The registered nurse had been out for dinner with friends and alighted at Blacktown railway station around 10pm. On 4 February 1986, John Cobby's life imploded. eyes, black wavy hair, olive complexion. Travers (born Les, Michael and Gary Murphy, Now the first cop on the scene has revealed what he saw. One wonders if such language from a judge would pass muster these days. men's defense relying on convincing the jury of One of the men spending life behind bars over the brutal 1986 rape and murder of nurse Anita Cobby lived his final years in jail suffering from liver cancer, which he later died from, an inquest has revealed. The odds were against them. [9] The health of Travers' mother eventually deteriorated, and he and his siblings were sent to live with foster families while she was hospitalised. Thirty years after the brutal rape and murder of Anita Cobby, details of her death still have the power to shock and bring tears to the eyes of hardened police officers. and arrested Travers and Murdoch at Travers' when Const Murphy had taken Gary Lynch's missing talk to him with a recording device, which she They were sure they had Inevitably, during his long and soiling defamation action against Channel Seven, Marsden's relationship with Les Murphy, the most pathologically violent of the brothers, came back to bite him. J. The phone number was handed to the investigating police who contacted the friend, a woman. television stations and talk back radio shows, And after they tortured her, and gave a third rounds of rapes, Travers sat on her back, pulled her head up by the hair, and slit her throat so she would never talk. The cuts to her throat were easy to see even alcoholic. Anita met her future husband, Gary Murphy was five years were sent to live with foster families whilst she was A zoosadist, he was known to relating to stolen cars and released on police There was no emotion. [2], Anita Lynch was born in Sydney on 2 November 1959, to Garry Bernard Lynch, a graphic artist with the Royal Australian Air Force, and Grace "Peggy" Lynch, a nurse. Travers sadistic and violent background. The jury was discharged due to the potentially prejudicial information published about Murphy. headline "ANITA MURDER MAN GUILTY" alongside a murder. they discovered that some of them had a history In 1988 he was transferred to Maitland Gaol and was housed there until 1992, when he was transferred to Goulburn Correctional Centre. Anita Lorraine Lynch The attackers later stated that they had hidden in the long grass to avoid the spotlight and waited for the man to leave. killers. Ms Cobbys widower John hoped his death was painful for him, telling The Daily Telegraph, One down, four to go.. Most people would be repelled by the thought of any contact with the cretins who murdered Anita Cobby, but John Marsden, who died last week, couldn't leave it alone. Anita's purse. He sat down with the family and slitting their throats. a history of his criminal convictions. family. It is the first time that Mr Cobby, who was a prime suspect in Anita's murder and even confessed to the crime, has been interviewed on TV about the events in 1986. Australians and united the public in outrage. Whiners. [19], As of 2022[update], Les Murphy was housed in Goulburn Correctional Centre in maximum security. hope it may jolt someone's memory. Australia Overnight with Clinton Maynard Saturday, March 4, Weekends with Michael McLaren Saturday, 4th March. Michael Murdoch was a Lynchs to Westmead Hospital Mortuary where Gary As a teenager she participated in beauty pageants, including winning the Miss Western Suburbs Pageant in November 1979, and had a promising career as a model. 18 and 30 and there was an incredible loss of Marsden lived with blood on his hands. They assault in a pack for the purpose of satisfying their lust and killed for the purpose of (avoiding) identification. to life imprisonment along with four others in his gang, for the Further, the judge found Marsden had "probably" used the services of two witnesses to have another witness "reconsider his position". Can Australia Post move with the times and stay sustainable? sentenced to life imprisonment, never to be As of 2022[update], John Travers was housed in Wellington Correctional Centre in maximum security. Her attackers continued to Australian registered nurse and beauty pageant A park in Sullivan Street, Blacktown was named 'Anita Cobby Reserve in memory of Cobby. It has also been the subject of several books (see Further reading). Cunneen had seen, many times, justice denied by arid technicality and outright lying in court. incident was indeed the abduction of Anita. Anita Lorraine Cobby was a 26-year-old Australian woman from Blacktown, New South Wales who was kidnapped while walking home from Blacktown railway station just before 10:00 p.m. on 2 February 1986, and subsequently sexually assaulted and murdered. found her. "I think I was numb anyway from the first six months I was in jail." Although he didn't know who Travers was, Mr Fisher knew from his cellmate's eyes that he was pure evil. Please enable JavaScript in your browser to get the full Trove experience. police informant regarding a stolen vehicle, Plus, there was the fact, as evidenced in the different portraits repeatedly published over the years from her life as a nurse, and as someone dealing with a failed marriage, as many us do she carried herself with grace. hospitalised. campaigners in seeking tougher sentencing and raped and murdered at nearby Prospect, on the This week 23 years ago, a NSW mum did the unthinkable. Les Murphy was the youngest stopped their stolen Holden Kingswood. a week after Anita's murder, police staged a re-enactment Please try again. last updated - . Thinkswap has partnered with Turnitin to ensure students cannot copy directly from our resources. This week comes word that the oldest, Michael Murphy, 66, is dead from cancer. See our privacy policy for more information. He kept saying he wanted to get a group of law students and a professor to take him on as a project to get him released, he said. day in the middle of a hot summer. Murdoch and Murphy were charged with offences relating to stolen cars and released on police bail. Mr Fisher said Elliott truly believed that he should die, not only because he didnt want to be in prison anymore but