Anita Lorraine Cobby (née Lynch) (2 November 1959 - 2 February 1986) was a 26-year-old Australian registered nurse and beauty pageant winner who was kidnapped, sexually assaulted and murdered while walking home from Blacktown railway station after dining out with two Sydney Hospital colleagues in Surry Hills, New South Wales, just before 10:00 p.m. on 2 February 1986. Two days after being reported missing, Cobby's body was discovered on a rural farm in Prospect, New South Wales. Investigations led to the arrest of five men who were later convicted of her abduction, rape and murder on 10 June 1987 and each sentenced to life imprisonment, without the possibility of parole, on 16 June 1987.
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. The murder received widespread print and TV media coverage, condemnation and attention.
Video Murder of Anita Cobby
Early life
Anita Lorraine 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. As a teenager she participated in beauty pageants, including winning the Miss Western Suburbs beauty Pageant in November 1979, and had a promising career as a model, but decided instead to follow in her mother's footsteps and become a nurse.
She met her future husband, John Cobby, while studying for her nursing degree at Sydney Hospital. They married on 27 March 1982. At the time of Anita Cobby's 1986 murder, the couple had separated and Cobby was living with her parents in Blacktown, New South Wales. According to John Cobby, he and Anita were on good terms and, when she was murdered, had been planning to reconcile.
Maps Murder of Anita Cobby
Murder
Cobby worked in Sydney and commuted daily from her home in Blacktown. On the day of the murder, Cobby finished work at Sydney Hospital at 3 p.m. and met friends for dinner in nearby Redfern. She then caught a train from Central Station to Blacktown Station. Arriving at Blacktown station she would usually ring her father who would pick her up. On the day of her death she most likely decided to walk home after finding the phone to be out of order and no taxis available at the taxi rank. Aside from her killers, only two witnesses saw her after she left the train station.
Cobby was walking alone from the train station along Newton Road, Blacktown around 10 p.m., when the gang of five men drove up beside her and stopped their stolen white HT Holden Kingswood. Two men leaped from the car and dragged her into the vehicle, kicking and screaming. A 13-year-old boy, his younger sister and mother heard someone screaming from their house directly opposite and had gone outside in time to see Cobby forced into the attackers' car. The boy ran across the road to help but the car drove off before he reached it. Returning home he telephoned the police to report what he had seen. A few minutes later their neighbour and his girlfriend arrived home and after being told of the abduction drove off to search for the car. They eventually drove down Reen Road (now known as Peter Brock Drive), Prospect (a local "lovers' lane"), and stopped by the now-empty Holden where he used a spot light to search the adjacent paddock. Seeing nothing in the paddock and believing the car he was looking for was a different model Holden he decided to return home. The attackers later stated that they had hidden in the long grass to avoid the spotlight and waited for the man to leave.
Once inside the car on Newton Road, Cobby had been ordered to strip off her clothes but refused, begging her attackers to let her go, saying she was married and also menstruating. Her attackers punched Cobby repeatedly, breaking her nose and both cheekbones, before forcing her to perform fellatio on all five men. Her attackers then drove to a service station to purchase fuel using money stolen from Cobby's purse. She was then driven down Reen Road to a secluded paddock, while being held down in the car, raped repeatedly, and being continually beaten by her five attackers. They then dragged her into the paddock along a barbed wire fence where they dumped the brutally beaten Cobby and continued to sexually assault and physically abuse her for some time. According to his taped confession, one of the attackers, John Travers, then became concerned that Cobby could identify them because she had seen their faces and heard their names, and convinced the other attackers that she must be killed. Urged on by the others, Travers slit her throat, almost severing her head.
Police investigation
When Cobby did not return home, her family initially thought she was staying overnight with a friend, but after learning that she failed to appear at work the next day, they reported her missing on 3 February. On the morning of 4 February, her nude body was found in the paddock by a farmer investigating why his cows were milling around. Her body was initially identified by her distinctive wedding ring, which was still on her finger when she was found. Cobby's estranged husband John was initially suspected of her murder, but was quickly cleared.
The Australian public reacted with anger upon hearing details of Cobby's murder. On 6 February 1986, the NSW State Government posted a $50,000 reward for information leading to the capture of Cobby's killers. Also on 6 February, John Laws, who was at that time the host of an extremely popular morning radio program, obtained a leaked copy of Cobby's autopsy report, which contained explicit details of her injuries, and read it live on the air, both shocking and galvanising public sentiment. In a 2016 interview with Seven News, Laws said he did it because he felt "the general public ought to know" and that "it incited anger in the public that murders like this were happening and we weren't being given the full details".
On 9 February, police re-enacted Cobby's movements on the night of her disappearance in the hope of jogging the memories of travellers or others who might have witnessed her movements. Constable Debbie Wallace wore similar clothing to Cobby and travelled the 9:12 p.m. train to Blacktown. Detectives interviewed the passengers and showed them photos of Cobby whilst Wallace walked the length of the train during the journey.
