The mystery of Bowraville’s missing children | Forensic Files

[Music] the chiricahua mountains comprises a desolate landscape of rugged terrain
this beautiful but unforgiving location in southeastern arizona provides an idyllic backdrop to spend a weekend
camping in the great outdoors it also happens to be a notorious hot spot for people smuggling and
unexplained disappearances 44 year old jeanette castraon suffered from a disability that made it very
difficult to walk and travel on her own in june 2015 while waiting as her mother
took a brief stop at a park restroom jeanette vanished she would not be the last
join investigative journalist otavia mchenry as she uncovers the secrets behind jeanette's sudden disappearance
with interviews from jeanette's family law enforcement and criminal behaviour experts otavia uncovers much more in the
search for jeanette castreon than she anticipated a twisted labyrinth where the most
beautiful scenery hides sinister secrets the labyrinth is a case file presents podcast available on august 31st for
free only on spotify stay tuned until the end of this episode to hear the official trailer and be sure
to follow the labyrinth on spotify [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
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this episode involves a crime against children it may not be suitable for all listeners
aboriginal and torres strait islander peoples should be aware that this episode contains the names of people who
have passed away nestled in the hinterland of mid-north new south wales is the town of
bowerville which sits about 20 kilometers inland from the coast the fertile lands in the surrounding
area led to a booming agricultural industry over the years with farmers raising cattle and growing produce such
as bananas macadamia nuts and avocados bowerville itself was constructed around the timber industry
but the area's natural beauty is equally notable characterized by rugged bushland
life around bearville has often been described as sleepy with locals more or less keeping to themselves but
eventually city dwellers started moving to the area in search of a tree change it was easy to see what drew them there
driving through barrival's town center it looks like something out of a picture book
quaint heritage buildings lined the main street ranging from an art deco era movie theater to victorian era pubs
in 1990 the town's population numbered around 1500 but there were really two bowervilles
the town was home to about 150 indigenous residents who all too often experienced racism
most of them lived around an area known as the mesh sprawling along a street then called
cemetery road now renamed gumbangya road the mish was a row of houses on the outskirts of town away from the
gentile-looking buildings that were so attractive to tourists its name came from the unofficial
aboriginal mission that had been there between the 1880s and the 1950s during australia's civil rights movement
in the 1960s activist charles perkins led a freedom bus ride through barraville to protest
discrimination against australia's first nations peoples back then baraval's indigenous residents
were barred from the cinema the rsl the local school and even the hospital by 1990 the segregation wasn't this
extreme yet there was still one pub for white people and another for indigenous people
those who lived in the community at the time have described the racism as palpable
but long before bowerville was ever known as baraville the area was home to the gumbanya people
they are the traditional custodians of lands sprawling across more than six thousand square kilometers and have
their own distinct language traditions and stories one of their stories has been passed
down from elders to children as a cautionary tale it involves a goomba an evil spirit that prowls along the
banks of a river looking for children to steal the goomba is a shapeshifter so he can
disguise himself amongst others this way he doesn't look suspicious and can prey on his victims when they least
expect it or he'll sit up in a tree looking down and plotting his attack it's said that he most often waits until
night time to strike leading parents to warn their children that they must always be quiet after
dark [Music] [Music] tap tap tap muriel craig heard a gentle knocking at the window as she bustled around her
kitchen cleaning the mess left over from that evening's meal it was around nine o'clock and
completely dark out muriel looked up it sounded like someone was rapping on the window from outside but she couldn't
see anybody standing there the experience was almost unsettling until muriel realised the source of the
noise crouching out of sight outside was her 10 year old daughter colleen the little girl was tapping against the
glass trying to scare her mother into thinking there was a ghost outside the mischievous colleen had a reputation
for being a practical joker she particularly liked playing tricks on her mum much to muriel's amusement
as she got older colleen kept her sense of humor while also growing up into a responsible young woman
she helped look after her younger siblings in particular her brother who was in a wheelchair and had special
needs colleen hoped to become a preschool teacher one day a profession that her friends and family thought would
perfectly suit her caring and playful nature more than six years after colleen first
played a prank on her mother by tapping on a window muriel was once again in the kitchen
when she suddenly heard a familiar sound tap tap tap this time the noise upset her
muriel entered the lounge where her children had gathered and told them off for the practical joke explaining that
they mustn't tap on the window because it was something that colleen used to do muriel's other children insisted that
none of them had been outside they had all been in the lounge the entire time their faces were serious and muriel
believed them yet it couldn't have been colleen either colleen who was now 16 years old had
recently disappeared her distraught family had searched tirelessly for her to no avail
as it was clear no one else was responsible for the tapping muriel felt certain of one thing
it was her daughter's spirit reaching out letting her know she was there colleen craig had been excited as she
packed her bags in preparation for a holiday the teenager was eager to start exploring the world and embrace life as
a young adult she lived with her mother and siblings in the new south wales town of sortel
but recently she'd taken a couple of trips to visit family in bauerville almost 58 kilometers away
now she was going one step further by traveling with france colleen and three other girls planned to
leave bearerville on the night of september 13 1990 to catch a 3 a.m train to sydney
they were headed for the town of gaduga near the queensland border it was a long journey with a late start
after she finished packing colleen headed over to a party at the mish where most of barrival's indigenous residents
lived across the road was a small park where a campfire had been set up for the party
attendees mingled around the fire and over the road in the home of a local resident named marjorie jarrett
[Music] they also spilled out into a laneway that sat alongside marjorie's house
colleen was spotted numerous times throughout the afternoon and evening sometimes she sat inside the lounge room
and chatted with friends other times she was seen with a group gathered beneath a large gum tree in the
park opposite they were drinking beer and colleen appeared somewhat intoxicated at around midnight colleen was spotted
walking down the alleyway alongside marjorie's house hours later colleen's three travel
companions were preparing to leave for the train station marjorie jarrett had offered to drive
the group and searched for colleen in and around the party with no success in the end colleen's friends left for
their holiday without her the 3am train to sydney departed without colleen on board
