Labouchardiere Kylie - Call me cruel : a story about murder and the dangerous power of lies

Michael Duffy reports trials and crime for the Sun-Herald . He has written two Sydney crime novels, The Tower and The Simple Death .

www.michaelduffy.com.au

Rebekkah Craig still works at Gosford and is busily raising the two children born during the investigation.

Glenn Smith returned to the Homicide Squad and received a Commanders Unit Citation for bringing Kylies killer to justice. In order to become a sergeant he had to leave Homicide and now works in uniform at a suburban police station. Hes proud of Paul Wilkinsons conviction but says, There are no winners in a murder investigation.

Four days after Wilkinson was sentenced, Geoff Lowe applied to be classified hurt on duty and given a pension for life, due to the psychological effects of Wilkinsons allegations. This was granted in 2010.

Julie Thurecht is engaged to Vince Cotton and living happily with him and Bradley.

John Edwards taught English in a high school in Thailand for several years and now helps provide first-aid courses in Afghanistan. He still finds it immensely hard to talk about his younger daughter.

Leanne Edwards is a single parent, bringing up her daughters on the Central Coast. She believes Kylie was finally starting to mature just before her death, and if shed lived her life would have improved dramatically. She thinks often about the way her own familys life would have been enriched had Kylie and her children been part of it, and of how Kylie and she might have grown close for the first time. I was waiting for her to catch up with me, she says, and she just had when we lost her.

Carol Edwards (nee Windeyer) believes Kylie is still close to her: I know that shes with me. I speak to her every day, out loud, when Im walking to the station at three, three-thirty in the morning [to go to work at a call centre in Sydney]. Theres a star just directly out there, its the brightest star in the whole sky. I named this star Kylie. And this star follows me, all the way to the station, and I talk to this star. When Im feeling down, I just speak out loud to her, its as though she was here. Im sure shes had a hand in some things that have happened to me since she died. Im sure shes like a guardian angel watching over me.

Strike Force Bergin, like most homicide investigations, had been conducted in great secrecy. Geoff Lowe was among those who had no idea what was going on: all he knew was that Paul Wilkinson was still walking the streets and still posed a threat to himself and possibly his wife. In late 2006, having had Wilkinsons threat assessed as low by the police force, Sue and Geoff decided he should seek promotion to inspector level, in a job far from Sydney. They would get away from Wilkinson and start a new life.

Next year, Geoff applied for a position of Commissioned Officers rank for the first time. It was quite a step: the increase in both status and salary between sergeant and inspector is considerable. But he was an experienced officer whod handled a lot of tense situations well: hed been involved in the Strathfield Massacre investigation, hed had shotguns pointed at him, hed been the General Duties Mobile Supervisor at Cronulla during the revenge attacks after the riot in December 2005. With over two decades experience, he was sure hed make a good inspector, especially somewhere well away from Sydney.

He didnt know that soon Paul Wilkinson would no longer be a threat.

Glenn Smiths plan was to arrest Wilkinson on 17 April 2007, just before the third anniversary of Kylies death. Usually on these occasions the police go in early, simply to be sure the person is at home. Smith arrived at Sutherland Police Station at 6.30 a.m., bringing a statement of facts hed prepared and intended giving the court later that morning, after the arrest. He was joined by Andrew Waterman and Rebekkah Craig, who was on maternity leave (her second child had been born a few months earlier) but wanted to be there for the end. Also present were other homicide and local officers, including Ben Mang, whod put in so much work over the previous year listening to Wilkinsons phone calls. Based on Wilkinsons pattern of phone use in recent weeks, they expected to find him in bed when they arrived at his parents.

At 7.30 a.m. they drove to Yarrawarrah and surrounded the house. Smith walked up the concrete driveway and knocked on the front door, which was opened by June Wilkinson. He said he wanted to see Paul but she said he wasnt there. The detectives were dubious.

Can we come in and have a look? said Smith.

June allowed him inside and he saw she was telling the truth. Given his habits, Wilkinsons absence was a real puzzle. Smith asked her to call Paul to find out where he was; she was so nervous that she had trouble using the phone.

Not finding Wilkinson at home was frustrating for the detectives, although more because theyd been denied the satisfaction of taking him by surprise than because they expected him to get away. They returned to the police station and Smith called him. It was the first time the two men had spoken. Wilkinson was cocky and refused to say where he was. (The police later learned hed got up uncharacteristically early to repay some money to Julie so she could take Bradley to the Easter Show.) He said hed come in to the police station later with his solicitor, Frances McGowan, but she wasnt available at the moment.

The next few hours involved various attempts to track Wilkinson down. Police were driving around the area trying to locate him while Smith maintained occasional phone contact. Wilkinson rang Julie to tell her what was happening and she panicked: shed thought the police would let her know before the arrest so she could go away for a few days. Now she became terrified and called Smith to say she wanted to withdraw all her sworn statements. He told her that was not an option and sent some officers to her house, in case Wilkinson turned up. As the morning progressed, he rang Carol and John Edwards and told them what was going on.

Just after 2.00 p.m., Wilkinson arrived at Sutherland Police Station with his parents, his brother and Frances McGowan. He was wearing a baggy blue T-shirt and dark cargo pants, white socks and joggers, and clasping an empty Coke bottle. He had put on weight and his belly was visible beneath the T-shirt but he was still a good-looking man, with strong features and an intense gaze. In comparison, his parentsRon with a pair of glasses hanging from a cord around his neckwere large, lost-looking people. Over the coming years, they would continue to believe in their sons innocence.

The detectives were out the back of the station, and Craig reluctantly decided not to be present when the arrest was made. The situation would be intense and she didnt want Wilkinsons dislike of her to flare up and interfere with what was about to happen. Smith and Mang went out to the foyer and saw Wilkinson and McGowan, a thin woman with long, dark hair, in a black dress. Wilkinson looked at them blankly.

Smith cleared his throat and said formally, Paul, I am Detective Senior Constable Glenn Smith from Gosford Detectives and this is Senior Constable Mang from Sutherland. Paul, you are under arrest for the murder of Kylie Labouchardiere. I must warn you that you are not obliged to say or do anything, as anything you do say or do will be taken down and may later be used in evidence. Do you understand that?

Yep, said Paul Wilkinson, who seemed calm.

Smith searched him and then left the charge room while Wilkinson was read his rights by the custody officer. Smith returned and was told by McGowan that Wilkinson was exercising his right to silence. Smith recorded this and formally charged Paul Wilkinson with murder, and with the arson of the house in Picnic Point.

Later, they went across the road to Sutherland Local Courtthe same place where, years before, Robert McCann had been convicted for his assault on Kylies mother. Wilkinson applied for bail and was refused. McGowan criticised the police because their ten-page statement of facts, prepared the day before, claimed Wilkinson had been arrested at home. Smith was embarrassed to realise that after finding Wilkinson was not at the house that morning, hed been so preoccupied with searching for him that hed forgotten to amend the statement.