Cheryl Grimmer was abducted from Fairy Meadow Beach on January 12, 1970, when she was 3. Photo: NSW Police.
WARNING: THIS STORY CONTAINS DISTURBING INFORMATION AND GRAPHIC DETAILS OF AN ALLEGED CHILD MURDER CONFESSION.
The person who admitted to killing three-year-old Cheryl Grimmer after abducting her from an Illawarra beach more than half a century ago has been named in the NSW Parliament.
But the media still cannot identify the man for legal reasons.
Upper House MP Jeremy Buckingham used parliamentary privilege on Thursday (23 October) to name the man, who was previously only known as ‘Mercury’, after he failed to come forward by midnight before the deadline set by Cheryl’s brother Ricki Nash.
The toddler vanished from Fairy Meadow Beach near Wollongong in 1970. A little over a year later, a 17-year-old boy confessed to killing her when he was 15.
Police dismissed his claim at the time.
A 2011 coronial inquest into the child’s disappearance found she was likely dead, and a new police investigation in 2016 revisited the teenager’s confession and identified the now adult as a person of interest in the case.
He was subsequently charged with murder and faced a trial in 2018 after pleading not guilty.
But the case was dropped when it was ruled the confession was inadmissible because child interview protection laws were applied retrospectively.
The man could not legally be publicly identified during the court proceedings because he was 15 at the time of the alleged offence.
In addition to naming the man on Thursday, Mr Buckingham also read the teenager’s confession out loud, getting it recorded into Hansard.
“Cheryl Grimmer’s family have relentlessly fought for justice and searched for the truth regarding her disappearance,” he said.
Legislative Council President Ben Franklin interrupted Mr Buckingham to remind him that if he revealed the name, he would be using parliamentary privilege to breach a legal order suppressing the man’s identity.
He said there could be parliamentary consequences for doing so.
“Can I just make these observations before you proceed under privilege,” Mr Franklin said.
“A Member is protected from the consequences which would otherwise result from breaching a legal order of this nature, which could otherwise amount to a contempt of court.
“However, all members have the obligation to use their privilege responsibly, and this house can take action against members who are judged by the house to have abused privilege.
“The comity between the parliament and the courts should not be treated lightly, and I ask the Member to consider these issues carefully before proceeding.”
The MP then named the man and read out the long-suppressed confession on the floor of parliament.
Mr Buckingham struggled to keep his composure while reading the graphic confession and broke into tears a number of times.
“I come around from the back of the shower block and grabbed the little girl, I took her by the hand and put one hand around her mouth and carried her around to the sand hills,” the confession read.
“I then continued up to Bulli Pass where I took the little girl. She started to scream when I took her up there. She would not be quiet so I put my arms around her throat and strangled her.
“I left her lying on the ground at the side of a tree, I covered her up with leaves and bushes and threw some dirt on top.”
The teenager had confessed to intending to rape the child, but did not because she was screaming so much.
He confessed to removing her swimsuit and later burning it.
“I was going to take the swim trunks home with me and put them in a draw, but I decided not to because I thought my mother might find them, so I burnt them in an incinerator going back towards Corrimal Beach,” the confession read.
Mr Buckingham’s speech lasted for about 17 minutes.
Some members of Cheryl Grimmer’s family were in the chamber’s public gallery while the confession was read aloud.
Following Mr Buckingham’s speech, NSW Attorney-General Michael Daley made a brief statement to parliament.
“This is a heart-wrenching case, and my thoughts are with Cheryl Grimmer’s family, who have endured more than five decades of pain and uncertainty,” he said.
“It would not be appropriate to comment on any individual who has not been charged or convicted.”
Really good and honest article about being a carer. View