Murder shakes the peaceful Norfolk Island | Forensic Files

[Music] Norfolk Island is a small island in the Pacific Ocean situated between Australia
and New Zealand a place of spectacular scenery and peaceful beauty the total area of the island is 34 kilometers
squared or 13 miles squared with a population of only around to 2,000 people Norfolk Island is a tight-knit
community with a unique and complex web the friendships and relationships the island was discovered by Captain James
Cook in 1774 and it was first used as a jail for the worst convicts from the Australian colony the island is a
self-governing territory of Australia with its own laws including strict customs and immigration regulations
tourists from all over the world flock to Norfolk Island for its unique history and its reputation for being a paradise
it's considered a safe and friendly place somebody's always willing to give you a helping hand doors and windows are
left unlocked at night violent crime almost doesn't exist there hadn't been a murder on Norfolk Island since 1893
[Music] Ron and Carolyn Patton married in 1968 and spent their honeymoon or Norfolk
Island they never suspected that 31 years later their daughter Janelle would make the island her own Janelle Patton
was born in pennant hills a suburb of Sydney on the 30th of June 1972 she was a bright girl who loved music she played
the piano the clarinet and performed in the school band at the age of five her parents received her report card with a
message from a teacher that stuck with them over the years janelle has settled in quite well and is
academically above-average there is however a social problem Janelle tends to take over her friends
who work sessions and her play sessions unless this can be rectified I fear her husband will be sorely henpecked both
Ron and Carol agreed that Janelle was above all a perfectionist after finishing high school
Janelle started a university course in orthopedics but quit during the first year she started work as a settlements
clerk at Westpac Bank where she stayed for four years she moved to foreign exchange of Bankers Trust and went on to
work for a number of other different banks over the next five years throughout those years Janelle had
several relationships one of them was to a navy seaman he asked Janelle to quit her job in Sydney and moved to Adelaide
with him Janelle didn't make the move however continued to see him when he was back in Sydney the relationship ended
with the Navy Seaman facing a charge of assault everyone believed he broke Janelle's jaw despite her claims she had
fallen over on a dance floor this relationship left to Noel so scarred emotionally and physically that she
never fully recovered from the experience Janelle started a new relationship with a man named Todd she
wanted to settle down with Todd however he didn't feel the same way they broke up and Janelle's self-esteem when
spiraling downward she began drinking heavily into taking antidepressants in October 1999 when she
was 27 years old Janelle decided she needed to get away she took a job as a housemaid at the
South Pacific Hotel on Norfolk Island 1673 kilometers away from Sydney just over 1,000 miles when she broke the news
to her parents Carol told her I don't think it's really your scene you know it's very quiet
Janelle thought otherwise and responded maybe that's what I need it wasn't until March 2002 that Ron and
Carol saw Janelle again they visited her for the first time over the Easter weekend they arrived on the island on
Saturday the 30th of March Ron Carol and Janelle spent that evening at generals new workplace the Castaway hotel where
she was in charge of the dining room Janelle seemed like she was on top of the world she looked healthy vibrant and
was very excited about her parents visit at 9 p.m. Janelle say good night and Ron
and Carol went to the room they booked at the panorama garden apartments Janelle arranged to meet them at their
room the next day around 1:00 p.m. after she took her daily walk at 7 a.m. the next morning Easter Sunday the 31st of
March 2002 to know who was 29 years old entered the Castaway hotel and performed
her morning work routine she said the tables help serve the food and chatted with the guests
Janelle finished work at 11:10 a.m. from the Castaway hotel she made her way to food Lane supermarket located in the
shopping mall on the center of the island Janell was captured on security footage
walking to the checkout counter of the supermarket at 11:16 a.m. as she was leaving janelle bumped into her landlady
Ruth McCoy Janelle had bought Easter eggs for Ruth and her family so she gave her the eggs and wished her a Happy
Easter Janelle lived in a small cottage at the back of Ruth's house she was seen by
Ruth's husband pulling up to the cottage at 11:30 a.m. a few minutes later to know walked out of her cottage wearing
sports gear and headed off on her daily walk she always walked the same path down Rudi hill road to Queen Elizabeth
look out Marie Forsyth lived in the last house before reaching Queen Elizabeth look out she saw Jane all talking with
one or two people sitting inside a car a mother who was driving around trying to
get her child to fall asleep past Janelle walking neither look yet the mother circled around and drove the same
way about ten minutes later but there was no longer any sign of Janelle at 11:45 a.m. two men were having a cup of
tea inside a house on Rudi hill road they heard a noise they described as being similar to a child's wailing one
of the men assumed it must have been his brother arriving with his children he walked outside to greet them however to
his surprise there was no one there he took a look around but saw nothing and heard nothing else suspicious at Norfolk
Island Golf Club located just down the road from Queen Elizabeth Lookout two men inside the clubhouse heard a layout
scream another man claimed the sixth I also heard the scream but they didn't see anything suspicious and heard
nothing else Janell failed to show up to Ron and Carol's room at 2:30 p.m. Ron and Carol
caught her cottage but didn't get in the answer they assumed she was either on her way or perhaps something had come up
that made her stop somewhere else so they decided to enjoy the day while they could they stuck a note on the front
door of their room letting Janelle know where she could find them they then went
to Emily Bay a popular swimming spot after spending over an hour there they returned to their room to surf Janelle
had arrived she hadn't the note was still stuck on the door there was no sign of her anywhere in the meantime a
couple and their two children visited the cockpit waterfowl reserve a popular attraction on the other side of the
island while still taking in the sights they realized they had left that camera in the car
the couple sent their fourteen-year-old son back to the car to fetch it on his way he ran past a black plastic sheet
that looked like it was covering a person the boy thought it was probably just somebody sleeping so we didn't
mention it to his parents that afternoon there had been a significant heavy downpour of rain on the island this made
for perfect conditions to slide down the hill at the cockpit waterful reserved on
bodyboards at 3:57 p.m. for boys right down the hill on their boards laughing and yahooey they were recording
themselves on video camera on a few of the frames that black plastic sheet is visible in the background as they slide
