Perfect Victim (19 page)

‘Caroline, can you hear me?’ asked the detective.

‘Yes,’ she replied.

‘Caroline, my name is Neil, I’m a policeman. Do you understand that?’

‘Yes.’

‘I want to talk to you about Rachel, is that okay?’

‘Yes.’

‘Do you know where Rachel is?’

‘Yes.’

‘Where is she?’

‘She’s dead.’

‘How did that happen?’

‘It was an accident, I killed her.’

The officer, shocked, gave Caroline a formal caution and told her about her rights to communicate with a lawyer. He asked her if she understood her rights and wished to exercise them before he continued speaking with her. She replied, ‘No.’

‘Are you positive she’s dead or can we still help her?’ he continued.

‘No, she’s dead.’

He asked Robertson where Rachel’s body was. She said it was up at her father’s farm at Kilmore – buried near a clump of trees. She said she’d called a removal van to take it there.

‘Who helped you?’ asked the detective.

‘I can’t remember.’

‘How did she die?’

‘I can’t remember – I’m tired.’

‘I must again inform you that you are not obliged to say or do anything, but anything you say or do may be given in evidence. Do you still understand this?’

‘Yes.’

‘Do you want to speak to your father or a solicitor?’ he asked.

‘I’m tired,’ said Caroline.

Paterson left the treatment room, informing David Reid that Rachel Barber was dead. Caroline had said it was an accident. Rachel’s body was somewhere at Kilmore. The policeman couldn’t imagine what must have been going through David Reid’s head, but he appeared shocked at the news, too. He said he knew the location of the clump of trees Caroline had referred to. It was not far from his house on the property – near a place where his children had once buried a dead koala. Mr Reid, no doubt believing the police were investigating an accidental death, went to contact a solicitor for his daughter.

Around 10 p.m. that Friday Neil Paterson rang his boss, Detective Senior Sergeant Steve Waddell, at the Missing Persons Unit, with the news. Waddell immediately contacted the Homicide Squad and arranged for a crime scene guard to be stationed at both the Trinian Street flat and David Reid’s farming property at Kilmore.

Caroline was placed in custody. No one except hospital staff was allowed to approach or speak to her without police permission. Hospital security was informed. Later that evening a lawyer went to the Alfred Hospital and spoke to Paterson. The lawyer, Jonathan Mott, had a short conversation with Caroline and left at around 11 p.m. At 11.35 Detective Senior Constable Hamilton relieved Neil Paterson at the hospital, and Paterson returned to the Missing Persons Unit to conduct further inquiries.

By midnight local police officers had been deployed to the Kilmore property, which became the site of extensive police surveillance. Paterson returned to the Alfred Hospital again, this time accompanied by his boss Steve Waddell. At around 1.30 on the Saturday morning, they escorted a dishevelled Caroline Robertson from the hospital’s Emergency Department and placed her in the back of an unmarked police vehicle. They drove her to the watchhouse at the Moorabbin police station, where she was placed in the cells at 2 a.m.

21

C
HARGED

By the time Neil Paterson resumed duty at 11.45 a.m. on Saturday, 13 March, Detective Sergeant Paul Ross of the Homicide Squad had taken over what was now a murder investigation. Homicide detectives and officers from Missing Persons held a meeting at the Kilmore police station. Forensic experts were already being briefed, as were photographic specialists and officers from the Victoria Police Crime Scenes Department.

Back in Melbourne, Paul Ross took charge of the handwritten material housed in the Missing Persons property store. It had been hoped by everyone on the team that this information would have helped them find Rachel Barber alive and safe.

Neil Paterson joined Thatcher and Ross for an initial interview with Caroline, which was to be videotaped. Caroline had been collected from the cells at the Moorabbin watchhouse and brought to the Homicide Squad offices in St Kilda Road. Thatcher recalls providing her with numerous cups of water but also remembers her continually declining offers of food. She was noticeably quiet.

At around the time the Barbers were leaving their home to drive Rachel’s boyfriend Emmanuel to his dancing class in Richmond, Detective Senior Sergeant Steve Waddell had obtained written permission from David Reid to search his Kilmore property. David Reid had also drawn a map of the region to help police in their search.

The initial videotaped interview with Caroline lasted only a couple of minutes and was suspended to allow her to consult her solicitor, David O’Doherty. She was also allowed to speak to her father.

During the early hours of Saturday morning Homicide detectives had obtained a warrant to conduct a fresh search of the primary crime scene at Trinian Street. It was too dark to begin any kind of search at the Kilmore property until daybreak. The property had been sealed off and placed under guard as a secondary crime scene. But it was possible to examine the Prahran flat more closely. New clues might be found there to build a case against the suspect. So Detective Senior Sergeant Lucio Rovis and Detective Sergeant Ross visited the flat with officers from Police Video Operations and Photographics and began to comb it for evidence.

A number of documents and notebooks were photographed along with a bundle of women’s fashion magazines and other items, including an extraordinarily large print of Edvard Munch’s famous painting
The Scream
. Samples of hair were collected from the lounge and bedroom along with some from a shoe in the bedroom.

On Saturday afternoon at Kilmore, the team made its way from the tiny police station to David Reid’s holiday home, relieving the crime scene guard of his duties and driving up the long track to the brick house on top of the hill. Police cars were parked behind the house. To the north-east there was a gate leading to a dam. On the eastern side of the dam the officers could see a small clump of trees. They made their way to this grove and began an examination of the area.

Thatcher and Waddell saw two small crosses in the ground. One bore the name ‘Lucy’, which they guessed must have been the pet koala. The other bore the name ‘Little Mate’, presumably also a pet.