as soon as word reached muriel craig that her daughter hadn't gone on her trip as planned and hadn't been seen
since the party she knew that something was terribly wrong muriel travelled from her home in sortel
to bearerville so she could report colleen missing all of the officers at barreville police
station were white the two who muriel reported to were dubious when she showed them a picture
of colleen noting that the teenage girl had a lighter skin than her mother the officers remarked
she don't look aboriginal to us and asked if she was really muriel's daughter then they suggested that perhaps colleen
had simply quote gone walkabout in australia's indigenous cultures walkabout is a rite of passage in which
adolescent males live alone in the wilderness for a period of time the term has become twisted and misused
by non-indigenous people who see aboriginal people as living transient nomadic lifestyles
some used the word walkabout in a derogatory sense to imply an indigenous person has just taken off on a whim
without warning muriel was devastated by the policeman's comments and retorted i wouldn't be silly enough to come in
here and report her missing i am not that stupid but the officers remained disinterested
and unwilling to take a report remarking that colleen would probably turn up soon
enough muriel handed over her photograph of colleen for their reference then left the station
with no help from law enforcement colleen's family took on the responsibility of finding her
muriel moved her other children down to bowerville so she could keep searching for colleen while keeping everyone
together with the help of some relatives muriel searched the surrounding areas and spoke
to everyone they could find who had been at the party the police never made any attempt to
contact her exactly three weeks after colleen vanished another party was in full swing
at the mesh this time the get-together was at patricia statham's house three doors
down from where the previous party had been held patricia's daughter rebecca who was in
her early twenties and lived there too took her young children over to her ex partner's house so he could mine them
while she was at the party rebecca and billy greenup had a four-year-old daughter named evelyn as
well as two younger boys aidan and aaron rebecca was dismayed to discover that billy was too drunk to look after their
young children so she took them back to her mother's house after socializing with the party guests
rebecca decided to go to bed she slept in the same room as her three children with four-year-old evelyn
nestled beside her rebecca fell asleep fully dressed and didn't wake at all during the night
which was unusual as soon as she opened her eyes the following morning rebecca felt extremely sick in an
unfamiliar way she sat up her two sons aidan and darren were awake and quietly playing together
but there was no sign of evelyn evelyn and aaron were very close and rarely left each other's sides
so her absence struck rebecca as particularly strange she asked her boys if they knew where
their sister was but they just looked back at her wide-eyed and silent wondering if evelyn had wandered off to
visit her father who lived just a few doors down the street rebecca first checked at billy greenup's
house evelyn wasn't there nor was she at any other house in the mish rebecca expanded her search to the
center of bearerville no one she spoke to had seen evelyn since the previous night before the
little girl had gone to bed alongside her mother and siblings rebecca's panic grew
by mid-morning she was back at home scouring the surroundings for any sign of her daughter
suddenly she found something lying in the front yard was a single pink sand shoe
it belonged to evelyn as word spread about the missing child an incident that had occurred the
previous night took on a sinister new tone rebecca's mother patricia recalled that
she'd been woken at around 3am by the sound of evelyn crying she got up to check on her walking down
the hall to the room where evelyn rebecca and the two boys were sleeping the door was closed so patricia went to
open it but it wouldn't budge then she heard a thud almost like a window being shut
and evelyn stopped crying assuming the little girl had gone back to sleep patricia returned to her own room
by evening rebecca and her sister michelle had arrived at the bowerville police station to report evelyn missing
there was just one officer on duty michelle explained the situation and handed the officer a photo
it showed evelyn with her blue eyes and mop of light brown ringlets which many people had compared to the hair of
famous child actress shirley temple the officer replied what do you want me to do i'm the only
one here and i'm just about to go home stunt michelle repeated that she wanted to
report evelyn missing explaining that she was just four years old but the officer wouldn't budge
and it took several more days before evelyn's family successfully filed a missing person's report
just as they'd done when colleen went missing the police suggested that evelyn might have quote
gone walkabout yet they also questioned her indigenous heritage by pointing out her fair skin
and blue eyes despite taking statements the police didn't send anybody out to look for
evelyn and initially her family were left to search for her alone they called everyone they knew plastered
the town with flyers and surged high and low through bushland as so many people had been drinking and
partying on the night evelyn disappeared it was difficult to piece together what
exactly had gone on that night nevertheless they knew that she hadn't simply wandered off somewhere
evelyn was a shy child who stayed close to her family and was scared of strangers
three days after evelyn vanished the police finally began searching for her along with the volunteers from the local
state emergency services they looked in the nearby nemboko river and the scrubby bushland that surrounded
barrowville there was no sign of her when investigators finally started interviewing people in relation to the
case it was clear that their suspicions fell exclusively on those closest to evelyn
her grandmother patricia was interrogated about money that had been transferred into her bank account with
police implying that she and rebecca had sold evelyn in reality the payments patricia had
received were from her war widow's pension it was also evident that the police had
no understanding of indigenous family dynamics which are more community focused because rebecca had been drinking on the
night evelyn vanished they assumed her children weren't being looked after in reality a wider circle of ants would
always help young parents care for their children some news outlets began to pick up the
story of the missing four-year-old when speaking to journalists the bearerville police sergeant was adamant
there was absolutely no connection between evelyn greenup and the recent disappearance of sixteen-year-old
colleen craig by december of 1990 summer had arrived and brought withered a new resident
clinton speedy juro was a 16 year old boy who had moved from queensland to bowerville to live with his father
thomas duro a sharp dresser who loved footy and had a kind happy-go-lucky personality it
didn't take long for clinton to make friends in particular he became close to kelly
jarrett a teenage girl who had been good friends with colleen craig clinton and kelly soon became an item
and were rarely seen out of each other's company on the night of january 31 1991 the
young couple attended a party that was being held around the corner from the mish in a public housing flat situated
on herborne drive rather than go to their respective homes when they were ready to leave clinton
and kelly decided to sleep in the yellow viking caravan of a friend clinton took off his shoes and the
couple watched music videos for a little while before falling asleep on the same
double bed sometime after three am kelly slept soundly when she woke up it was 8 40 in the
morning there was no sign of clinton perhaps he'd woken up earlier and already gone home