down the hill at 4:13 p.m. Ron and Carol tried calling Janel again still they got
no answer they started to worry and decided to visit her cottage the first thing they saw was her car the driver's
window was down and there was a lot of water inside due to the torrential rain the daughter Janelle's college was
unlocked which wasn't unusual there was common practice on the island they had a
look around inside but didn't find anything out of the ordinary 20 minutes later a friend of Janelle's
stopped by to visit Ron and Carol was still at the cottage and they shared their concerns with her Janelle's friend
called the Castaway hotel to safety Nell had returned to work but she wasn't there
her friend knew about Janelle's daily walks and the exact path she took so they all completed that walk but found
no sign of Janelle Ron and Carol returned to the panorama apartments and told the manager about their concerns
the manager made some calls to different places around the island but nobody had
seen or heard from Janelle since she had finished work Ron and Carol returned to
Janelle's cottage this time they saw Ruth McCoy and her husband they learned Ruth and bumped into Jenna leaving the
supermarket and her husband had seen her leaving for her walk at 11:30 Ruth and her husband thought they had better call
the police the call to the police was made by the patterns at 7:50 p.m. they were asked to go to the police station
right away when they entered the station the first person they saw was a doctor with a stethoscope around his neck a
chill instantly came over the patterns they didn't feel this was a good sign they were taken into a room and the
detective asked Ron and Carol to sit down before saying I believe your daughter is missing
can you describe her Carol gave the description the detective then said before we go any further I've got to
tell you there's been an incident the body of a young woman has just been located we need to know whether it's
your daughter or not Janelle's body was officially found at 6:30 p.m. by New Zealand woman on holiday while walking
through cockpit water for reserve she saw the black plastic sheet she had a closer look to see what was underneath
and and then immediately called the police a detective was on scene within ten minutes although he fully suspect that
Janelle was dead he felt for a pulse to make sure she was cold and the arm he touched was stiff she was lying face
down and her shorts and underwear were cut and pulled down the first impression the detective had was that Janelle had
been sexually assaulted robbery didn't seem to be a motive of any sort since you were still wearing a lot of jewelry
he looked for any weapons or any other evidence nearby but came up empty other officers soon arrived and lauding
was put up so the crime scene could be processed Janelle was formally pronounced dead at 7:56 p.m. only six
minutes after Janelle's parents called the police to report her missing Janelle's landlady Ruth McCoy formally
identified her body by mid evening half of the island already knew about Janelle's death news traveled quickly
Janelle's body was taken to the morgue where it stayed untouched until Tuesday the second of April when a forensic team
and a pathologist arrived from Canberra Norfolk is part of Australia's Commonwealth Janelle's murder was the
first on the island for over 100 years the local police didn't have the experience or the resources to properly
investigate so assistance was sought from the Australian Federal Police and they took
charge of the investigation the forensic pathologist in charge of the post-mortem
was dr. Alan Carla Janelle had five date cuts on her legs purple bruising on her right leg and
more bruising on her left leg an odd M shaped bruise on her thigh and a dislocated ankle three of her ribs were
broken and her pelvis was fractured she had suffered multiple stab wounds there were several major lacerations on
her face as well as many smaller wounds including cuts to her neck her skull was
fractured and in her hair small pieces of green glass were located there were incisions on her fingers described as
textbook defensive wounds sustained from trying to fend off the knife attack the
wounds led dr. Carla to believe genell had fought with everything she had a microscopic inspection of Janelle's body
and clothes was performed and the forensic scientists found particles of green colored paint in Janel's hair
beneath her fingernails and on the shorts she was wearing he determined the paint was a rare one and due to its
composition if the origin was found the killer would be filmed on Wednesday the 3rd of April the lead detective from the
Australian Federal Police arrived detective Bob Peters the case was given the codename operation Dunedin on Sunday
the 7th of April Carroll went to generals cottage to collect her belongings they found her diary
underneath her pillow which they handed in to police due to the strict customs and
immigration laws on Norfolk Island it wasn't long before police had a complete list of every single person who was on
the island the day Janelle was murdered around 2,500 people in total including permanent residents tourists and
visitors in May every person over the age of 10 who was on the island that day was sent a survey to complete the survey
asked what they did the day of the murder if they knew Janelle personally if they'd seen her and if they had any
other information they would like to act eighty-four percent of the visitors and
tourists completed it but only 56 percent of the residents did many said they weren't involved and knew nothing
so they saw no reason to complete it others saw it as an invasion of privacy the police went a step further and
organized the mass fingerprinting of every person between the ages of 15 and 70 who was on the island the day of the
murder fingerprints had been found on the black plastic sheet covering Janelle's body and the police were
looking for a match there were a few different sets of prints on the sheet not just from one person a match didn't
necessarily mean they had their killer but they still made it to identify those prints booths were set up in a community
center the then chief minister of Norfolk Holland was one of the first people to approach the booths and
provide his prints to those who had since left the island police asked them to make an appointment with their local
police station to have their prints taken they could then be forwarded on to the investigation team 77% of the people
on the island that day eventually came forward and provided their prints voluntarily the investigation cause some
people to turn against one another suspicious eyes were cast all over the island and everywhere you went we
supposed to be out who did it could be heard in May 2004 more than two years have passed since Janelle's motor and
Bob Peters was nowhere near a DES finding the killer the authorities decided to hold an inquest
an open examination of the circumstances surrounding generals death the chief magistrate for the Australian Capital
Territory was also Norfolk islands principal coroner he flew from Canberra to preside over the inquest it was a
difficult investigation for many reasons not only had the heavy rain washed away
any chance of footprints tire marks and DNA evidence the small tight-knit population of Norfolk Island with its
complicated web of friendships and relationships presented unique challenges detective Bob Peters had this