Both officers noticed a strong smell coming from a patch of ground showing signs of increased fly activity. Thatcher’s right foot sank into the ground, and as he stood back he saw that the earth had been disturbed and that there were signs of recent digging.

He alerted the other officers and the area was carefully photographed as it was excavated. It became evident to the team that they had found a shallow, crude grave. Shortly before 3.30 the detectives located what appeared to be a human body, lying in a foetal position and wrapped in blankets. The detectives were convinced that they had finally found Rachel Barber.

The entire region, including surrounding bushland, was searched. A shovel and hoe found in a nearby machinery shed were photographed, together with many other items. Two large rubbish bins were searched, as was a 44-gallon drum that had been used as an incinerator. And partially burnt paper with handwriting on it was photographed and collected as well.

As the gravesite was excavated and photographed in stages, it was revealed that the body had been buried with a ligature around its neck.

During the evening Dr Shelley Robertson, Senior Forensic Pathologist from the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine, visited the scene and conducted an official examination of the body. She pronounced life extinct and the body was taken away for an autopsy.

Detectives returned to the property again a few days later, when Search and Rescue divers scoured several dams on the property in the hope of finding fresh evidence. A large contingent of personnel from the State Emergency Service also assisted police in an extensive line search. Nothing relevant was discovered.

With David Reid’s permission, detectives also searched the house on the property and more items were taken for closer scrutiny.

Back in Melbourne on that Saturday morning, the police began to interview Caroline again. Her lawyer was now present and, apart from confirming her name, age, address and residency status, she had chosen to exercise her legal right to refuse to answer any further questions. That interview was suspended after a few moments. In the interim, Paul Ross was updated on evidence discovered during the search of Caroline’s flat. During the night another collection of deeply disturbing writings relating to Rachel Barber had been found. The handwritten notes were sometimes clearly written and easy to read, sometimes scrappy and incomplete. Some apparently innocent and empty notepads may have held vital clues to other missing pages, so these were sent to the Victoria Forensic Science Centre in Macleod for closer examination. Later that Saturday evening Paul Ross seized more items from the flat, including forensic samples, receipts, clothing, a telephone answering machine and assorted books on the occult.

It appeared that the suspect did indeed harbour some sort of unnatural interest in Rachel Barber. Why though? It hardly seemed credible. Caroline was just twenty years old and had no kind of criminal record. But the evidence suggested a sinister scenario beyond the comprehension of even the most experienced Homicide detectives. More disturbing still was the discovery of an application for a birth certificate bearing Rachel Barber’s details, apparently in Caroline Robertson’s handwriting. And there were notes recording very personal observations on Rachel and her family.

It appeared to the officers studying the notes that some kind of plan might have been formulated by Robertson to lure the young girl to the flat.

The police were keen to speak further with Caroline. They wanted to ask her about her movements on the day of Rachel Barber’s disappearance. And they wanted to question her about the handwritten notes. She had already volunteered a confession in hospital, but today, as was her right, she was saying little more.

At 1.19 p.m. on Saturday, Detective Sergeant Ross turned on the videotape and began a second interview, during which Caroline admitted that she had changed her name by deed poll. But this was the only question she answered. To everything else she responded, ‘I don’t want to answer any questions.’

After Ross had suspended the interview he received a telephone call telling him that a body believed to be that of Rachel Barber had been discovered buried on the property at Kilmore.

Later that afternoon he recommenced the videotaped interview and again it was suspended to allow Caroline to speak to her lawyer. By 4.54 p.m., when the interview was recommenced for the final time, Caroline had developed a headache and had received medication. She was told that Rachel’s body had been found at Kilmore and was asked if she had anything to say about that. Her response was the same: ‘I don’t want to answer any questions.’

Paul Ross had shown Caroline samples of the handwritten documents seized from her flat. He asked if she had seen them before. He asked who had written the notes in the diary planner. Who had filled out the birth certificate in Rachel Barber’s name? Who had made the jottings and lists about Rachel Barber? Was that her handwriting? He showed her the size 8 clothing taken from Trinian Street. Did she know anything about these items? Did she know Rachel Barber’s mother’s maiden name? Had she ever rented a post-office box? Caroline refused to answer.

The detective ended the interview, telling Caroline she was the suspect in a murder case and warning her that she was shortly to be charged with killing Rachel Barber. He then requested permission for the police to obtain samples for forensic testing. These would include fingerprints, together with samples of hair, dental impressions and blood samples taken in the presence of a doctor of her choice.

Caroline asked to speak with her lawyer, though it had been explained to her that as she was a suspect in a murder case, police could obtain a court order forcing her to comply with the request.

After being cautioned in relation to the pending charge, she was allowed a brief discussion with her lawyer. Permission was given – for the fingerprinting only, not the biological samples.

By evening, Caroline Reed Robertson had been formally charged with the murder of Rachel Elizabeth Barber and remanded in custody at the Fitzroy police station to appear in court on the following Monday morning.

22

S
UNDAY

Early Morning, 14 March

I woke around 4 a.m. The doctor had left Temazepam tablets to help us sleep. The family had insisted we take them. But I was awake, lying beside Mike and two sleeping daughters.

Rachel, I thought. Rachel, come home.

We had said prayers for Rachel. The Salvation Army had been present because Lindsay and another Captain had tried so hard to find our lovely girl. They’d offered to say prayers and everyone had sat in a circle, even those who were not Christians. And we’d prayed for Rachel’s soul. We’d thanked God for bringing her home. Only Ashleigh-Rose had left the room; she’d busied herself arranging flowers.