriend she told police that Matthew had called her at around
8:00 p.m. and said he would be over shortly yet 2 hours passed with no sign of him at 10 p.m. Matthew's girlfriend rang
the deuchi house to check where he was was there was no answer he finally arrived at her house roughly an hour
later Matthew explained he was late because his mom had asked him to stay the deuchi had received some prank
phone calls saying three members of their family would die that night and it had left them
shaken Matthew hadn't mentioned anything about prank calls or death threats in police
interviews if True Detectives couldn't understand why he would have admitted this
detail and since it was estimated that the three deuchi family members were murdered between 8:00 p.m. and 1:00 a.m.
his girlfriend's story put Matthew at home for several hours during this crucial
Window phone records revealed that Matthew had spoken to his girlfriend from the deuchi house on the night of
the murders but there was no record of the alleged prank calls there were a few other factors
that caused the detective's attention according to Wayne deuchi when he called home on the evening of the murders
Jennifer told him that she' refused Matthew's request to borrow her car yet Matthew had told detectives that
he'd borrowed the Toyota Seeker to drive to his girlfriend's house he'd driven it
back home the next morning at around 8:30 and parked it in the driveway before entering the home to find his
mother and sister murdered this meant that Matthew deuchi was the last one to access the seeker
and its wheel brace which was suspected to be the murder weapon had been stored in the back prior to disappearing
[Music] altogether the deuchi extended family had picked up on the suspicion against
Matthew and were not happy about it Wayne dci's brother Paul even advised Matthew not to
cooperate but Matthew agreed to a follow-up interview as requested accompanied by several
relatives as he was over 18 and could be interviewed without a parent or Guardian
present Matthew was escorted into an interrogation room alone after some preliminary questions
detective Danny shaki became more direct he said Matthew I believe that you know a
lot more about what happened to your mother brother and sister more than what you said in the statement you made
is there anything you want to say to me about what happened Matthew sat silently with his
arms across his stomach rocking back and forward with his head bowed another detective asked if Matthew
had anything to say about the night of the murders he didn't answer detective shaki then
stated Matthew this is not going to go away we will be investigating this for as long as it takes do you understand
what I'm saying after a long silence Matthew finally spoke I told the policeman the other
night what I know the detectives questioned why Matthew didn't return home until after 8
on the morning after the murders when his mother needed her car much earlier to drive his siblings to
school why would he have kept the car from her unless he knew she no longer needed it
they then turned their attention to the car's missing wheel brace asking Matthew
if he knew where it was Matthew told the detectives that he felt sick they wrapped up the interview by
informing Matthew that they would need blood and hair samples from him for elimination
purposes when detective shaki opened the door to the interview room Matthew's Uncle Paul was waiting right
outside while Matthew was taken back to the rest of his family Paul made his displeasure known to the
detectives as far as the family was concerned their grief over the loss of Jenifer Adrien and Sarah was being
compounded by the police's baseless and unfair pursuit of Matthew the investigators weren't
dissuaded they questioned Matthew again they wanted a record of his exact movements in the house when he
discovered the bodies to compare his account against the evidence Matthew gave mostly monosyllabic answers
as he leaned on the interview table his chin on his hand and his face expressionless this time he told police
that he'd arrived home at 8:30 a.m. he said he'd gone inside to get his wallet then left straight away to go buy
cigarettes he hadn't seen any members of his family at the time when he returned he walked back
down the hallway to the kitchen and noticed the house was unusually quiet he retraced his steps up the hall
past Sarah's door and into his mother's room it was then he discovered his mom's
body and immediately ran outside in a panic when asked if he'd gone into Sarah's bedroom Matthew said that he
hadn't this was one of the first anomalies in his account neighbor Steve Bailey was certain that when Matthew ran
out of the house on the morning of the murders he had said there's something wrong with Mom and
Sarah but according to Matthew he hadn't gone into Sarah's room at all so how could he have known there was anything
wrong with her detective shaki also noted it as strange when Matthew had listed two
calculators as missing from the house he wondered how a young man who had just lost three members of his family would
notice something as inconsequential as this at such an intense time by this point police had canvased the
neighbors they learned that Matthew was sometimes violent towards his mother and
that the two often fought about him wanting to drive her car when police asked Matthew if this
was true he replied I wouldn't call them arguments the detectives wondered whether the whole terrible incident had
been over something as trivial as Jennifer's refusal to let her son borrow her car the partial bloody fingerprint on
the vanity door in the family bathroom was found to be Matthews blood spots throughout the
house including in his mother's room and the attached onite were also confirmed to have come from
him this hinted that Matthew had not only interacted with the crime scene but had entered several rooms he had not
established in his sequence of events as Matthew had no wounds on his body detectives were aware that all this
could be brushed aside by claiming the blood was the result of an innocuous and unrelated incident like a nose
bed yet his prints were also found on the Jerry can of petrol left near Adrian's
body while he did use the Jerry can to put Petrol in both the family cars the last person to use the can would have
been the one who poured petrol on Adrien Matthew was brought in for questioning for a fourth time so that detectives
could see how he responded to the mounting evidence against him Matthew again arrived at the police
station with his supportive father and a number of relatives in tow they were still angry feeling that detectives were
still wasting time on Matthew instead of going out and catching the real killer in the interview room it appeared
that Matthew was starting to feel the pressure at at one point detective shaki thought the young man was on the verge
of making an admission suddenly one of Matthew's uncles burst into the room even though
the detectives escorted the uncle out again the moment was lost Matthew deuchi was subsequently
placed under covert surveillance but he never said or did anything incriminating with nothing close to a
confession the police built the case against him from the mounting forensic EV evence over a 100 samples specimens and
Exhibits had to be examined Matthew's DNA was found on the carpet tuft recovered from Jennifer's
car on the hallway tiles and on the wall above his mother's bed detective shaki looked at his
suspect's known movements on the night of the murders Matthew had spoken to his girlfriend from the sheerwater boulevard
house at 8 and arrived at her house around 11: her home was the only place detectives
knew Matthew had definitely driven to that night perhaps he'd dumped the stolen items from the deuchi residence
somewhere along the way investigators found out there were 15 creeks and water holes on the route
between the two houses police Rescue Squad officers began searching the area's water courses
to a distance of 500 M from the banks looking for anything from the deguchi residence
when they leared that some local boys had found a bag in a nearby Dam they finally had a
lead the dam where the bag was found was located at the old Boral brickworks between the Dei residence and Matthew's
girlfriend's house to test a theory detective shaki drove the distance between the three