to say about it quote I don't think anyone from our side could give you a good assessment of what Norfolk Island
is really about after a couple of years even after a number of years it's a fairly unique sort of a place in some
regards it's a little bit like a small rural community but they're surrounded by ocean with no roads going in or out
during the inquest Bob Peters revealed publicly for the first time that he had come up with a list of 16 people he
considered persons of interest the first two with no surprise Ron and Carol Patton most people are murdered by
somebody they know and Ron and Carol arrived on Norfolk Island only 24 hours before Janelle was killed however Ron
and Carol were more than cooperative with the investigation they voluntarily provided fingerprints and fully
cooperated with every other police request they actively canvassed the media the government authorities and the
police to ensure that the investigation into their daughter's murder received every possible support and maintained
momentum there was nothing linking them to the murder and they weren't considered high on the list of persons
of interests still the police wouldn't have been doing their job if they didn't consider the possibility
Susan fields was next on the list Susan met Janelle in 1999 not long after Janelle first arrived on Norfolk Island
Susan helped jr. find a place to introduced her to a neighbor Charles moon Getty who had a spare room in his
house this living arrangement didn't last long as Janelle confronted Susan about having
an affair with Charles Susan was married with a ten-year-old son Susan and Janelle got into a fight over her
accusation and as a result Janelle was kicked out of Charles home after only one week the bad blood continued between
Janelle and Susan in August 2000 they got into a nasty fight in a bar which resulted in Susan being charged with
assault naturally Susan was looked at as a suspect on the day of Janelle's murder
the accounts of her whereabouts were contradicting Susan said she didn't leave home until about 1:30 p.m. to go
to the gym however her husband insisted it was closer to 11:00 a.m. that she left a witness reported seeing Susan
driving near Rudi Hill Road close by to where channel was walking after weighing
up all of the information Bob Peters stated at the inquest that although Susan and Janelle clearly didn't like
each other there was no evidence of direct contact between them on the 31st of March 2002 and although they had a
physical fight previously the level of violence was nowhere near that used in Janelle's murder Plus Susan happily
provided her fingerprints which did not match those found on the black plastic covering Janelle's body
Charles Mann Getty was the fourth person on the list Susan's neighbor who Janelle lived with
for one week Charles said he kicked June Ellie out after only a week because she
would stay up drinking until the early hours of the morning and play Liat music she would lecture him about his diet and
ripped his phone handset from the wall because he received too many early morning calls he said you know proved
too difficult to live with so he asked her to leave police received several tips about Charles in the days after
Janelle's Bota there were reports of a fire in his yard the night of the murder five days after the murder one of his
friends reported that Charles said to him if the cops ask you about me tell them I was drinking with you last Sunday
but they probably won't ask another tip came from an anonymous caller who said in early 2002 Charles allegedly walked
up to Janelle pulled her hair and threatened stop this [ __ ] or I'll sort you out
soon after Janelle's murder Charles booked a flight off the island because of the active investigation he did tell
police he was leaving and would be returning soon all of this raised a few eyebrows and on the 12th of April police
searched Charles house in these cars he was later formally interviewed by police but nothing came out of it they
couldn't find anything not linked to Charles - Juno's murder when Janelle was asked to leave Charles place she ended
up moving in with his brother Paul Minka T also known as [ __ ] Japanese new partner
Robin Murdoch were the 5th and 6th persons of interest - named job was a 50 year old widower with four
children he maintained a romantic relationship with Janelle while she lived with him this lasted about nine
months before job thought it best for her to leave Janelle left and moved into another
place for a short period of time before settling in the cottage at Ruth McCoy's house where she remained until her death
despite moving out Janelle and Jeff continued to see each other two or three times a week Jeff would visit general
she wrote about these encounters in her diary a sample of which reads May 9th 2001 Japs stood me up for tea
June 13th 2001 [ __ ] over 40 told me a few home truths about where I've hidden five
days later she wrote Chuck Danford tea and spat on me in August 2001 chat broke up with Janelle for good and by
September he was seeing Robert Murdock who was the chief executive of the Norfolk Island administration where he
also worked on October 19th Janelle wrote in her diary spoke to [ __ ] [ __ ] found out he's been rooting
Robbin and has been since Kurt's birthday or thereabouts told me he's my first enemy in Norfolk after this
Janelle appeared at Robyn's house on three separate occasions knocking hard on the door and the
windows she also appeared at Jeff's house and he ended up threatening to call the police on it
Janelle continued to call them both frequently despite this there was no evidence that Chapel Robyn ever
retaliated [ __ ] was questioned by police awake after Jenelle's murder he said you know could
be possessive complicated to live with and a clingy sort of person who was just making time he explained that he
encouraged her to go back to Sydney the last time they spoke was six weeks before her murder there were whispers
that Robin had been seen driving along Rudy Hill Road in the afternoon of Jenelle's murder but this was denied by
Robin and was never proven both Jeff and Robin provided their fingerprints and there was no match to those found at the
crime scene the seventh person of interest was Dana Meng Getty japs' oldest daughter when Jenelle moved into
Jeff's house Dana was 16 years old and finishing school in Brisbane after school Dana returned to live permanently
with her father and she instantly disliked and rejected the idea of Jenelle being there
they fought frequently and Jenelle made several diary entries expressing her dislike for Dana Dana was questioned by
police and she freely admitted that she sometimes felt like hitting Jenelle but she never did she provided her
fingerprints and again there was no match and the police could not link Dana to Jenelle on the day of the murder
the eighth person on the list was Lawrence quintal he and genell had a relationship while she was still seeing
Japp on and off Lawrence and Jenelle's relationship was a violent in January 2002 they had a fight and Jenelle was
left with bruises on her neck chest and arms Lawrence apologized but beat her again a
few weeks later the last time he saw Janelle was three days before her murder they were both at the RSL Club and the
fight started between Lawrence and another me Raymond Diego this fight was because Lawrence accused Raymond of