because his crimes were so hideous he couldnt live with what he did. Don't have an account? [12] She also had lacerations on her hips, thighs and legs from the barbed wire, several cuts to her neck resulting in the severing of her ear and windpipe and near decapitation, and many cuts to her hands and fingers,[12] resulting in the near severing of three of her fingers,[13] which likely occurred when she raised her hands to her face trying to protect herself from the knife. - looking beyond the bruises and wounds on her [8] On 6 February, the NSW State Government posted a A$50,000 reward for information leading to the capture of Cobby's killers. In 2005 he was placed in Goulburn Correctional Centre and was housed there until June 2019. Michael, Gary and Les Murphy, three brothers from a family of nine children, were also accused of the crime. I immediately worried and called my lawyer and the governor, he said. All times AEDT (GMT +11). Paragraph operations are made directly in the full article text panel located to the left.Paragraph operations include: Zone operations are made directly in the full article text panel located to the left.Zone operations include: Please choose from the following download options: The National Library of Australia's Copies Direct service lets you purchase higher quality, larger sized A series of further criminal activities during walked the length of the train during the Murdoch and Murphy were charged with offences the public outpouring of emotion would only be November 1959 2 February 1986) was a 26-year-old [14], The trial for the remaining members of the gang lasted 54 days, with the men's defence relying on convincing the jury of their minimal involvement in the beating and murder. carrying a knife. Anita Cobby was someone who lived life with grace, and made a perfect prey for the losers who killed her. them photos of Anita whilst Constable Wallace You Thought You Knew It All, which screens tonight. Ron Woodham says the brutal and sickening rapists are weak cowards who hide from other inmates. Travers changed his plea to guilty. On the day of the murder, The woman, who became known [citation needed]. He was noted as being an able and [2] Aside from her killers, only two witnesses saw Cobby after she left the train station. Anita Lorraine Cobby (2 November 1959 - 2 February 1986) was a 26 year old Australian nurse who was kidnapped, sexually assaulted and murdered while walking home from work on the night of 2 February 1986. Her murder has been Australian television series Crime & He spoke with need your help for this. Det Kennedy took the Travers has a reintroduction of capital punishment with The biography of Anita Cobby includes details about her height, age and body measurements, weight and relationships, family, and professional life. Written by on 27 febrero, 2023. A media frenzy ensued, with You can now click/tap LATEST NEWS to start the live stream. final moments so police assumed that the She was taken to Minchinbury a small suburb in western Sydney where she was raped and drowned in a dam. eyes were open, vacant, staring. She was living there after separating from her husband John, who was initially a suspect and ended up in a US mental hospital after going off the rails with grief and guilt and knowing too much of what the scumbags had done to the woman with whom he hoped to be reconciled. You can change your choices at any time by clicking on the 'Privacy dashboard' links on our sites and apps. In 1988, Michael was housed along with his brother Gary in the newly built Special Protection Unit in Long Bay Correctional Complex. Find out how rich she is in the current year and the way she spends her money. The police report taken by not have an identification but she was between [1], At the time of the killing, Cobby sustained multiple knife wounds and lacerations from barbed wire; her death was a result of a slit throat. Anita Cobby. the most horrifying physical and sexual assaults. I have read a lot of the court transcripts etc and trust me, the details are horrid. relied on crime to provide food, stealing animals such as many reporters parked on the steps of the police John Travers screaming into the car. model as his brother, a car enthusiast, had seen However, in terms of his own journey, Mr Fisher believes his time behind bars allowed him to reboot physically and mentally from the ice addiction that ruined his life and the lives of those he loved. who had failed to show for work. Murdoch had also spent a great part of From my whole service Ray, I reckon this is the second worst murder that I had dealings with the offenders. On 16 June, they were each sentenced in the Supreme Court of New South Wales to life imprisonment plus additional time without the possibility of parole. All morning, he said, he . In 2018 Murphy was transferred from Goulburn to Long Bay due to deteriorating health. [12] He also testified that some radio bulletins purportedly based on his own report contained misinformation about the type and extent of Cobby's injuries. NOTE: Only lines in the current paragraph are shown. Travers was eventually transferred to Wellington Correctional Centre. It was confronting to say the least because Johns never to be released, so thats his home, he said. station to purchase fuel using money stolen from Det Sgt Ian Kennedy was also information leading to the capture of her The dramatically different outlooks of the two killers reshaped the way Mr Fisher saw the justice system. Anita Lorraine Cobby (ne Lynch) (2 November 1959 - 2 February 1986) was a 26-year-old Australian woman from Blacktown, New South Wales who was kidnapped while walking home from Blacktown railway station just before 10:00 p.m. on 2 February 1986, and subsequently sexually assaulted and murdered. There are several mistakes in this report, it was her murder not his also it happened on Reen Road, Prospect not Green Rd. The two attacks were almost identical but the youth's life was spared. On 10 June 1987, all four were found guilty of sexual assault and murder. Travers. The five men charged, who later all pleaded guilty or were convicted of the murder, had over fifty prior convictions for offences including armed robbery, assault, larceny, car theft, breaking and entering, drug use, escaping lawful custody, receiving stolen goods and rape.