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30th October 1983, in Drockeda, Ireland, Gillian McKeon was born
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to parents George and Edith. A few years later, her
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parents took her and her brother Michael to Australia when
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her father was given a job in Perth. While there,
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she went to Bull Creek Primary School and then went
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on to study at Ross Moyne High School. A friend
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from primary school said Gill had a huge passion for
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drama and was a natural entertainer. She was such a
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vivacious girl, really bright, bubbly and so gorgeous. Her family
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would return to Ireland in 1996 where she would attend
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a grammar school and then later on a community college.
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Her parents returned to Perth in 2004 but she stayed
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in Ireland and attended University College Dublin where she would
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ultimately obtain her Bachelor of Arts degree. During her time
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as a student she worked in the student bars. It
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was also here that she met Tom Marr and they
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soon started a relationship. Despite her small 5ft1 frame, her
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big personality packed a huge punch. Bright and friendly, she
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had a huge impact on those she met. A childhood
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friend said, In 2008, Jill and Tom married and the
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following year they relocated to Australia. After settling in Melbourne,
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she began working for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, also known
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as ABC. Her job at ABC was as a unit coordinator,
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and also included occasional on-air work at the 774 ABC
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Melbourne radio station. Her parents were again living in Perth,
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and she kept in regular contact with them too. The
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bond between her and her family remained strong. Her brother
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Michael moved back to Australia after living for a while
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in Canada. No matter where they were in the world,
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they always made time for each other. Jill went out
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with co-workers to the Brunswick Green Bar on Sydney Road.
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After staying there for a while, they moved on to
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Bar Etiquette, which was also located on Sydney Road. As
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the night began to wind down, at around 1.30am Jill
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decided it was time to leave, and so left the
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bar on foot to walk back home to the flat
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she shared with Tom. According to the Irish Independent, her
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brother had attempted to call her several times, but got
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no answer. Back at the flat, Tom woke up to
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realise she still hadn't come home, and so went out
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to search for her at around 4am. After going everywhere
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he could think of without finding a trace of her,
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and with her still not answering her phone, he contacted
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the police. As the news that she was missing began
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to circulate, her colleagues at ABC took to Twitter to
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get the message out there. A Facebook page called Help
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Find Jill Ma was set up on the 23rd of September,
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and a poster campaign was launched to circulate as many
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images of her as possible. The scale of the search
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and media interest was huge. Within just five days of
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the Facebook page being launched, it had received over 100,000 likes.
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As the search continued on the 24th of September, an
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important discovery was made. In the laneway near Hope Street,
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Jill's bag was found. Hope Street was not far from
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where she lived with her husband. Following this, the police
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made an announcement that so many people had been dreading.
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They were handing the case over to the homicide squad.
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Her husband Tom also went before the media to talk
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about his wife's disappearance.
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Tom, what are you going through? Hell, it's just devastating,
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but yeah, just kind of push on as much as possible.
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What's keeping you going? Just hope somebody sees or something,
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or she just walks through the door. Do you still
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think that could happen today? I have to, I have to, yeah.
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The following day, officers had yet another breakthrough. An employee
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of the Duchess Boutique, a bridal shop on Sydney Road
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where she had been out with her friends, handed in
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some CCTV footage that was then released by
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Victoria Police.
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The recording was limited as it was filmed through the window,
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but it showed a man in a blue hoodie walking
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around outside the shop. Around four minutes later, at 1.42am,
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Jill could be seen on the footage talking to him
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and showing him her mobile phone. This was the last
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known sighting of Jill Maher. Following the uncovering of the
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CCTV footage, they decided to change tack. They were now
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looking for the man in the blue hoodie.
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And that CCTV footage, which we've all seen, Lisa, has
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led police to concentrate much greater on their suspicion that
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she may have been abducted.
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That's right, they're particularly interested in talking to the man
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in a blue hoodie, jeans and sneakers who was seen
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doubling back across that CCTV footage. He's described as being
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in around his 30s, but there's quite good vision there
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and police are hoping that anyone who knows him or
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the man himself will come forward. They say because of
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this CCTV footage, they're moving more and more towards the
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likelihood that she was abducted.
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They also checked her cell phone records. which showed that
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her phone had been moving down the freeway on the
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night she disappeared, meaning it must have been in a car.