Following a tip-off from a police informant regarding the stolen vehicle, police started searching for John Travers, Michael Murdoch, and brothers Les, Michael and Gary Murphy after they discovered that some of them had a history of violence and Travers had a reputation for carrying a knife. On 21 February, police found and arrested Travers and Murdoch at Travers' uncle's house and Les Murphy at Travers' house. Murdoch and Murphy were charged with offences relating to stolen cars and released on police bail. Travers, who admitted that he had stolen a car, had also made conflicting statements about the murder. He was detained in police custody. While in custody, Travers requested that a friend be called so she could bring him cigarettes. The phone number was handed to the investigating police who contacted the friend, a woman.
The woman agreed to help with the investigation, met with an officer, and gave him details of Travers' background. The woman was Travers' aunt, who became known as "Miss X". Miss X was subsequently sent back in to talk to him, agreeing to hide a recording microphone device in her bra while she visited him in his cell and was able to obtain a confession. Miss X later went to the home of Michael Murdoch while wearing the concealed recording device to capture his statements on tape as well. Eventually, five men were arrested and charged with the murder. Police were praised for their quick response in capturing all suspects involved. In total, 22 days had elapsed from the time of the murder to the time all suspects were taken into custody.
Perpetrators
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.
John Travers
John Raymond Travers, considered the ringleader of the gang, was raised in poverty in Blacktown, New South Wales, the oldest of eight children from unmarried teenage parents, By 14 years old, Travers was already an alcoholic, and was expelled from high school during Year 10 for being continually disruptive to other students. Beyond schooling, he held few jobs, and relied mostly on unemployment benefits as a source of income. He was eventually committed to Boys Town, a juvenile detention facility, by his mother. His father, with whom he never shared a close relationship, left the household in 1981. Finding it difficult to support the family, Travers relied on crime to provide food, stealing animals such as chickens and ducks from nearby households. The health of Travers' mother eventually deteriorated, and he and his siblings were sent to live with foster families while she was hospitalised. Travers had a history of violent sexual behaviour and bestiality. Witnesses have recounted that on several occasions he had bought a live sheep for a BBQ and then slit the animal's throat as he sodomised it. before roasting the animal on a spit.
Michael Murdoch
Michael Murdoch was a childhood friend and criminal associate of Travers. Murdoch had also spent a great part of his childhood in juvenile prisons where he experienced sexual assaults. He was known to have written to politicians during this period of imprisonment seeking protection from such assaults.
Murphy brothers
Michael, Gary and Les Murphy, three brothers from a family of nine children, were also accused of the crime.
- Michael Murphy was 33 at the time of the murder. He was the eldest of the nine Murphy children. Murphy was sent to live with his grandmother when he was 12 years of age.
- Gary Murphy, aged 28, was five years younger than Michael. A hearing impairment affected Gary's schooling and he left early to seek work. He was noted as being an able and willing worker before the crimes. His strong interest in cars led to him facing several car theft-related charges in the years preceding the murder. Gary was known to have a very violent temper.
- Les Murphy was the youngest of the Murphy children, but was known as having the worst temperament. He had faced Children's Court on many occasions for a number of theft-related offences before being accused of the Anita Cobby murder. He was 22 years old at the time of the murder.
Trial
The trial began in Sydney on 16 March 1987. Before proceedings began, Travers changed his plea to guilty. Sydney newspaper The Sun published a front-page story on the day the trial began, carrying the headline "ANITA MURDER MAN GUILTY" alongside a large image of Travers. The news story also referred to Michael Murphy as an unemployed prison escapee of no fixed address, and another in the same paper detailed Murphy's criminal convictions and his recent escape from Silverwater Correctional Centre, where he was serving a 25-year sentence for a string of burglaries and thefts. The jury was discharged due to the potentially prejudicial information published about Murphy.
According to the medical examiner's report, Cobby's body showed extensive bruising on her head, breasts, face, shoulders, groin, thighs and legs consistent with "a systematic beating", including a "blow of considerable force around the right eye". 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, resulting in the near severing of three of her fingers, which likely occurred when she raised her hands to her face trying to protect herself from the knife. The medical examiner later testified that after Cobby's throat was cut, she would have died within two minutes. The medical examiner later testified that some radio reports purportedly based on his own report contained misinformation about the type and extent of Cobby's injuries. Cobby was not mutilated apart from the slashing of her throat and hands, and there had been no attack with a knife on her stomach or genitals, and her shoulders had not been dislocated.
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. On 10 June 1987, all five were found guilty of sexual assault and murder. On 16 June 1987, they were each sentenced in the Supreme Court of New South Wales to life imprisonment plus additional time, never to be released. Justice Alan Maxwell described the crime as "One of the most horrifying physical and sexual assaults. This was a calculated killing done in cold blood. The Executive should grant the same degree of mercy they bestowed on their victim."