but then kelly saw something on the floor of the van clinton's reebok sneakers clinton always took pride in his outfits
and paid particular attention to his shoes he never went anywhere barefoot his father had given him the reeboks as
a christmas present and clinton loved them in his family it was a source of amusement that he wore them at all times
if clinton had left already it made no sense that he'd leave his reeboks behind kelly picked up her boyfriend's shoes
and exited the caravan heading for clinton's father's house thomas juro was surprised when he opened
his front door to see his son's girlfriend holding clinton's reeboks out in front of her
clinton wasn't at home and the side of the shoes he was never seen without was immediately alarming
thomas phoned the police to see if they could do anything to help find clinton but they said they couldn't get involved
until he'd been missing for at least 24 hours so thomas set out by himself to search
for his son as he didn't own a car he instead walked all over town first he went to the flats where the
party was held the night before then he visited the caravan where clinton had spent the night
there was no sign of him anywhere thomas checked the town's pubs and other social areas but nobody he spoke to had
seen clinton since the party as the teenager had only just moved to bearerville he didn't know many of its
residents and there was nowhere obvious he would have visited eventually thomas decided that all he
could do was go home in the hope that clinton would turn up he waited and waited but clinton never
arrived when the 24-hour time limit had passed thomas tried calling the police again to
report his son missing they were in no hurry to respond waiting another full day before they paid thomas
a visit at home as clinton was 16 years old and strongly built they suspected he'd simply taken
off by himself his family tried to explain to them the significance of clinton's shoes being
left behind but the officers couldn't understand how this indicated foul play all they said
was we'll keep an eye out for him clinton's aunt began making calls phoning both the local police and law
enforcement in the nearby larger city of coffs harbour begging for assistance most of her messages went unanswered but
eventually a liaison officer was sent down from coffs harbour to help clinton's family search the town's
streets and surrounding areas nothing turned up just like colleen craig and evelyn
greenup clinton speedy giroud had seemingly vanished from bowerville fear spread through the local indigenous
community although the police didn't seem to think the three disappearances were linked the
children's friends and family were certain they were there was a common thread tying the
cases together over the course of just five months all of the children had vanished after
attending or being in the vicinity of a party at the mish they were sure that colleen evelyn and
clinton had been attacked and weren't merely missing persons in the documentary innocence betrayed
colleen's aunt elaine walker told filmmaker larissa burant that residents around the mission changed their
behavior in response to the disappearances many mothers started sleeping in the same room as all of their children so
they could keep an eye on them throughout the night where residents had once felt safe they
started locking their doors and windows at all times when children wanted to go into town
their parents would go with them and they'd walk close together in a tight group
a week after clinton's disappearance the community's grief and frustration led to
a group of indigenous residents and several white townsfolk marching on barraval's police station in protest
they demanded that action be taken and their children's cases be taken seriously
behind the scenes barriville police had called in colleagues from the child mistreatment unit in kofsaba
though they'd initially suggested that the missing trio had just quote gone walkabout
they were starting to suspect that the families themselves and the indigenous community more broadly were involved
[Music] on february 18 almost three weeks since clinton's speedy giro had disappeared
two men were hiking through some rugged bushland just outside bowerville they were looking for firewood in a
rough and tangled area that ran alongside kongarini road a dirt road that headed south out of town
as they searched for logs amongst the leaf litter scattered across the ground the two men saw something
it was the badly decomposed remains of clinton's speedy giro clinton was barefoot but still dressed
in the clothing he'd been wearing on the night he vanished he had been dragged through the bushland
and the animals had scavenged his body lying nearby was a blanket which it seemed he had previously been wrapped in
the area where he had been dumped was also close to a crop of cannabis an autopsy revealed that clinton had
died from a severe blow to the head his jaw had been broken and he'd also been stabbed multiple times
now investigators had to accept that the young man had met with foul play two months later on april 17 a man was
fishing in the nambucca river by the southern end of kongarini road and just down a slight slope from where clinton
had been found when something snagged his fishing line he reeled it in on the end was a pair of jeans and a
belt heavy and soaking wet as they hung off the line these items were identified as belonging
to colleen craig she had been wearing them on the last night anyone had seen her
police divers subsequently searched the river by april 20 they had found four plastic
bags that had been weighed down in the river these contained more of colleen's clothing including a cable knit jumper
she was last seen in but there was no sign of colleen herself a week later on april 27 the police
received a phone call from some concerned locals they had noticed an unpleasant odor in
the bushland alongside kongarini road and were worried given the recent discoveries in the area
the location was three kilometers away from where clinton's speedy giro was found
when searchers went out there they discovered the skeletal remains of a small child
it was evelyn greenup a pink sand shoe was recovered near her body a match to the other shoe her
mother had found in the front yard of her home after evelyn disappeared marks on evelyn's skull confirmed that
she too had been killed by a heavy blow to the head the discovery of clinton and evelyn's
bodies and the clothing belonging to colleen left barriville reeling the indigenous community in particular
was certain that all three of them had fallen prey to a serial killer there were too many similarities to
ignore from the circumstances of their disappearances right down to where their remains and belongings were found
and both evelyn and clinton had been killed by fatal blows to the head a homicide investigation was launched
with detective sergeant alan williams at the helm the detective had no prior homicide
experience but was to be assisted by local investigators and other detectives from the north region major crime squad
some of the town's white residents queried the amount of resources the investigation was being given
with one person remarking to a journalist from the age newspaper i wonder whether three missing white
children would get the same attention although detective williams had no experience investigating murders
clinton's remains contained a pivotal clue a pillow case that had been pushed down
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25 year old jay thomas hart worked at a tanning factory and was reasonably tall at six feet with a stocky but strong 105
kilogram build heart wasn't indigenous but he was known to hang out at the mish and supplied
alcohol and cannabis known to locals as yani to the young people who lived there
some members of the indigenous community viewed him with suspicion it seemed to them that heart showed too
much interest in young women and girls on the night that clinton speedy giro had disappeared he and his girlfriend