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After checking the licence plates of the cars caught on camera,
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the police came to a horrifying realisation. Her phone was
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moving at the same time as a car that was
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registered to a well-known and dangerous sex offender.
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Late today, nearly six days after she vanished, following a
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night out with friends, police arrested a man. Joining us
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now from outside the St Kilda Road police headquarters after
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a police briefing a few minutes ago is our reporter,
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Hamish Fitzsimmons. Hamish, you've just literally come from that briefing.
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What are police saying, or what are they able to say?
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Tony, I have the worst possible news.
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Police say they expect to charge the man they've arrested
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with the rape.
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And murder of Jill Maher.
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They gave what the senior investigating officer said was an
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unprecedented but very off-the-record media briefing because he wanted to
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thank the media for its cooperation and ask for some
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sensitivity regarding this matter. Of course, Jill was a member
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of the ABC family, someone we saw around the building
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every day.
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Hamish, it's obviously, it's.
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An awful question, but it seems clear if they're going
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to charge him with rape and murder that that is
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what they believe has happened.
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That would appear to be the case, Tony.
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This was, as the police officer said, an unprecedented thing
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for him to do and it was.
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It was just an absolute shock.
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I mean, even after all this time, people, especially within
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the ABC, were still hopeful. And our thoughts go to
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Jill's family and her husband, Tom.
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Is it clear how they got to this person that
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they've arrested? Did this come directly from the CCTV footage,
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which we've all seen, which has been so widely released? And,
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of course, the hunt was on for someone wearing a
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blue hoodie.
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Police have said that they got the person that they
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were looking for. They said the CCTV vision has played
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a major role in their investigation. There was talk of
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much more closed-circuit television footage from several shops along Sydney
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Road that had been collected by police in the last
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few days. So they're pretty sure that they've solved this case.
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Adrian Ernest Bailey, aged 41, was arrested at his home
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in Coburg and was then taken into custody. He underwent
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hours of interviews and interrogation, before he eventually confessed everything.
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Officers were stunned as he admitted to them he had
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strangled Jill with his bare hands in a lane just
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off Hope Street. Eight hours later at 10pm on the
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27th of September, he led officers to where her body
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had been left in a shallow grave on Black Hill Road.
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She was just a matter of weeks away from her
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30th birthday. Following his arrest, his defence lawyer requested a
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suppression order be in place to ban the publishing of
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any potentially damaging material about him. This request was granted.
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The police also came to a horrifying realisation. They found
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out that Bailey had actually been on parole when he
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had raped and murdered Jill. He had been jailed back
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in 2002 for 11 years after raping five prostitutes over
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a six-month period. He served eight years of his sentence
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before being released in 2010. His criminal history had began
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as an 18-year-old when he raped the 16-year-old girlfriend of
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his sister. In August 1990, just one month after he
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turned 19... he attempted to rape and threatened to kill
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a 17-year-old girl who he didn't know. And just four
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months after that, he attempted to rape a 16-year-old girl.
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She was hitchhiking and he abducted her in his car
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and drove out to a remote area before carrying out
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the attack. In 1991, he was sent to prison for
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these offences after pleading guilty. He served just 22 months
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of a five-year sentence. He would later admit that he
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had actually cheated the system and just gone through the
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motions of rehabilitation in prison in order to secure an
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early release. He had convinced them he was no longer
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a danger. He admitted this during the court appearance regarding
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the 16 counts of rape committed between September 2000 and
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March 2001. These were all committed against the five sex
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workers working in St Kilda. On one of these occasions
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he apologised to the victim before laughing at her telling
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her he would do it again and then driving away.
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He pled guilty to all charges. These were the offences
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he was on bail for when he murdered Jill Maher.
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Upon his release from prison in August 2011, the then
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40-year-old Bailey spotted a man eating outside a cafe at
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around 1.30am. Bailey proceeded to hurl abuse at the 20-year-old.
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before punching him in the face, breaking his jaw and
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leaving him unconscious. When being interviewed by officers following his
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arrest for the rape and murder of Jill, he said, Man,
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I just... I should be in jail anyway, you know.
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I shouldn't have been let out last time, simple. And
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I say that in hope someone hears that and they
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don't ever let me out again. How many chances does
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a person need? The father of four also said, You know,
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it really wasn't my intention to hurt her, you know that.