locations and found the 31 km Drive could be comfortably completed in 26 minutes when traveling 5 km below the
speed limit Matthew deuchi had plenty of time between the phone call to his girlfriend
at 8 and he's arriving at her house at 11: to drive via the dam and ditch the evidence with lines like quote hit arm
with pole hit leg with pole and cut somewhere with knife the note recovered from the dam suggested Matthew had
intended to harm him himself to make it look like he too had been attacked the lack of follow through
indicated that part of the plan had changed a handwriting expert later found 12 points of comparison between the
how-to lists and Matthew dci's writing his report said there were many significant
similarities between the note and samples of Matthew's writing and no significant
differences it is my opinion that the person who wrote the specimen writings also wrote the questioned writings on
item one on the morning of Saturday June 22 3 months and 9 days after the murders
Matthew deuchi was arrested at his girlfriend's home and taken into custody Wayne arrived at the police
station soon after and arranged legal representation for his son after another interview during which
Matthew made no admissions of the 18-year-old was charged with the murders of his mother brother and
sister later that day police went back to the dci's house to search Matthew's bedroom they found a single sheet of a
notepad bearing the words Noah on the beach the same letterhead on the back of the hat to
list the note indicated an intention to dispose of evidence in the walls via the
roof Space Police checked the roof space only to discover that there was no access to the internal wall
cavities no evidence had been disposed of there in the immediate aftermath of Matthew's arrest headlines in the local
newspaper declared father vows to stand by his son in the first court appearance after
his son's arrest Wayne deuchi was quoted in the metor as offering to put up a $100,000 short for his bail to open his
home to him and to drive him to and from work each day in an effort to acquire his
freedom Matthew dei's legal aid solicitor applied for bail telling the court the accused young man had the full
support of his father and the remaining members of his family they had found the allegations
against Matthew unbelievable and Matthew had continued to live with his father in
The sheerwater Boulevard home where the murders were committed despite his father's
unwavering loyalty Matthew was denied baale and remanded into custody by the following day the family
had appointed a senior Barrister to represent Matthew in another bail hearing according to Media reports the
lawyer had angry outbursts and was critical of the police case saying that it was dangerous stuff when people were
convicted on forensic evidence alone despite the lawyer appeals Matthew was again denied bail with the
magistrate stating I am also not satisfied he's not a danger to the community or that he would
not commit further offenses 2 and a half years later Matthew deuchi stood trial his defense endeavored to present
their client as a gentle and loving boy who never fought with his family or had any anger
issues this description contradicted statements given by outside observers of the deuchi family Dynamic including
Matthew's girlfriend she attested to the anger Matthew hared towards his mother and that he had a
pension for alcohol and cannabis the torn up how-to list penned by Matthew was considered the strongest
piece of evidence against him he had never confessed the murder weapon was never located and no clear motive had
been established while Matthew conceded to writing the damning note he insisted it
was a to-do list for his upcoming birthday not a murder plot after a period of being deadlocked
on Wednesday October 14 1998 the jury found Matthew deuchi guilty he received a maximum sentence of
28 years with a non-parole period of 21 years Matthew failed to appeal his conviction in 1999 before making a final
attempt to the high court in 2002 at age 24 the Court's five judges unanimously agreed that the arguments offered
against Matthew's guilt were too improbable in addressing the particularly brutal nature of the
murders one of the judges stated the Mind recoils from the idea that an apparently quiet gentle young
man of good character and with no known animous against his family should brutally slay his mother and young
sister and brother during Matthew dei's incarceration he was involved in a brutal group attack
against two inmates who were brothers the others who participated in the assault included three other
convicted killers and two violent sex offenders the prison attack resulted in one of the brothers suffering severe
head injuries and requiring brain surgery the other victim was treated for a broken arm
aside from this incident Matthew seemingly served the rest of his sentence quietly with the 21-year non-parole
period his earliest possible release date was in 2017 that Year Matthew was approved for
day release and began working in an abire in an attempt to reassure the public a spokesperson clarified that the
gruchi had been working in the chill room and had no access to knives despite the day release Matthew was
refused parole at his first attempt the state Parole Authority said he presented an unacceptable risk to the
community and he had not participated in the required external leave programs 2 years later in April 2019 it
was announced that Matthew deuchi had been approved for parole he walked out of prison in August
that year aged 41 years old under the conditions of Matthew's release he was forbidden from returning
to the areas related to his crimes while he was not allowed to contact stalk harass or intimidate any
of the family members of his victims he was permitted to reach out to those who continued to support
him Jennifer deuchi side of the family spoke to the media through a representative they said that while
Matthew's sentence would end they had to endure a life sentence because of what he had
done Matthew's supporters claimed that he was motivated to do nothing else than live a normal community life and his
legal representative maintained that he was no longer a risk to society yet in a letter to the Parole
Authority before his release Matthew expressed his own concerns about his ability to reintegrate citing limited
support and his lack of skills to contribute [Music] the family members who remained
supportive of Matthew including his father Wayne felt he had been unfairly stitched up by the
investigators to this day Matthew asserts his innocence this is in stark contrast with
the opinions of case detectives who never doubted Matthew's guilt they are still left questioning what perceived
indiscretion LED Matthew to bludgeon his mother and siblings a forensic detective who worked to the
investigation told the camra times Matthew deuchi has never admitted to it for someone who doesn't admit they
did it how can they be rehabilitated if he's done something like this over something so trivial if
something made him snap down the track you wouldn't know what he would do I wouldn't want to be living anywhere near
the guy if he gets out by the time his son was released Wayne deuchi was a pensioner living in
Tasmania Matthew was permitted to contact his father who continued to support his only living
child Wayne had been a witness at the trial and because Witnesses are not permitted in court until after they've
given evidence he'd never heard the full case against his son but by 2003 7 years after the
murders enough time had elapsed for the bereaved hus husband and father to want to know the
truth he contacted the cas's lead detective Danny shaky to request a meeting to discuss the
crime the subsequent appointment ended up taking nearly an entire day the detective showed Wayne
statements photographs and evidence lists and patiently explained why the detectives had targeted his
son right from the start everything had pointed to Matthew detective shaki detailed the holes in
Matthew's story until it became obvious that Wayne could understand why the police concluded his son was a killer it
was a lot for the father to take in detective shaky told Wayne to get in touch if he ever needed any further
information he didn't hear from him again [Music] [Music]