visiting Janelle's cottage police found a note Janelle had written to Lawrence that said look bucket bucket
is Lawrence's nickname on saw on bruised big-time I'm devastated by everything you said and did to me last night on top
of that he'd been also bitching behind my back and I never thought a friend would do that you made it clear your
opinion of me so let's just leave it at that I'll have to go near sorry Lawrence
had an alibi he was at work at the time of the murder he allowed police to search his house and his car without a
warrant he agreed to be interviewed and freely gave his fingerprints without question just like with the others there
was no evidence to link him to the murder Raymond Yeager was the next person on the list
the man Lawrence had a fight with in the days before Janelle's murder Bob Peters
noticed Raymond after reading an entry in Janelle's diary from December 2001 where she wrote that after going out to
different bars she crashed at Ray's and uh there was no sex they had reportedly met up several more
times since then there were some inconsistencies in Raymond's story as to where he was and what he was doing at
the time of the murder the day after the murder he was overheard talking about it
and seemed to know a lot of details what interested police the most was that Raymond visited a trouble agent Shirley
after Janelle's murder and asked about urgent flights to Sydney with a connecting flight to Perth he did
actually book these flights and leave the island the moment he got to Perth police were looking for him he gave them
permission to search his home and truck and offered to be examined in Perth where he freely gave his fingerprints
further investigations revealed that his trip to Perth had actually been talked about prior to Janelle's murder he was
visiting his child and former partner however at the time police considered it to be cause for alarm Raymond's
fingerprints didn't match and nothing else of interest was located there pointed towards him
[Music] Michael Prentiss was next on the list he appeared in Janelle's diary after a
coffee day an employee at the Castaway hotel also came forward and said Michael had been ringing the hotel constantly
prior to the genell's death the employee actually warned Janelle to stay away from Michael as according to her he does
not know the meaning of the word known at the inquest Bob Peters said he'd received information suggesting there
was a romantic relationship between Michael and Janelle however he never got to confirm it there was no proof they
had any contact on the day of Jenna's murder and Michael had an alibi plus his prints didn't match Kym friend who was
the 11th person named he was spotted driving through radial Road at 11:45 a.m. the day of Janelle's murder a woman
was spotted in his car and a witness thought it may have been Janelle a second man was also spotted in the car
plus Kim had been seen with scratches on his arms and wrists after the murder however he had an alibi he was playing
to a guide to a couple that day and that's who had been seen in his vehicle his injuries occurred after working with
barbed wire his fingerprints didn't match into the site saying couple were located and confirmed his story the 12th
person on the list was Steven Cochran he was one of many who voluntarily provided
his fingerprints to police his prints actually matched one of the sets of prints found on the black sheet that
covered Janelle search warrants were immediately issued for his house and his truck he had already completed the
community survey about his movements on March 31st and when asked at the police station he repeated them
he was at home until 11:30 a.m. until a couple of friends picked him up they then drove to meet up with a group of
other people and they all spent the rest of the afternoon together it was a rock-solid alibi there were a lot of
people who were voting this Stephen was with them the entire day when asked about the fingerprints Stephen explained
he handled a black plastic sheets on a regular basis as a carpenter and joiner Stephens alibi was solid and police
couldn't link him to Janelle at all he said he had never met her and that there was no evidence suggesting otherwise
plus there were still other sets of prints on the plastic sheet yet to be identified and ruh-roh was the 13th
person named he was a temporary resident who'd come from New Zealand and seemed to have very few friends on the island
nobody knew much about him he was considered a loner there were also reports who was a peeping tom several
residents reported seeing him in the area around the time of Janelle's disappearance acting strangely a seat
and a section of carpet was missing from his car he was questioned and he insisted he didn't know Janelle and had
never seen her before in his life he said the seat had been taken out of his car for repairs and the section of
carpet was missing because it needed cleaning he couldn't clearly remember what his
movements were on the day of the murder his house and car were thoroughly searched and his fingerprints were taken
in October 2003 he was stopped at the airport he was found to be carrying a knife it was confiscated and sent for
testing to see if it could have inflicted the injuries on Janelle but there was no match his prints didn't
match either no forensic evidence was located in his house or car next on the list was Terrence joke Terrence met
Janelle the month before her death call records show they exchanged 81 calls in the weeks prior to her death yet Terence
was one of the very few people on the island who didn't attend the journal's memorial service which surprised the
tech TV given their frequent contact prior to her death after the murder a woman came
forward with a disturbing report allegedly she woke up one night to find Terrence standing over her bed she was
petrified and didn't know what to do other reports came in that Terrence had threatened to assault Janelle's former
partner Lawrence quintal during the inquest Bob Peters said he had active concerns about Terrence but his
fingerprints didn't match those found on the black plastic sheet next was Rodney
Menzies who had reportedly approached Janelle several times while she was sunbathing and had asked her out for a
cup of coffee Janelle repeatedly refused his advances and on one occasion it's alleged Rodney
tried to follow her back to her cottage there were several rumors across the island that Rodney had stalked other
women previously however it was never confirmed the story he gave of his whereabouts at the time of the murder
was contradicted by others he also said he hadn't spoken to Janelle for three months prior to her murder however a
witness said they had seen Rodney in Janelle talking just three nights before her murder
his fingerprints didn't match and no other evidence was found that could link him to the murder the 16th and faunal
person named as a person of interest that the inquest was a great Magri Janelle's closest friend on Norfolk
Island he became part of the investigation after one person reported seeing him driving along greedy Hill
Road between 11:45 a.m. and 12:15 p.m. on the day of generals murder he was seen with a woman who looked like
Janelle Gregg strongly denied this and gave an alibi upon further questioning his story about his movements that they
changed slightly it also didn't completely match with what others were saying the detectives weren't sure if