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I want to do the right thing. I'm going to
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go to jail for a long time. I hope they
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bring back the death penalty before I get sentenced. I
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have no life left. There's no excuses for this. Her
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family this week, it must have been hell. You know
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what I mean? I can't imagine how, how she felt.
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But I know how I felt. It's not nice, man.
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It's not nice. And all I thought was, what have
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I done? I don't know what else to say, man.
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I don't know what else to say. At 2am on
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the 28th of September, Bailey was charged with the rape
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and murder of Jill Marr, and an hour later had
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an out-of-sessions hearing that lasted for about 90 seconds. He
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was held on remand to await trial. The gravity of
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what he had done appeared to be weighing heavily on
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him as he attempted suicide while in custody. The one
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question that people wanted answered was why. Why had he
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taken the life of a stranger in the most brutal
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and savage way imaginable? He told a psychologist, Professor James Ogloff,
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that he had attempted to kiss and touch her outside
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of the Brunswick laneway just off of Sydney Road. She
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responded to it by stepping back and then slapping him
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across the face. He told the
psychologist that this response
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had enraged him, and he lost it after she'd rejected
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his advances. After the rape, she hit him with her
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mobile phone and then threatened to call the police. He
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responded by strangling her. He also said that after he
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realised she was no longer breathing, he sat in the
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laneway panic-stricken and crying, unsure as to what to do.
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He then drove home to get a shovel before returning
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to the crime scene. He dragged her body into his
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car and drove out to Ginsburn South, where he dug
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the grave and attempted to bury her. When the news
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broke about what had happened to Jill Maher, everyone was devastated.
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Shortly after her body was found, the Australian flag at
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the ABC South Bank studios were flown at half-mast as
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a sign of respect. Part of a statement on the
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ABC website read, a young, vibrant woman with her whole
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life in front of her. Radio host John Fain also
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paid an emotional tribute to her live on air.
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Jill wouldn't want us triple-locking the door and installing closed-circuit
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televisions everywhere as if we live under siege, because that's
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not what it's about. So, this morning, we'll pay our
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respects to our friend, our colleague, and there's a very
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empty space in our office this morning.
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As news began to spread on social media of her
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body being found, in just one day more than 600
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messages of condolence had appeared on the Help Us Find
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Jill Ma Facebook page. Also that day, around 12 million
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Twitter timelines had referred to her. It wasn't just her
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immediate circle that were affected by the tragedy. The media
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reported that even inmates at the Melbourne Romance Centre were
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deeply affected, so much so that 40 of them attended
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a requiem mass in the prison chapel, led by the
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chaplain Father Joe Caddy, to pay their respects to Jill
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and honour her life. The shock and disbelief was palpable.
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Thousands of bouquets were being laid out in tribute to her.
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As she was a Roman Catholic, many were left outside
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a church near to where she had disappeared. A candlelight
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00:16:34.000 --> 00:16:36.639
vigil was also held at the church to honour her memory.
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00:16:37.919 --> 00:16:41.000
A major problem immediately after Bailey's arrest came when some
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00:16:41.019 --> 00:16:44.659
began searching for him in the white pages. People found
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00:16:44.730 --> 00:16:47.590
an A. Bailey, which listed his address and telephone number,
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and before long the number was being inundated with abusive
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00:16:51.070 --> 00:16:56.029
phone calls. The problem was, this wasn't Adrian Bailey. It
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00:16:56.049 --> 00:16:59.350
was a man called Andrew Bailey. After the case of
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00:16:59.389 --> 00:17:02.450
mistaken identity came to light, the phone calls and harassment
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00:17:02.490 --> 00:17:05.170
stopped when people realised they had got the wrong person.
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00:17:06.769 --> 00:17:09.930
In her hometown of Drockeda, Ireland, a memorial service was
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held on 28th September at St Oliver's Community College, with
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00:17:13.750 --> 00:17:19.150
thousands in attendance. On 30th September, just two days after
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00:17:19.190 --> 00:17:23.119
Jill's body was found, a Melbourne photographer, Philip Verner, organised
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00:17:23.130 --> 00:17:26.740
a public march. He said he only expected around 100
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00:17:26.740 --> 00:17:30.920
people to turn up. But the response was massive. More
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00:17:30.940 --> 00:17:34.619
than 30,000 people walked side by side along Sydney Road
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in memory of Jill.
