Ken Turner - Halfway to Justice. One Mans Fight to Bring His Daughters Killer to Justice.

First published in Australia in 2005 by

New Holland Publishers (Australia) Pty Ltd

Sydney Auckland London Cape Town

www.newholland.com.au

14 Aquatic Drive Frenchs Forest NSW 2086 Australia

218 Lake Road Northcote Auckland New Zealand

86 Edgware Road London W2 2EA United Kingdom

80 McKenzie Street Cape Town 8001 South Africa

Copyright 2005 text: Ken Turner and Lesley Turner

Copyright 2005 photographs: Ken Turner

Copyright 2005 New Holland Publishers (Australia) Pty Ltd

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publishers and copyright holders.

National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication Data:

ISBN 1 74110 249 9.
e-ISBN: 9781921655487

you looked so beautiful when you came into this world
my one ray of sunshine, daddys little girl,
your pretty smile and your eyes so blue,
kisses and cuddles are my memories of you

Ken Turner and Gary B

This book questions how the criminal justice system can be said to deliver justice to victims given its failing and perceived inadequacies in the circumstances described in this book. Yet the answers and preferred options are not always self-evident. What we can find in this tale is something of the true human spirit, both in Shirrees will to live and her fathers desire to seek true justice for his daughter. I admire his strength in the telling of his story.

Dr Rick Sarre
Legal commentator, University of South Australia

There are many people whom I must thank. There were members of my family and friends who gave me so much support and encouragement through this whole ordeal and continue to do so. So, where do I begin? I dont think it is wise to name individuals because there will always be at least one who is missed and I dont want to leave anybody out. It will be sufficient to say that they know who they are and they know how grateful I am for all of their support.

I want to thank the State Government of South Australia, and the Attorney-Generals Department for approving the reward of $100,000 for information leading to the conviction of Shirrees killer.

I acknowledge gratefully the kindness and consideration extended by Justice EP Mullighan and the Sheriff s Officers, Supreme Court, Magistrates Court and District Court Staff of Adelaide.

I am very grateful for the courtesy extended to me from the media. I want to thank all involved both locally and nationally for the coverage that was given throughout the entire case. I was able to develop special friendships with some of the media representatives.

To my good friend Steve Condous who hates injustice as much as I do. Thank you so much for your encouragement and support.

To the Director of Public Prosecutions, Paul Rofe QC, whose task it was to prosecute the case in the criminal court. Paul, you did the best you could with what you had to work with under extremely frustrating circumstances. I will always be grateful to you for your patience with me when I pestered you with question after question that couldnt be answered easily.

I will be forever grateful to the police officers and detectives who worked tirelessly on the investigation through most difficult circumstances. Especially to Detective Senior Sergeant Michael Johnson, who had the full responsibility of conducting the investigation, I can never adequately thank you for your support and encouragement. When the investigation was leading nowhere you didnt give up, your dogged determination to find Shirrees killer was never in question. You always knew you would get your man in the end.

To the Victims of Crime support group who were there when I needed themthank you. To Dr Ann Williams, who kept me from sinking further into the depths of depressionI will always appreciate how you gently showed me that what I was going through was a very normal reaction to an abnormal circumstance and I wasnt going insane.

To the staff at Tindall, Gask & Bentley I offer my undying gratitude for your patience, understanding, support and encouragement. I will never be able to thank Ron Bentley enough for taking on my case in the first place, even though a case of this type had never been attempted before in Australia. When I needed a pro-active firm of lawyers to embrace the pursuit of justice you were willing to take on this ground-breaking case without reservation.

To Andrew Martin QC, whom I did not know for long but who worked so hard to prepare the case for presentation in the Civil Court, I am very grateful for the work you did.

How can I possibly express adequately how I feel about Morry Bailes and Brendan Connell? I will never forget their tireless efforts to present the very best case possible, one which I know would have succeeded had we been given the right circumstances to see it all the way through to the end. I will be forever grateful for their total belief that justice must prevail in all circumstances. No words can adequately express my gratitude for their endless encouragement and support and the excellent work they did in the preparation of the civil action.

What do I say to you, Lesley? When the challenge was presented you grabbed it with both hands. I value so much your strong opinions and your willingness to do the hard yards. I saw the awesome amount of research you put into this project. I will always be grateful for your dedication.

Finally, to my son Bradley. It is difficult to find the words to express adequately my love and gratitude for your support. No matter what I ask of you, you give so generously. When I needed to make a difficult decision you stood with me in total agreement and even though you were hurting just as much as I was, you never failed to show your love and support. Your quiet strength is always a great source of comfort to me.

Ken Turner

It was mid-morning on a cold Sunday in June. Sleeping fitfully, I became aware of an urgent voice attempting to rouse me into consciousness. The urgent voice persisted, pleading now, Ken! Please wake up. I felt my wifes gentle hands shaking me. Was I dreaming? I wasnt sure.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome had plagued me for several years, but this was the worst attack Id suffered for many months. Stronger medication hadnt helped and the doctor ordered me to bed. I was in no condition to argue. I couldnt handle the side-effects of the medication. I felt groggy, disoriented and out of control. During this attack, however, medication was all but forced down my throat every four hours.

Come on, Ken. You must wake up. There was a real urgency in Merrilyns voice. I wasnt dreaming. Her voice sounded almost frantic. I tried to rouse myself but found it difficult to focus on what she was saying. Please, listen. Ive just had a call from the police. Its about Shirree. Somethings wrong. I think something terrible has happened to her.

I struggled to sit up. What do you mean, something terrible has happened? My head was pounding and my voice sounded thick to my own ears. Damn the medication.

The police are on the way over to see you. Its about Shirree.

Merrilyn, slow down, I said, more alert now. Her exasperated tone finally caught my attention. Had Shirree been involved in an accident? Had she been arrested? No! God, no, I thought as I struggled to get out of bed.