these were just minor inconsistencies or if there was actually a gap in Greg's story detectives asked him about his
relationship with Janelle and he said that were just good friends and at times he'd act as a mediator
between her and her boyfriends Gregg said that despite not having a good relationship with several people on the
island general never worried about her safety the last time he saw her was three days before her murder she seemed
happy and he suggested they catch up again soon but he never saw her again there were others on the island who had
a different version about how that meeting went one reported that Greg looked bothered by something while
talking to Janelle another reported that Janelle said Greg had threatened to burn
her with a cigarette during that meeting and she looked very upset while talking
to him however Bob Peters told the inquest to date I have found no factual or forensic evidence to connect Gregory
Magri to the death of General Patton or the disposal of her body a cockpit waterful reserved on Sunday the 31st of
March 2002 it was no ordinary investigation that was a lot of people connected to Janelle it was a highly
unusual step for Bob Peters to release the names of all those persons of interest some had motive
some were reported to be seen knew where gene or disappeared from some displayed
strange behavior after the murder some displayed strange behavior before the murder some had been physically
violent towards her some had a combination of many of those things [Music] had the conclusion of the inquest police
were still no closer to arresting the killer all that was clear was that a lot of people could have done it but they
didn't have to wait long for a major breakthrough they had been slowly reviewing every single piece of evidence
in the police file as part of this review every single fingerprint sample on record was looked at not just those
given voluntarily during the murder investigation and it was during this review the police fee under the
fingerprints of Glenn McNeil McNeil was a chef originally from Nelson New Zealand he moved to Norfolk Island in
June 2000 with his girlfriend Alicia Taylor they married in January 2002 McNeil had provided his fingerprints not
voluntarily because of the murder investigation but because of an investigation into a minor break-in to a
tourist shop for this reason McNeil's fingerprints remained in a separate file and weren't discovered until 2004 when
the mass review of all fingerprints on record took place police ran McNeil's prints against the prints found on the
black plastic sheet that was covering Janelle's body McNeil's prints matched two of the prints found on that sheet
when they looked further into McNeil they found that a white Honda motor vehicle was registered to him
this got the attention of police as a white Honda had been reported as being seen around the crime scene McNeil had
since left Norfolk Island and returned to New Zealand he had split up from his wife Alicia and
to his new living with a new partner police on Norfolk Island put out an alert requesting people keep a lookout
for McNeil's white Honda it didn't take long for 70 year-old Dudley Hudson to respond Dudley had found a white Honda
abandoned on his property he hadn't reported it yet but when he heard police were looking for a white Honda he called
in straightaway checks on that Honda revealed it was McNeil's car police towed it for forensic examination
they also examined McNeil's former house on the island in both his car and his former house
police found green glass just like the glass found in Janel's hair in McNeil was garden they found a black plastic
sheet the same as the one that covered Janelle's body a specialist determined there was a high degree of probability
that the glass found at McNeil's house in his car and on genell we're from the same melt meaning they had been produced
at the same time for the same use they also found a tiny section of paper from a wine label stuck to one of the
fragments so they believed a bottle of wine could have been used in the attack along with the glass they found a sample
of hair in the boot of McNeil's car unfortunately the hair was found without root in regular DNA analysis the hair
root is what's examined so they had to try something different they sent the hair to a laboratory in
Pennsylvania USA where they do mitochondrial analysis essentially in this type of analysis what's examined is
the mitochondria which can produce a match to the maternal cells they can't produce the identity of the person so
hair samples of Janelle's parents were sent along with the hair found in McNeil's boot to try and get a match
this is not as strong as regular DNA analysis and for that reason it doesn't always hold up in court
it took a long time to get the results back the reports didn't come back until early 2006 they said you know and her
maternal relatives couldn't be excluded as sources of the hair it wasn't a positive identification but it still
indicated McNeil could have been involved in the killing or disposal of Janelle's body Glenn McNeil wasn't just
named as another person of interest on Bob Peters list he went straight to prime suspect
on Wednesday the 1st of February 2006 Bob Peters met with two New Zealand Police Officers in
and then the arrest warrant for Glenn McNeil McNeil was back living in Nelson New Zealand when they knocked on the
door McNeil opened he was wearing his black and white chef's trousers with no shirt and no shoes the detectives from
New Zealand informed him he was under arrest for the murder of Janelle Patten McNeil's response was to invite them
inside the detectives in for McNeil of his rights before asking him to put on his shirt and shoes they also asked for
his passport then they handcuffed him all of this happened in front of his new partner who was dumbfounded not really
understanding what was happening at 5:30 p.m. they walked out of McNeil was home
and made their way to Nelson police station on the way the detectives purposefully made small
talk and spoke about anything but the case they didn't want McNeil saying anything about it until they got back to
the police station when they arrived they took McNeil to an interview room they showed him the notes they'd made in
relation to his arrest and asked him to confirm their accuracy then they introduced him to the lead detective Bob
Peters Peters explained to the forensic evidence they'd found the fingerprints match the glass fragments in McNeil's
car the hair found in his car the DNA result which suggests that the hairs found in the boot of the car belong to
Janelle he told McNeil he didn't have to say anything but anything he did say would be used as evidence McNeil
surprised the detectives by instantly confessing he said he was driving that morning under the influence of marijuana
at one point he bent down to pick up a packet of cigarettes and it was while doing this with his eyes off the road
that he accidentally hit Janelle he stopped and found her body underneath his car Peters wasn't expecting such a
quick confession and the video camera wasn't actually turned on you Peters asked one of the New Zealand detectives
to right there and everything McNeil had just said Peter's then read it back to McNeil who
confirmed it was accurate and then placed his signature on each page Peters asked McNeil if he was willing to answer
further questions and he nodded in agreement the questioning continued for just under an hour this time it was all