kelly had gone to a local party jay hart had also been in attendance and made two trips into town to buy beer for
the other party-goers sometime after midnight hart began trying to convince kelly to come back to
the caravan where he lived which was parked at his mother's home close by kelly refused to leave the party without
clinton so hard suggested they both join him the teenagers agreed and left the party
with heart at around 3am they watched music videos for a little while before going to sleep
hart said they could share his double bed and that he would sleep on a fold-out dining table
there was something about heart that made kelly uncomfortable and she asked clinton not to leave her alone with him
she slept deeply that night and woke up alone in the double bed to kelly's confusion she was no longer
wearing her shorts or underwear though she was certain she'd been wearing them when she went to bed
kelly found her discarded garments on the floor and pulled them back on then she picked up clinton's reeboks
which were also on the floor and went to his father's house to explain that she couldn't find him
when thomas juro went out looking for his son that day he bumped into jay hart in town
when thomas asked if he knew where clinton was hart replied that he had gone back home
but clinton was never seen alive again hart had been identified as a person of interest within days of clinton's
disappearance and police had interviewed him on february 4. a little while after that officers
informed her that they would be seizing his caravan to search for forensic evidence
but also out of fear that the town's indigenous residents might quote trash it they agreed that he could remove some
personal belongings before they took possession of the vehicle and asked what he
wanted hark replied just me waits the officers let heart retrieve the barbells and take them away
forensic detective rob wellings wouldn't learn that the suspect had been allowed
to remove some of his possessions until sometime afterwards the small caravan was dirty and in
disarray with detective wellings later telling journalists to dan box of the australian that it was more like a squat
than a proper home though it was searched at the time a proper forensic examination wasn't
completed a few days later clinton's remains were found detective wellings was called out to the
scene and as he examined clinton's body he noticed a piece of fabric shoved down
the front of his shorts detective wellings carefully removed the fabric and on closer inspection he saw
that it looked very familiar it looked like an exact match to a set of pillowcases he'd seen in j hart's
caravan when he'd examined it a few days earlier detective wellings immediately notified
his colleagues of the disturbing discovery and investigators interviewed hart again
he adamantly denied having anything to do with clinton's murder hart acknowledged that he'd invited
clinton and kelly back to his caravan and had a few drinks with kelly while clinton lay on the double bed
then hart set his alarm for between 5 15 and 5 30 so he could get up in time for
his six o'clock shift at the tanning factory before falling asleep drunk when the alarm went off hart was so
hungover that he automatically hit the snooze button and dozed off again but he slept so lightly that he could
still hear someone else in the caravan get up and leave at around 5 45 hart woke and prepared
for work although he had already organised for a colleague to give him a lift of that day
hart thought he'd missed him due to oversleeping so he went into his mother's house and asked to borrow the
keys to her orange red gallant then he headed off to work by himself hart's colleague confirmed that he had
arrived to pick up heart just before 6am when he peeked inside the van he saw kelly's feet sticking out of the bed but
no sign of heart or clinton the colleague decided to go to work without heart as he prepared to leave he spotted hart
pull up to the property in his mother's car according to hart he'd seen his colleague arrive when he
glanced in his rearview mirror he told his colleague to go to work without him as he'd decided he needed a
cup of tea to treat his hangover before starting his shift about 20 minutes later hart turned up at
work he stayed there for a couple of hours before going back home to return his mother's car
while he was back at the property his voice woke kelly who was still sleeping in the caravan
[Music] investigators weren't buying hart's story it was refuted by other witnesses
as well as the colleague who had seen him heading towards the property instead of away from it
multiple people had seen indicators that heart was up when he said he was asleep
his mother's boyfriend had noticed a light on in hearts caravan at around 4 30 am just before leaving for his own
job a neighbor saw hart's mother's car drive away from the property about 20 minutes
later an hour before hart said he'd borrowed it his mother marlene had previously told
the police she kept her keys in a handbag at the end of her bed leading them to theorise that heart had
crept into her room and taken them while she was sleeping marlene had also said that heart used
blankets similar to the one found near clinton's body this time jay hart wasn't allowed to leave his
police interview as a free man he was charged with murder [Music] when colleen's clothing and evelyn's
remains were found in the same area as clinton's body in the wakes that followed some began wondering whether
jay hart would be charged with their murders as well for months residents on the mish had
been murmuring his name in relation to the two missing girls years earlier jay hart had been in a
relationship with colleen's aunt alison the couple had a son together but hart was verbally and physically
abusive towards alison so she left for queensland taking their son with her colleen craig who was nine years younger
than hart was familiar with him due to his relationship with allison when colleen visited bowerville in july
1990 hart stopped by the mish and spent some time talking to her and her friend patricia
he invited the two girls to his caravan to watch music videos and stay over he also invited another male friend
colleen and patricia agreed when hart said they could share his double bed and he would sleep alone
but when the girls woke the next morning hart was in bed with them sleeping soundly
colleen told patricia that she'd been woken during the night by heart climbing into the bed and trying to have sex with
her she added he mauled me all night he touched down below and up the top as well
this morning i had to pull my pants up when i woke he'd got them down during the night
though colleen had been exhausted she'd managed to fight hard off patricia had slept more heavily than
colleen but she recalled that earlier in the night she had overheard heart ask their male friend
do you want to have sex with the girls their friend had replied no leave him alone
after this incident colleen was wary of the older man she went back home to sawtell then
returned to bearerville a few months later in september on the night of september 13 she
attended a party at the mish hours before she was planning to board a 3 a.m train to sydney
jay hard was at the party as well colleen's friends noticed how much attention he was paying her constantly
asking her to stay another night in his caravan colleen complained about heart's
behavior telling others he was harassing and pestering her she was last seen walking down the
alleyway that boarded the house where the party was taking place heart was also spotted at the same time
following her along the other side of the house some of the circumstances around the
disappearance of four-year-old evelyn greenup were chillingly familiar like colleen evelyn's mother rebecca had
found herself receiving a lot of attention from jay hart he had attended the party at their
family home on the night evelyn vanished after the party was over and rebecca had