Case 302: The De Gruchy Family

*** Content warnings: Child victims ***

Wayne and Jennifer De Gruchy lived a comfortable life in the New South Wales suburb of Albion Park Rail with their three teenage children, Matthew, Adrian and Sarah. But on the morning of Wednesday, March 13 1996, detectives arrived at a scene that would shake the local community to the core.

CREDITS

Narration – Anonymous Host Research & writing – Vikki Petraitis Creative direction – Milly Raso Production and music – Mike Migas Music – Andrew D.B. Joslyn

SOCIAL LINKS

Website https://www.casefilepodcast.com Facebook https://www.facebook.com/casefile Twitter https://twitter.com/case_file Instagram https://www.instagram.com/casefilepodcast Patreon https://www.patreon.com/casefile Casefile Presents https://casefilepresents.com

RESOURCES

For all credits and sources, please visit https://casefilepodcast.com/case-302-the-de-gruchy-family

Brief Summary

The episode details the brutal Deuchi family murders and the investigation leading to Matthew Deuchi's arrest and conviction.

Key points

The Deuchi Family Tragedy. A family of five is shattered by a brutal triple homicide, leaving only one survivor.
Discovery of Key Evidence. Local boys find a suspicious bag containing items linked to the Deuchi murders.
Matthew's Alibi Under Scrutiny. Detectives question Matthew Deuchi's alibi after inconsistencies arise during police interviews.
Matthew's Alibi Unravels. Matthew's timeline raises suspicions as evidence contradicts his statements.
The Turning Point. Detectives confront Matthew with mounting evidence against him during an intense interrogation.
Trial and Conviction. Matthew is found guilty of the brutal murders of his family, receiving a lengthy sentence.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

The brutality they saw in the Deuchi home...

Police officers diagnosed with PTSD after the crime scene

12:29WatchNov 2, 2024

Tension

85/ 100High tension

More from Casefile

Solve the Crime

Read a real case one clue at a time, then see how your call held up against the investigators.