recorded they stopped to change videotapes and there was at this point that McNeil asked to call his lawyer
they did call however the lawyer wasn't available they offered McNeil the services of a
different lawyer however he declined he said as long as his lawyer was there for
him at court the next morning that's all he wanted he said it was happy to continue the interview the interview
continued McNeil gave the following version after he saw Janelle underneath his car he thought she was dead so he
placed her in the boot drove back to his place where he remained for any hour or
two he then heard groaning noises coming from the boot he realized genell was still alive but thought he had gone too
far to take her to the hospital for treatment so he grabbed the 15 centimeter fish
filling knife open the boot and stabbed her he stabbed her repeatedly to make sure she was dead but couldn't remember
exactly how many times once he was sure she was dead he found the black plastic sheet and wrapped Janelle's body in it
he then drove to cockpit waterful reserve where he placed Janelle near the barbeque area he returned home feeling
nervous and agitated and aware that he needed to remove any evidence left in his car he filled up a spray bottle with
water and cleaned the boot once he was done he went inside and played video games on his PlayStation after that he
picked up his wife Alicia from work he never said anything to her about what he'd done the following day he threw the
knife in the ocean and went to take a look at the crime scene with Alicia by then it had been sealed off and there
were police media and onlookers everywhere to finish off his confession McNeil said
ever since that day I've felt what I've done and makes me sick inside I only wish it had never happened and I kept my
eyes on the road Alain Carla the forensic pathologist went over the transcript the McNeil's
confession and didn't believe it he was positive Jenelle wasn't run over by a car
her injuries weren't consistent with being run over at all also the car that MacNeil owned was too low for Jenelle to
get stuck underneath for her to go under the car MacNeil would have had to have been driving at an extremely slow speed
20 km/h heart are today Janelle being scooped up going over the front into the windscreen if that had happened she
would have ended up going over the roof or off to the side never underneath the car and if she had ended up underneath
the car her body would have been covered in dirt or grease but it wasn't there was also no hair skin tissue clothing
fibers or any other evidence underneath McNeil's car the position in which McNeill said Genna was laying when he
stunned her didn't correlate with the wounds Karla concluded there was no possible way MacNeil could have
inflicted the stab wounds in the manner in which he described also there was absolutely no blood found in his car
with the injuries Jenelle suffered there would have been considerable bleeding and a spray pad lastly when Peters asked
me Neil if Jenelle fought or showed any resistance McNeil said no that's why I don't understand with a cut
you were saying defensive wounds she wasn't holding her hands up or anything Jenelle had extensive defensive injuries
it was clear McNeil was lying they believed he did kill genell but not in the way which he said it happened he was
trying to downplay his actions Peters said to him I think that a lot more happened between you and June or pattern
while she was still alive and conscious after the interview McNeil was escorted to his cell where he spent his first
night behind bars in the meantime the Australian Federal Police began extradition proceedings so that McNeil
could be flown to Norfolk Island where he could be formally charged with the general patton's murder
the next morning McNeil appeared in the nelson district court for the first stage of the court proceedings the judge
granted the extradition the following day McNeil was flown to Norfolk Island when they landed on the island officers
provided McNeil a hooded jacket to cover his face since there was a lot of media
waiting but he declined he didn't mind his face being shown he was formally charged with murder on
Thursday the 9th of February 2006 McNeil was then flown to Sydney where he was held in silver water prison he was flown
back to the island for pretrial hearings which commenced on the 7th of August 2006 McNeil pleaded not guilty he
retracted his confession and said he was in a terrible mental state at a time and
would have admitted to anything the police questioned him about he denied having anything to do with Jenelle's
murder on the second day of the pre-trial hearing Katherine Lee a forensic biologist with the Australian
Federal Police testified that she had found and unidentified a DNA profile on the shorts of Janelle she had been
wearing when she was killed the DNA profile belonged to a woman more of this DNA profile was found underneath
Janelle's fingernails and a cigarette found at the crime scene close to the body contained a weak DNA profile of a
woman that wasn't Janelle that night there was another development a friend of Janelle's Tracey Wilkinson approached
Bob Peters the last time she'd spoken to Janelle was a week or two before her murder
Tracey was working behind the bar in a hotel and Janelle visited her Janelle asked her if she worked with somebody
named Alicia Tracey said yes Alicia did work there Janelle asked her what she was like and if she also knew her
husband Glenn McNeil Tracey explained that Alicia was really nice but there were rumors McNeil was sleeping around
Tracy asked Janelle why she wanted to know but Janelle didn't respond and changed the subject
Tracey also gave an incredible story that on the day of the murder she was working at the hotel when she heard a
loud scream she walked out the back to investigate and saw Alicia who looked like she was swiping in a downward
motion at someone behind a bush she called out to Alicia who turned and walked towards her with what appeared to
be blood on her switch her Tracy said Elisha you're bleeding Elisha said no it's paint
she looked strangely red in the face but Tracy didn't go any further with it she
returned inside after hearing this story Bob Peters warned Tracy about the consequences of being untruthful he told
her she'd be prosecuted if she was lying it was now four years after the murder when asked why she didn't bring up any
of this information before Tracy explained she thought the murder hadn't happened near the hotel and she thought
that what she had witnessed was just a marital dispute between Elisha and Glenn MacNeil Tracy also said she was burnt
out from working three jobs at the time in her mind was elsewhere Bob Peters wasn't sure whether to put Tracy on the
stand or not but in the end he decided to do so she testified on Friday the last day of the pre-trial hearing
Elisha had already testified on the Wednesday no questions were asked of her at all in relation to what Tracy says
she witnessed Elisha denied any knowledge of the crime and after testifying was allowed to return back to
New Zealand where Shing out lived as well after hearing all of the evidence at the pre-trial hearing the judge
ordered there was enough to proceed with the full trial the trial started on the
1st of February 2007 some believed it shouldn't have been held on Norfolk Island as it was impossible to run a