gone to bed with her three children hart stayed on loitering in the house rebecca's mother patricia had asked hart
to leave then went to change into her pajamas when she left her room she saw no sign
of heart and assumed he'd gone home several hours later patricia was woken by a sharp cry from evelyn
she got up to check on her granddaughter but couldn't get into the room where she
was sleeping patricia heard a heavy thud then all went silent at the time she didn't suspect anything
untoward had happened the next morning rebecca woke from an uncharacteristically heavy sleep
glancing down she saw that the jeans she was wearing were unbuttoned and down around her knees
her underwear was also pulled to one side rebecca had no recollection of undressing herself
clinton's girlfriend kelly jarrett had reported a similar experience on the night her boyfriend disappeared while
staying at hart's caravan and colleen had told a friend that hart pulled her pants off while she was
sleeping there was another crucial detail another woman had stayed at patricia's
house after the party and was preparing a bottle for her baby just after patricia went to check on evelyn
moments after patricia went back to bed the woman saw jay hart leave the room where rebecca and her children were
sleeping he hurried down the hallway towards the front door wondering why he was leaving in such a
rush the woman followed him but by the time she reached to the front door and looked outside he was nowhere
to be seen a forensic examination of hearts caravan had revealed a tiny speck of human blood
on his bed but experts weren't able to determine any more information than that the sample was so small that it was
destroyed during the forensic process although investigators had an abundance of circumstantial evidence linking heart
to all three disappearances there was little in the way of physical evidence and when it came to colleen craig's case
the fact that they hadn't found her body would make securing a conviction difficult
almost six months after evelyn greenup's remains were found hart was charged with
her murder on october 16 1991 the director of public prosecutions was hopeful that clinton and evelyn's cases
could be prosecuted in a single trial allowing evidence from each case to be presented side by side
but j hart's legal team sought to have the two separated arguing that their client would be
unfairly prejudiced by a joint trial ultimately the judge ruled in the defense's favor ordering that heart be
trialed separately for each count moreover prosecutors wouldn't be allowed to present evidence from the other cases at
trial clinton's case had the strongest evidence and would run first prosecutors were barred from mentioning
the murder of evelyn or the disappearance and suspected murder of colleen in early 1994 the trial for clinton's
speedy juro's murder began although the prosecution was somewhat limited in what they could present
clinton's family were confident that hart would be convicted the prosecution was arguing that hart
had sparked kelly's drink and attempted to rape her he killed clinton after the teenager awoke saw the attack and tried
to stop him then he stole his mother's car keys from her handbag at around 4 45 am after her
boyfriend left for work and placed clinton's body in the vehicle he drove to kongarini road to dump
clinton's body in the bush and neighbor had seen marlene hart's car leave the property at around this time
and hart's colleague saw it return more than an hour later kelly jarrett was able to give
first-hand testimony that her boyfriend had gone to sleep in hearts caravan but had vanished without his shoes by
the time she woke to find her clothing removed but the defense undermined kelly's
evidence by focusing on the fact that she had been drinking on the night in question
other indigenous witnesses who were called to share their recollections of heart being at the party were similarly
scrutinized the defense also called two people who claimed to have seen clinton alive and
well the morning after it was alleged he'd been killed jay hart testified in his own defense
telling the court how he had heard clinton leave the caravan when he was half asleep
a little while later at around 5 45 a.m he'd burrowed his mother's car keys and left for work
although hart's mother originally told police she kept her keys in a handbag at the end of her bed
she told the court that she slept with them under her pillow early that morning she was woken by her
son coming into her room and asking if he could borrow her car marlene said when she glanced at the
clock she saw it was 5 50. she also denied ever saying that hart used blankets like the one found near
clinton's body and claimed the police had incorrectly inserted that into their records
the trial concluded on february 18 three years to the day after clinton's body was found
clinton's family and friends sat in silence as they waited for the jury's verdict to be read aloud
the jury who had no idea that others had been murdered let alone that jay hart was suspected of killing them
found heart not guilty [Music] shock washed over clinton's family and friends as they realized that hart had
been acquitted clinton's grandmother fainted as they left the courtroom in a daze
members of the media descended with cameras and microphones clamoring for a response to the verdict
when the family was ushered into another room so they could have some privacy photographers and camera crews climbed
up to the windows trying to get footage of them clinton's sixteen-year-old brother troy
was so traumatized by these events that he later had no recollection of them jayhart's acquittal threw the
prosecution of the two counts that they had charged hart with they'd thought clinton's was the
strongest now that a jury had found in his favor they didn't think they had a chance of
successfully prosecuting him at another trial especially since they couldn't introduce
any evidence used at the previous one ultimately the director of public prosecutions decided to drop the second
charge jay hart would not have to answer for his alleged involvement in the murder of
evelyn greenup [Music] the victims families and their community were devastated the grief they had endured ever since
the three children disappeared intensified as they grappled with the feeling that the legal system had failed
them when they first lost their children no one had cared now more than three years later it
seemed they were still all alone in their quest for justice unwilling to give up they continued to
fight for colleen evelyn and clinton over the next few years demonstrations were held regularly in bowerville as a
way for residents to express their anger and frustration in response to their grievances the
commissioner of new south wales police met with the community and eventually agreed to reinvestigate the three
murders in january 1997 a new strike force was established experienced investigators and analysts
from homicide major crime and north region local area commands would take over the case
led by detective gary jubilen a renowned homicide detective gary jubilan was known for his dedication to
solving crimes and the strong rapport he built with victims families when he began working on the bowerville
murders detective jubilan couldn't believe that a case involving two teens and one child who all lived on the same
street and had gone missing from the same area within a five-month period hadn't been treated more seriously
the fact that the prime suspect had been allowed to remove possible evidence from
his caravan was also alarming hart had subsequently thrown away the barbells that he retrieved from the van
and they were never found forensic experts suspected that they could have been used to deal the fatal
blow to clinton's head as well as re-examining evidence relating to the case and chasing down
new and previous witnesses alike detective jubilan and his team placed a strong emphasis on strengthening ties
with the indigenous community realising the family's trust in law enforcement was at an all-time