Aftermath
Cobby's parents would join forces with Christine and Peter Simpson, the parents of New South Wales 1992 murder victim Ebony Simpson, to create the Homicide Victims' Support Group (Aust) Inc.--a community support group that helps families deal with heinous crimes. The Cobbys also campaigned in seeking tougher sentencing and truth in sentencing laws, which eventuated after Anita's murder.
Cobby's father Garry Lynch died on 14 September 2008, aged 90, suffering from Alzheimer's disease. Her mother, Grace, died of lung cancer in 2013, at the age of 88. The Lynches had been married for 54 years at the time of Garry's death.
Imprisonment
As of 2016, John Travers is currently housed in Goulburn Correctional Centre in maximum security. In 1996, Travers and another inmate were being transported from Goulburn to Long Bay Hospital at Long Bay Correctional Complex when they attempted to escape the prison van by hacksawing the back door. When discovered, the van pulled over at Bowral Police Station to charge them. Travers is regularly in protection at Goulburn after he was involved in bloody fights with other inmates and threatening prison staff.
As of 2016, Michael Murphy is currently housed in Goulburn Correctional Centre in maximum security. In 1988, Michael was housed along with his brother Gary in the newly-built Special Protection Unit in Long Bay Correctional Complex. In 1992 Michael was transferred to Lithgow Correctional Centre, where he was learning Year 10 studies and doing weekly work. A few years later Michael was transferred to Goulburn Correctional Centre; he usually keeps to himself and stays out of trouble. In May 2015, Michael was reclassified to medium security till July 2015 when he was reclassified back to maximum security.
As of 2016, Gary Murphy is currently housed in Lithgow Correctional Centre in maximum security. In 1988, Gary was housed along with his brother Michael in the newly-built Special Protection Unit in Long Bay Correctional Complex. A few years later Gary was transferred to Maitland Correctional Centre where he was housed till the prison's closure when Gary was then transferred to Lithgow Correctional Centre.
As of 2016, Les Murphy is housed in Goulburn Correctional Centre in maximum security. Les has a long list of associates in Goulburn he is not allowed to have contact with and, in 2005, he got into trouble for failing a urine test.
As of 2016, Michael Murdoch is currently housed in John Morony Correctional Complex in Windsor, New South Wales in medium security. Murdoch used to be a maximum-security inmate at Goulburn Correctional Centre till December 1999 when he was reclassified to medium security and he was transferred to Bathurst Correctional Complex. In 2002, Murdoch was reclassified back to maximum security and transferred to Lithgow Correctional Centre after an inmate feared for his life from Murdoch. In 2008 while housed at Lithgow, Murdoch was investigated over a mobile phone being found in his cell block. Michael was reclassified back to medium security and transferred to John Morony Correctional Complex.
Media
The murder has been the subject of an episode of several true crime television series, including a September 2006 episode of Crime Investigation Australia, a January 2008 episode of Crime Stories, and a June 2010 episode of Australian Families of Crime. The case was also covered by Casefile True Crime Podcast on 22 July 2017. It has also been the subject of several books (see Further reading).
The Australian social-realist film The Boys (1998), directed by Rowan Woods, is, in part, inspired by the Anita Cobby murder and follows the journey of three brothers leading up to a similar crime.
In February 2016, at the time of the 30th anniversary of Cobby's murder, police released the taped confessions of John Travers and Michael Murdoch that were obtained by Miss X. Seven News broadcast a documentary, 7 News Investigates: Anita Cobby -- You Thought You Knew It All, which included the newly released taped confessions and the first television interview ever with John Cobby discussing his wife's murder.
Memorial
A park in Sullivan Street, Blacktown was named Anita Cobby Reserve in memory of Cobby.
See also
- Murder of Janine Balding
- Murder of Sian Kingi
References
Further reading
- Morri, Mark (2016). Remembering Anita Cobby: The Case, the Husband, the Aftermath - 30 Years On. Ebury Australia. ISBN 978-1-925324-15-0.
- Sheppard, Julia (1991). Someone Else's Daughter. Ironbark Press. p. 215. ISBN 1-875471-02-2.
- Whiticker, Alan (2015). Anita Cobby: The Crime That Shocked the Nation. New Holland Publishers. ISBN 978-1-74257-791-3.
External links
- "Artists put human face of tragedy in new light". The Sydney Morning Herald. 2 March 2003. Archived from the original on 3 January 2014.
- "Anita and Beyond". The Sydney Morning Herald. 4 March 2003. Archived from the original on 11 April 2014.
- Casefile True Crime Podcast - Case 56: Anita Cobby - 22 July 2017
- Murder of Anita Cobby at Find a Grave
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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