fair trial however the law made it clear that there was no other possibility the
trial had to be held there during the trial the prosecution said the autopsy wasn't the only thing that didn't
correspond with McNeil story as the way Jenelle's clothes are being left that implied that could have been a sexual
motive to the crime genell's clothes have been cut with a knife from the inside out this indicated
it was very deliberate despite the way the clothing was left there was no sexual assault
so the defense argued because there was no sexual assault the person responsible
for the killing had to be a woman who wanted to make it look like there was a sexual element to the case Alicia was
called back to the sting to testify at the trial she denied having any knowledge of the murder or any knowledge
about the disposal of the body she said there was nothing unusual about McNeil's
behavior that day and she didn't see any blood on him or his clothes or anywhere
else at the house Tracey Wilkinson was not called as a witness of the trial there were already
doubts over the story she gave about Alicia's behavior the day of the murder the main deal being why Tracey waited
for years to come forward and since she had testified at the pretrial her story had changed she now believed Janelle was
the victim of a satanic cult killing and was murdered by six other people Tracey
was deemed to be an unreliable witness McNiel was allowed to read an unsworn statement at the trial this type of
statement permits the defendant to speak without going to the witness then to face cross-examination he said my name
is Glenn McNeil I am 29 years of age before I was arrested I lived with my partner Shelley and our two children in
Nelson New Zealand as you know I lived on Norfolk Island for a couple of years with my then wife Alicia I enjoyed the
living and working here both Alicia and I shopped at food lands and I would frequently used the white Honda for
shopping trips on Easter 2002 I was home in the morning I've been sick Alicia was at work some
time between 11:30 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. as best I can recall I'm not too sure I made a toasted sandwich for Alicia's
lunch before the lunch in rush hour started I suppose it took me a couple of minutes to get ready and five minutes or
so to make it I then got into the car and drove down to Hillcrest i sat with Alicia as she ate her sandwich during
her break I could not recall what we talked about as best I can recall I was there for about 20 minutes
I then drive home I recall I telephoned Alicia once or twice in the afternoon because it was five years ago
I can't recall what was said I stayed at home that afternoon watch TV or played playstation until about 4:00 p.m. when
Alicia arrived home from work I didn't see Janelle pattern that day I didn't drive along Rudi Hill Road that day I
didn't abduct or murder General Patton that day Alicia and I went for a long drive we drove along Prince Philip Drive
as well as many other roads on the island I recall that when General Patton's body was found there was a lot
of publicity going around the island people had all sorts of theories and talked about details of the case I
recalled that it was said she was found under black plastic a copy that she'd been run over in a hit-and-run and that
she had been stabbed it was impossible to go anywhere on the island without hearing talk about what
had occurred I was booked to return to New Zealand in May 2002 to attended my brother's wedding while I was there I
took up the offer of a job by a friend I spoke with Alisha about it and we agreed that I should take it rather than
to return to Norfolk Island she had a couple more months to work on her contract and would return later in the
year so I took the job in New Zealand we spoke regularly but our relationship was
rocky at the time in September 2002 something happened which I didn't plan or expect on that Shelly my partner Nia
and I fell in love with her from this time my life started to get complicated I had the stress of trying to resolve my
relationship difficulties I started having employment difficulties and periods of unemployment I became in debt
and people were demanding payments from me Shelly and I had two children adding to my responsibilities my life started
to spin out of control from then on my drug-taking got worse as the pressure increased it all came to a head in
November 2005 when I cut my wrists while life was hopeless and no longer in my control I got a booking for a drug and
alcohol treatment clinic in February 2006 I was dark and numb I was running on autopilot this period of my life is
just a blur to me I was arrested on my first day back at work I spoke with the police I don't recall now what I told
them I would have admitted to anything due to my mental health problems at the time I've seen the tape and say what I
told police was complete rubbish it sounds like it was what I thought they wanted to hear I'm shocked by what I
said I didn't kill General Patton I didn't abduct her I've been told about glass in the boot of the Honda I used
this car to take rubbish to go to the tip it was dirty and not much more than a wreck when I got it and it had no
carpet in it whatsoever it was just a cheap vehicle and I was not worried about the rubbish leaking in the boot
I've also been told about fingerprints on the black plastic I do not know how they got onto it I may
have touched the black plastic when I was on Norfolk Island at some time I'm not too sure I feel very sorry for the
pattern family they lost his enormous but I didn't murder General Patton thank you for listening to me at 2:30 p.m. on
Friday the 9th of March 2007 the jury reached a verdict guilty McNiel was sentenced to 24 years
in prison over the years McNeil changed his story again he told his partner Shelley he didn't kill Janelle but he
knew who did a drug-dealing couple left the body for him to dispose and threatened to violently harm both him
and Alicia if he didn't McNeil says he stole this couple's cannabis plants they found out and the price he had to pay
was disposing Janelle's body for them since the trial there has been rumors that drug dealers could have killed you
know since she was actively against them and many suspected she was an informant
for the place in June 2011 there was talk the case could be reopened because of these allegations one of the jurors
on the case also allegedly said we know he didn't do it but knows who did he wouldn't tell us so we decided to slot
him on the 23rd of July 2011 the Australian Federal Police stated they refused to reopen the case McNeil had
given them the names of the drug-dealing couple and to the exact location of latex gloves he said he used to move
generals body the gloves were never found and the police simply said there was no
new evidence to reopen the case the female DNA found on Janelle's short and underneath her nails has never been
identified a DNA test has never been run on Ali Shah Bob Peters said it was unnecessary given how unreliable Tracy
turned out to be as a witness McNeill has named the drug-dealing couple but there is no information to say whether
or not a DNA test was ever carried out on the woman even though McNeill has been convicted the case still has a lot
of unanswered questions we still don't know why Janelle was killed or the exact circumstances of her death and who owns
the female DNA and how did it get there you

