The court door closed on the Elisabeth Membrey killing. But is hope finally lost?

3 months ago 9

For Joy Membrey, it was another long journey with a bitter end, this time from her home on the Gippsland coast to the Coroners Court at Southbank.

For more than 30 years, Joy and Roger – before he died in 2023 – have been hunting for answers over the 1994 murder of their daughter, Elisabeth.

There have been false dawns. First, they were told by police they had found a red-hot suspect. After a protracted undercover operation, he was cleared.

Then they charged the wrong man, and in 2012, Shane Bond was acquitted by a Supreme Court jury. He said while he drank at the pub where Membrey had worked, he did not know her and couldn’t recall even speaking to her.

The Membreys were left bruised by the acquittal and the court process. Both felt they were there to represent their daughter, but came away feeling they were seen as nuisances who should just sit there and shut up.

In 2017, the case was reopened and a new suspect (briefly a person of interest in the initial investigation), Andrew Crump, was identified. He was the brother of Elisabeth’s housemate, obsessed with Membrey, with a history of stalking.

Police told Joy and Roger of a possible breakthrough, telling them to stay silent, allowing the investigation to continue in secret.

Police claim the evidence, which we will examine later, is strong, but time has proven the enemy.

When a brief of evidence was put to the Office of Public Prosecutions, it was found to fall short of what would be required to convict. Plus Crump could be found mentally unfit to stand trial.

Instead, in early 2023, Detective Sergeant Maurie Ryan wrote to the coroner’s office asking for the 2000 inquest to be set aside, and a new one held to examine the evidence gathered on Crump.

Coroner John Cain explained: “In summary, the basis of his application was that the investigations by Victoria Police had been ongoing and that the further investigations had identified a person who may have contributed to the death of the deceased.”

Which is why Joy was heading to court again. Cain was about to announce whether the case would be reopened.

That drizzly winter’s morning a few weeks ago, Joy readied herself, trying to keep her hopes in check. At 85, she looked in the mirror. “It’s no fun getting old. I thought, who’s that old bird? Then I put on my war paint.”

This time, she was picked up by Damon Abbey, one of the detectives who had worked on Crump for years.

“I’m a bit of a chatterbox, and he listened all the way to the court. He told me about his children and his wife. Damon is a wonderful man who has been a real support to me,” says Joy.

Sometimes, good police work has nothing to do with catching the crook; it is about catching the victims before they fall through the cracks.

Abbey inherited the case when he moved to suspicious missing persons cases and inherited 31 boxes of evidence from the Membrey file. He was told and initially believed Bond was the killer.

Working on the police rule that the answer is in the file, his review produced multiple red flags on Crump.

At the Coroners Court to hear from Cain, Joy says she was treated with compassion and respect, unlike her Supreme Court experience.

“I had two cuppas and two bikkies because I didn’t have time for lunch.”

Despite that, it was a day of disappointment. Cain, a compassionate and decent man, concluded there was not enough evidence for a new inquest.

“Having reviewed all the evidence and being mindful of the criteria I have referred to above, I am not comfortably satisfied that there is sufficient evidence to conclude that Mr Crump caused or contributed to Ms Membrey’s death.

“There is much evidence that justifies police attention being focused on Mr Crump, and I accept that their conclusion in relation to Mr Crump is open to them. However, I have concluded that the evidence falls just short of the coronial standard of proof, and I am therefore unable to find that Mr Crump caused or contributed to the death of Ms Membrey.”

Unlike the trial, Joy was allowed a voice. “I went there to have my say,” she says.

Cain made sure to address her in his conclusions.

“Ms Membrey’s family, in particular her mother and, prior to his death, her father have suffered unimaginable grief and anguish over the last 30 years … It is regrettable that I have not been able to provide the closure that Ms Membrey’s family would want, but the evidence simply does not support a conclusion other than the one I have come to.”

Elisabeth was rostered to work at a Ringwood pub until 8.30pm then planned to go for dinner, but the hotel was busy and she finished at 11.45pm.

She drove home, went to her bedroom and, police believe, was writing a letter to a friend in Britain when someone she knew knocked on the door. She was attacked and killed in the hallway.

The killer tried to clean the bloodied crime scene, placed her body into the boot of her car wrapped in her duvet and then took her to an undisclosed location.

Forensic tests on the car showed it had been driven on a dirt road at 70 km/h while Elisabeth had not taken her Mazda off the bitumen.

Elisabeth, a Latrobe University politics graduate, had been offered a trainee journalist position with Channel Ten. Her letters had been published in The Age on social conscience issues.

Police claim they have a dozen reasons to suspect Crump.

Police say his DNA was found inside Membrey’s Mazda, the car used to dispose of her body.
He said he was once asked to move the car, a claim his sister, Elisabeth’s housemate, denied.
It is alleged he made multiple remarks about the case to friends over the years such as, “Liz is in a safe place”, and, “They won’t find the body, there is a lot of bush around there”.
His reason for being across the road from the victim’s house around the time of the murder has been proven to be false.
While there were two cars in the driveway, Crump knew his sister had broken her ankle and was staying with her boyfriend, and Elisabeth was home alone.
He was an accomplished burglar and stalker.
Crump, an excavator operator, is believed to have told a friend around the time of the murder that he needed to fill in a hole in a remote area.
Within days, he left Victoria to move to Queensland. On the trip, a woman found a black leather woman’s wallet in the car. The woman told police he said it had belonged to “Liz”. Membrey’s black leather wallet has never been found.
The week before, he turned up unannounced and Elisabeth refused to let him in.
He claimed to have returned CDs and used the toilet. (At the crime scene, the toilet paper and holder were missing. If his DNA or fingerprints were found, he would then have the answer.)
He is a convicted rapist.
At least six times, friends and family have contacted police nominating Crump as the killer.

The evening after her day at the Coroners Court, I rang Joy to see how she was. And she was a little cross. After waving goodbye to Damon (he had persuaded her not to stay at the front gate but to stand at the front door) on that freezing evening, she found the door lock was jammed, and she needed to enter through a large window.

Over a cup of Milo, she privately let her emotions go. “I’m not a big crier, but I let myself have a little cry.

“What am I to do now? I feel like we have let Elisabeth down.”

They haven’t. Joy and Roger fought for their daughter, making sure the case would not be shelved.

When police were confident enough to tell the Membreys they were convinced Crump was the killer, Roger – who was suffering dementia – was beyond comprehending. Joy said: “Roger would walk around the ward crying, holding a picture of Elisabeth.”

He died in February 2023. “He had a terrible death,” says Joy. If they found Elisabeth’s body, she would be laid to rest with her father.