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It would have been my daughters to stand up and
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be counted as peaceful citizens.
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She should be remembered for making a difference for women
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all over the world.
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This shouldn't be happening in a beautiful country like ours.
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The themes of violence against women became talking points in
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the media too.
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The rally through Brunswick came as Jill's mother made her
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00:18:01.670 --> 00:18:04.450
own emotional journey. 10 Sarah Arbo was there and joins
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00:18:04.509 --> 00:18:07.799
us now. Sarah, you've witnessed quite a remarkable day.
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00:18:09.859 --> 00:18:12.730
I certainly have, and a very emotional one, really, from
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00:18:12.829 --> 00:18:16.019
start to finish. Earlier today, we saw tens of thousands
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00:18:16.119 --> 00:18:18.640
take to Sydney Road here in Brunswick and Melbourne's north.
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in the northern suburbs of Melbourne, rather, simply to pay
274
00:18:21.950 -->
00:18:24.789
their respects to Jill Maher and the life she lost.
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But what was perhaps more remarkable was when her mother
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00:18:27.589 --> 00:18:30.049
made the journey over here, all the way from Perth
277
00:18:30.069 --> 00:18:32.589
with other members of her family. Now, they visited the
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00:18:32.670 --> 00:18:34.529
vigil that was set up here by members of the
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00:18:34.569 --> 00:18:38.089
public who don't even themselves know Jill. There are hundreds
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of flowers and cards. Mrs McKeon went through some of
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00:18:41.450 --> 00:18:44.519
those cards... really taking in the words that have been
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left there.
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00:18:45.359 --> 00:18:46.299
She was also.
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Compelled to address some of the members of the public.
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They wanted themselves to offer their condolences to her and
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00:18:52.799 --> 00:18:56.039
they were united in a brief hug and some soft
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00:18:56.099 --> 00:19:00.190
words spoken to one another. Now, Edith McKean herself wanted
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00:19:00.269 --> 00:19:03.769
to thank not only the media, but the police, of course,
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00:19:03.789 --> 00:19:07.089
for their investigation and really just the public for their support.
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00:19:07.410 --> 00:19:09.329
Here's what she had to say to 10 News earlier.
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00:19:11.809 --> 00:19:14.369
I would like to thank the huge support here in Melbourne.
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00:19:14.470 --> 00:19:25.119
It's just been unbelievable. Just thank you. Simply thank you.
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00:19:25.380 --> 00:19:33.619
And I hope they'll put more cameras in here, keep
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people safe. And just thank you, everybody, everybody for all
295
00:19:40.170 --> 00:19:40.630
your support.
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00:19:45.849 --> 00:19:48.910
After Bailey had been charged, various Facebook users began to
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00:19:48.970 --> 00:19:49.970
create pages about the case.
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00:19:50.019 --> 00:19:50.359
Case.
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00:19:51.720 --> 00:19:54.480
As some of them were openly hostile towards Bailey, the
300
00:19:54.519 --> 00:19:57.960
Victoria Police tried unsuccessfully to have the pages taken down.
301
00:19:59.039 --> 00:20:01.589
As a result of this, the Premier of Victoria suggested
302
00:20:01.609 --> 00:20:04.150
it might be necessary to reform the law so that
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00:20:04.190 --> 00:20:08.710
social media coverage could not prejudice a potential jury. According
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00:20:08.730 --> 00:20:12.019
to the Irish Independent, her husband Tom also backed these
305
00:20:12.059 --> 00:20:16.319
calls to have the posts in question removed. Facebook refused
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00:20:16.359 --> 00:20:19.240
to remove the content, leading to criticism from the Victoria
307
00:20:19.279 --> 00:20:23.240
Police Chief Commissioner, Ken Lay. He told Fairfax Radio that
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00:20:23.279 --> 00:20:26.190
Facebook would not cooperate in removing the page and that
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00:20:26.210 --> 00:20:29.930
he was seeking legal advice. Though social media has been
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00:20:29.970 --> 00:20:34.130
enormously helpful in this investigation, it's also been very, very difficult,
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00:20:34.690 --> 00:20:37.150
and we had calls to speak to Facebook over the weekend.