Case 39: Janelle Patton

Norfolk Island is a small island in the Pacific Ocean, situated between Australia and New Zealand. A place of spectacular scenery and peaceful beauty. The total area of the Island is 34 kilometres squared. Or 13 miles squared.

With a population of around 2000 people, Norfolk Island is a tight-knit community with a unique and complex web of friendships and relationships.

CREDITS

Narration – Anonymous Host Research, writing – Victoria Dieffenbacher Writing – Anonymous Host Production, scoring – Mike Migas Additional scoring – Andrew Joslyn

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RESOURCES

For all credits and sources please visit https://www.casefilepodcast.com/case-39-janelle-patton

Brief Summary

Janelle Patton was murdered on Norfolk Island; Glenn McNeil was arrested and convicted, but many questions remain unanswered.

Key points

The Discovery of Janelle's Body. Janelle's body was found under a black plastic sheet, leading to a police investigation.
The Investigation Begins. The investigation into Janelle's murder faced unique challenges due to the island's tight-knit community.
Janelle's Troubling Relationships. Janelle's past relationships reveal emotional scars and potential motives.
Janelle's Painful Diary Entries. Janelle expressed her emotional turmoil in her diary, revealing deep feelings of betrayal.
Police Review Leads to Breakthrough. A thorough review of evidence led police to Glenn McNeil, a prime suspect in Janelle's murder.
Confession of Guilt. Glenn McNeil confessed to accidentally hitting Janelle while driving under the influence.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

Maybe that's what I need.

Janelle's response to her mother's concerns about moving to Norfolk Island.

4:27WatchNov 19, 2018

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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