low the detectives undertook training in cultural sensitivity and awareness individual investigators worked
diligently to connect with the townsfolk gradually they were able to form more positive relationships with the victims
families and barriville's indigenous residents investigators were soon making new
discoveries about the case one particularly interesting piece of information related to an incident that
occurred after colleen's disappearance but prior to avalanche there was a residence on the mission
nicknamed the women's house as only women lived there not long after colleen vanished from a
party nearby one of the home's occupants woke up one night with a start it was about 2 am and she sensed
something was wrong looking up the woman saw the figure of a man standing in her
room there was something about his stance that looked threatening though she was initially frozen with
fear the woman sat up her sudden movement prompted the man to flee she had never told the original case
investigators about this unsettling incident when members of the strikeforce asked
her why not she replied i'm a black lady what's the point of telling the white coppers
as far as gary jubilan was concerned her story was consistent with the theory that investigators were leaning towards
colleen evelyn and clinton had disappeared as part of a string of sexually motivated attacks targeting
indigenous women living on the mish evelyn's mother rebecca and clinton's girlfriend kelly had both woken up from
strangely deep sleeps to find their pants removed and their loved ones missing colleen craig had once complained of jay
hart mauling her and pulling off her clothing during the night her friend patricia who had been with
her that night said they'd both felt groggy and she had slept deeply some people who attended parties on the
mish said jay hart regularly supplied alcohol and was known for spiking people's drinks
he also seemed to show a predatory interest in indigenous women in early 1998 the strikeforce passed
along their submissions to the director of public prosecutions they were recommending that new charges
be brought against the jayhart for the murder of evelyn greenup it took 18 months for the dpp to respond
ultimately they decided against pressing charges citing a lack of evidence dissatisfied with this the families
community and members of the strikeforce kept petitioning for action to be taken
it took six more years but a coronal inquest was finally granted in february 2004
the inquest would focus on the disappearance of colleen and the murder of evelyn
unlike the previous trial the coroner would be able to examine all of the available evidence
seven months later the coroner handed down his findings despite the dpp's previous decision that
there wasn't enough evidence to press charges he stated that there was a reasonable
prospect a jury could convict a known individual of evelyn's murder even though colleen craig's body had
never been discovered the coroner found that she had died as a result of homicide
the consistencies between the three cases led him to believe that they must be linked and were the act of a single
individual he added that there was a definite suspicion on the only person of interest
the coroner would be urging the director of public prosecutions to try jay hart again
the dpp did as requested and jay hart was once again charged with evelyn greenup's murder
the trial began on february 6 2006 as hart had already been acquitted of clinton's murder none of the evidence
from that case was admissible and once again the trial judge ruled that some evidence from colleen's case
would have to be excluded as it could prejudice the jury but the prosecution would be allowed to
mention how multiple women heart showed an interest in had awoken to find their pants and underwear removed including
evelyn's mother rebecca the prosecution's theory was that hart had been in the process of assaulting a
sleeping rebecca when evelyn woke and began to cry out of rage and a desire to silence the
little girl heart had picked her up and thrown her at a wall before carrying her limp body
away and dumping her in bushland new witnesses also testified that hart had made disturbing comments to them
during altercations an indigenous couple from the mish said that in april 1990 hart had threatened
to strangle them then dump their bodies near the yani plants on congorini road yani was an indigenous word for cannabis
and there had been a cannabis crop near the areas where clinton and evelyn were found
another man testified that hart had told him he had bodies buried in some yani crops
and a prison inmate said that while heart was awaiting trial he had admitted to killing evelyn by slamming her head
against a wall but due to the restrictions placed on them the prosecution wasn't able to
detail much of the evidence uncovered by gary jubilan's strike force the defence team undermined the
prosecution's witnesses by claiming one was quote a drunk and that the prisoner who testified was previously convicted
of perjury just as they had done during clinton's trial they described how numerous people
said they had seen evelyn the morning after she went missing a barriville shopkeeper said the little
girl had come into her store at 7am that day witnesses from the victims families were
already confused by the restrictions placed on them in terms of what they could or couldn't say
the fact that 15 years had passed made it even easier for the defense to cast a doubt upon their recollections
at times evelyn's relatives felt as though they were the ones on trial her mother rebecca was grilled about her
drinking habits and sexual partners she couldn't fathom why there seemed to be more focus on her than the man
charged with killing evelyn [Music] this time hart didn't take the stand on march 3 one month after the trial
began the jury delivered their verdict not guilty jay hart had been acquitted once again
evelyn's family were devastated as was their broader community and the relatives of the other victims
now that jay hart had twice been found not guilty the victims families felt they had a little chance of ever
receiving justice double jeopardy laws in new south wales meant that an individual couldn't be
prosecuted again for a crime they had already been acquitted of but this changed in december 2006
due in part to campaigning by the families the new south wales parliament made an amendment to the state's crimes
appeal and review act now someone who had been acquitted could be retrialed if fresh and compelling
evidence was found the strikeforce got back to work and began investigating again
they established that witness sightings of clinton and evelyn the morning after they went missing were not correct and
that people had either confused their dates been mistaken or were misremembering things
as part of their reinvestigation the strikeforce also uncovered a crucial piece of information that had been
completely ignored until now at around 5 a.m on the morning of february 1 1991 delivery drivers greg
innis and michael scafidi were driving towards bowerville they had a load of meat to drop off at
the town butcher and the road stretched out in front of them dim in the pre-dawn
hours the bright headlights of their truck cast a strong light across their path
while their surroundings faded into darkness traveling at a speed of about 80 kilometers per hour the men swung left
as they came to a corner on that side a stretch of road known locally as norco corner
it was then that their truck's high beams illuminated something a young indigenous man was lying on the
road he had the smooth and youthful face of a teenager and had a shirt tied around his
waist there were no shoes on his feet one hand was stretched above his head which was turned to one side and he was
completely still as michael later told the sydney morning herald it looked like he was either asleep
drunk or dead watch out there's some guy on the road he warned greg the two men pulled over and parked the
truck then peered out of the window at the person sprawled across the road they saw there was also a stocky white
man at the scene and he was standing over the boy as though to help him leaning across from the passenger seat
michael asked mate what's going on we could have hit that guy he's lying in the middle of the
road the white man reassured michael and greg that everything was fine the indigenous boy was just asleep and
he'd called the police to pick him up michael checked whether the man wanted some help in carrying the teenager off
the road but the man waved him off saying he could manage by himself believing the situation was under
control the two delivery men pulled back onto the road and continued on their way
up ahead they noticed what looked like a mustard coloured station wagon parked to
one side its boot was open and its lights were off when greg and michael later heard that a
16 year old named clinton speedy duro had been found murdered in some nearby bushland
they realised the significance of what they had seen the morning that they had seen a
seemingly unconscious indigenous boy lying on the ground was the same day that clinton was
believed to have been attacked perhaps the boy's killer had been hoping that a vehicle would run over the body
making it look like an accident instead of murder the two men reported the incident to
police when gary jubilan's team were once again investigating the case in 2007 they found a running sheet from april
1991 that detailed the man's sighting but the information had never been properly investigated or made available
at the trial for clinton's murder the original detectives hadn't even obtained formal statements from greg and
michael in 2016 michael scafidi shared another detail with the journalist to dan box
a couple of years after he'd observed the strange scene at norco corner he had been at work when some colleagues began
passing around photographs from a community event in bearerville michael was looking at the photos when
one person in a picture caught his eye he asked his co-workers if they knew who the person was
and they flipped the photo over to read some names that had been scribbled on the back
according to these annotations the person michael had noticed was jay hart michael was certain that hart was the
man he'd seen with the indigenous boy at norco corner years earlier detective jubilan and his team believed
that the norco corner sighting constituted fresh and compelling evidence on behalf of the new south wales police
force they made a submission that hart be retried for the murders of clinton and evelyn and indicted for the murder
of colleen craig but on june 4 2007 the dpp advised that the new evidence wasn't sufficiently
fresh or compelling their application was denied over the years the lack of answers and
resolution in the three bowerville murders has attracted attention from the media
the case has been featured in a number of high-profile television programs and was the subject of a 2013 documentary by
indigenous writer legal academic and filmmaker larissa burant she travelled to bowerville to interview
the victims families and her film titled innocence betrayed won and was shortlisted for several awards
three years later the australian newspaper released a podcast series about the case
crime journalist dan box interviewed colleen evelyn and clinton's families as well as various witnesses
he also spoke with jay hart at length in their conversation hart who has changed his name and no longer lives in
barreville strenuously denied having anything to do with the murders he even stated that he wouldn't be
opposed to being trialled again as he believed it would provide him with the opportunity to clear his name once and
for all the series shone a new spotlight on the case and led to a renewed push for
action as it turned out the laws on admissibility of evidence had recently been updated meaning that details of
colleen and evelyn's cases would now be admissible in a trial for clinton's murder
in february 2017 police charged heart with clinton and evelyn's murders yet again
the new south wales attorney general applied to the state's court of criminal appeal for a re-trial on the grounds
that these new laws effectively gave rise to fresh and compelling evidence the following year
this application was rejected with the court ruling that none of the evidence was fresh
attorney general applied to australia's high court for special leave to appeal this decision
but was denied to this day jay hart maintains he had nothing to do with the murders of evelyn
greener poor clinton speedy juro or the disappearance of colleen craig he asserts that the evidence against him
is purely circumstantial and he's the only suspect because police botched their investigation neglecting to look
at any other persons of interest hart recently spoke with indigenous filmmaker alan clark for a forthcoming
documentary titled the baureville murders and told clark police haven't got a single witness
that's seen me do anything they haven't got a single piece of forensic evidence to tie me to them
not one piece case file acknowledges jay hart's right to the presumption of innocence
colleen evelyn and clinton's families are still fighting for a retrial the victims loved ones have no doubt
that the case would have been treated very differently if they weren't indigenous
from the start police dismissed their concerns due to the prejudices about their community
michelle jarrett the art of evelyn greenup has said that if colleen's disappearance was taken seriously then
evelyn and clinton might still be alive today when two of the cases later went to
trial indigenous witnesses found themselves up against a legal system that was foreign to
them the juries selected didn't include any indigenous people and they weren't educated on indigenous communication
styles which possibly led to witnesses being misinterpreted as untrustworthy for example some indigenous witnesses
would say yes as a polite response to being asked a question before going on to give evidence that contradicted what
jurors heard as their previous answer in 2016 the new south wales police commissioner andrew scipione met with
all three families to formally acknowledge that institutional racism had hindered the initial handling of the
case he stated i want to publicly acknowledge that the new south wales police force could have
done more for your families when these crimes first occurred and how this added to your pain as a grieving community
and for that i am sorry colleen craig's family have never stopped looking for her body
in 2011 they thought they might have found her when some bones were discovered not far
from bowerville but these turned out to be animal remains to this day colleen's siblings cousins
nephews and denises still search for her the fact that she has never been found has contributed to their grief
as one of colleen's cousins told a parliamentary committee it is something that is missing within
all of us not actually knowing where she is and what has happened to her is something
that we carry every single day those closest to evelyn greenup have battled guilt as well as sorrow
her grandmother patricia has suffered as she heard evelyn cry out on the night in
question but was unable to reach her evelyn's mother rebecca has also been tormented by the fact that evelyn went
missing from the same room where she was sleeping in the years after her daughter's death
rebecca directed her pain inwards and struggled with alcoholism in her own words
my heart was ripped apart and i felt numb as i knew evelyn was never coming back to me
i would never be able to give her a hug or give her a kiss tell her everything is all right and i would never see my
daughter grow up into a beautiful woman i was always treated like i had no right
to evelyn's information on updates of the investigation and i was always left out of everything because everyone
blamed me no one will ever know how i feel because i was evelyn's mother and had that special bond with her
i carried her for nine months i felt her move and grow in my womb and i gave birth to my firstborn child
evelyn clarice greenup even though clinton's speedy duro was the first victim found it later emerged
that the police had not done a thorough job in bringing him back to his family a year after clinton's murder
two bones belonging to him were found in the bush his family learnt of this oversight 12
years after they lost clinton when his autopsy report was accidentally shared with them
this was an extremely painful discovery especially as the burial of human remains is a very sensitive matter
within indigenous culture clinton's family members still struggle to speak of the boy they lost due in
part to the sense of injustice they feel from the trial's outcome in 1994 his brother troy has said he had
difficulty even speaking to his wife about clinton and has never really learned how to deal
with the pain and the loss of trust in the justice system the constant battle with the
police the legal system and the government over the past three decades has left all of clinton's loved ones
feeling despondent the younger generation has picked up the fight from their parents
but the last thing they want is for future generations to have to do the same thing
in clinton's father's words each time we think we are going to get justice we are let down
we keep going but it is hard [Music] those who knew colleen craig described her as vibrant kind and well-liked
she had a tender and loving nature as demonstrated by her care for younger children
her family said she had a strong character with a clear moral while still being something of a
prankster who liked to make jokes at the time that she disappeared colleen had completed a certificate and some
work experience in preparation for achieving her dream of becoming a preschool teacher
before she left her home town of sortel to go to bearerville in the days before her death she kissed her mother goodbye
colleen and her mum muriel had a special bond and everyone who knew them was sure
colleen would never go anywhere without telling muriel of her plans despite never being reunited with her
daughter muriel still feels her presence not long after colleen disappeared muriel heard a familiar tapping at her
kitchen window although colleen wasn't out there muriel felt in her heart that the noise
was her daughter's spirit reaching out evelyn greenup was shy with outsiders and scared of strangers
when her family went for walks together four-year-old evelyn would cling tightly
to an adult's hand but closer to home her personality shone evelyn loved visiting her aunties and
playing with her cousins and two little brothers sweet and gentle she always had a smile
on her face and especially liked being outside in nature clinton's speedy juro was nicknamed
bubby by his family sometimes they jokingly called him pretty boy because he took so much pride
in his clothes and appearance his passions were art music and the dancing when he hit the dance floor at parties
all lies were drawn to him he was also a talented football player helping his team to win the under-16s
grand final by scoring two tries clinton had a reputation for being friendly and kind to younger children
with one of his aunts remembering how kids would trail behind him wherever he went
a monument to colleen craig evelyn greenup and clinton speedy giroud was built at barreville's memorial park
six wooden benches form a circle around three poles each of which features a plaque dedicated to one of the victims
the three poles are linked by a triangular rooftop creating a small sheltered area where people can gather
colleen evelyn and clinton's families were all consulted for the memorial it was envisioned as a place where they
and the community can reflect on the loss of their three children and honor their memories
[Music] the victims loved ones were overcome with anger after their most recent application for a retrial was rejected
by australia's high court to protest the ruling they plastered the windows of sydney's law courts building
with white painted handprints in a voice thick with emotion an aunt of clinton speedy giro told
journalists we are stuck in a 29-year rut of injustice we are owed you owe us this justice
how dare you all [Music] in june of 2015 a woman disappeared while camping with her family in the
cherokawa mountains of arizona she vanished without leaving a trace in the course of one to two minutes this is the
strangest search i've ever been on she just disappeared right off the face of the earth i said you're telling me you
got signed right here i said well then we're right on the road here basically so she got another car
somebody abducted her we were desperate we didn't know what else to do you already start to know you
know the canine hasn't found her something really bad is going on were we a target of something
what if somebody's got a vendetta against us the two-year quest for answers in this case led me to find out
more than i had originally anticipated i'll challenge you to something do a homework on missing persons from
national parks it's going to astound you that you're going to find out there's no way my brother would have
thought of suicide he also had just purchased furniture he was very excited about fixing up his living room so
you don't buy furniture and start fixing up your living room you're cleaning and
dying this case has more twists and turns than the blue ridge parkway and i have to say occam's razor is normally
the principle i operate from the simplest explanation is normally the most likely certainly what i do know is
that in fear and under pressure people make some very bad choices i'm otavia mchenry and this is the labyrinth a true
crime podcast brought to you by case file presents i think there's something there that we're just not seeing and
that others aren't seeing neither because everybody now to this point in this case is just grasping so
welcome to our world with this case and if you can give us any help i can't even
we can't even begin to tell you how much we'd appreciate that how is it that these people disappear
like that without a tree i'm a firm believer those things are real and there's something out there that we
don't understand we don't the labyrinth available exclusively on spotify

Case 186: The Bowraville Murders

When 16-year-old Colleen Walker suddenly vanished from the New South Wales town of Bowraville in September 1990, her family and friends knew something was terribly wrong. But local police dismissed their concerns, suggesting that the Indigenous teenager had simply “gone walkabout”...

CREDITS

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

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RESOURCES

For all credits and sources please visit https://casefilepodcast.com/case-186-the-bowraville-murders

Brief Summary

Jeanette Castreon, Colleen Craig, and Evelyn Greenup's disappearances highlight systemic issues in law enforcement and racial biases in investigations.

Key points

Jeanette Castreon's Mysterious Disappearance. In June 2015, Jeanette Castreon vanished while waiting for her mother, sparking a search for answers.
Colleen Craig's Last Night. Colleen Craig disappeared after a party in 1990, leaving her family desperate for answers.
Evelyn Greenup Goes Missing. Four-year-old Evelyn Greenup disappears after a party, leading to a frantic search by her family.
Community Grief and Protest. A week after Clinton's disappearance, residents marched on the police station demanding action.
Discovery of Clinton's Remains. Two men hiking found Clinton's badly decomposed remains, leading to a homicide investigation.
Evelyn's Remains Found. Searchers discovered the skeletal remains of Evelyn Greenup, confirming she had been murdered.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

She don't look aboriginal to us.

12:16WatchAug 28, 2021

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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