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00:20:37.509 --> 00:20:40.859
and asked them to take the particular site down, he said. Now,
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00:20:41.019 --> 00:20:43.680
they've refused to do that. When you see the hatred
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00:20:43.720 --> 00:20:46.359
that's incited by some of these sites, it is very
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00:20:46.400 --> 00:20:49.559
much the antithesis of what we saw yesterday with the 30,000
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00:20:49.559 --> 00:20:52.640
people taking to the streets, saying let's try and make
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00:20:52.680 --> 00:20:56.410
this a safer and fairer community. The Reclaim the Night
318
00:20:56.470 --> 00:20:59.269
movement also organised a march on the 20th of October.
319
00:20:59.849 --> 00:21:01.910
The Reclaim the Night march aims to give women a
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00:21:01.930 --> 00:21:04.450
voice and empower them to feel safe walking the streets
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00:21:04.509 --> 00:21:07.220
at night, as well as highlight the issues of personal
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00:21:07.279 --> 00:21:10.839
safety that many women find themselves trying to navigate on
323
00:21:10.880 --> 00:21:14.579
a daily basis. On the 4th of October, Jill Marr's
324
00:21:14.640 --> 00:21:18.170
private funeral service took place at Melbourne Faulkner Memorial Park.
325
00:21:19.049 --> 00:21:21.829
The family thanked the public again for their support and
326
00:21:21.869 --> 00:21:25.990
the condolences that they had been offered. Those in attendance
327
00:21:26.049 --> 00:21:29.250
included colleagues from ABC and police officers who were working
328
00:21:29.299 --> 00:21:32.880
on the case. The considerable media attention led to a
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00:21:32.900 --> 00:21:35.980
special area for journalists to observe from while the funeral
330
00:21:36.019 --> 00:21:42.599
was taking place. As Jill still had family back in Ireland,
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00:21:43.039 --> 00:21:45.750
the following day a formal memorial mass took place at
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00:21:45.789 --> 00:21:49.549
St Peter's Church in her hometown of Drocheda, with hundreds attending.
333
00:21:50.430 --> 00:21:53.230
The priest who had married her and Tom, Father Oliver Devine,
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00:21:53.609 --> 00:21:58.089
presided over the mass. The whole town was brought to
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00:21:58.130 --> 00:22:01.990
a standstill as people silently marched through the streets. Her
336
00:22:02.049 --> 00:22:05.430
uncle Michael was given countless books of condolence from passers-by.
337
00:22:07.599 --> 00:22:11.740
At a pre-committal hearing in January 2013, a two-day committal
338
00:22:11.779 --> 00:22:14.440
case in the Melbourne Magistrates' Court was scheduled to start
339
00:22:14.500 --> 00:22:18.950
on 12 March 2013. According to various news reports, Bailey
340
00:22:18.970 --> 00:22:22.869
intended to fight the charges against him. However, on 5
341
00:22:22.869 --> 00:22:26.470
April 2013, he entered a plea of guilty to the
342
00:22:26.549 --> 00:22:30.329
rape and murder of Jill Maher. 21 days later, he
343
00:22:30.369 --> 00:22:33.150
was back in court to answer for several other sexual
344
00:22:33.170 --> 00:22:36.990
assaults in Melbourne, dating back to the year 2000. On
345
00:22:37.029 --> 00:22:42.339
these charges, he entered a plea of not guilty. Deputy
346
00:22:42.359 --> 00:22:46.819
Chief Magistrate Felicity Broughton also granted the defence's application to
347
00:22:46.900 --> 00:22:50.619
extend the existing suppression order banning the publication of damaging
348
00:22:50.700 --> 00:22:54.970
or potentially prejudicial material about him, with specific reference to
349
00:22:54.990 --> 00:23:00.230
the internet. On the 12th of June, Bailey appeared in
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00:23:00.289 --> 00:23:04.309
court for a pre-sentence hearing. During this hearing, victim impact
351
00:23:04.349 --> 00:23:06.769
statements were read out from the Marr family and others,
352
00:23:07.089 --> 00:23:12.589
including Jill's supervisor from ABC, Catherine Hurley. The devastation caused
353
00:23:12.609 --> 00:23:16.130
was immeasurable, and it was also revealed in Catherine's speech
354
00:23:16.190 --> 00:23:18.380
that many of Jill's colleagues from work had had to
355
00:23:18.420 --> 00:23:23.640
seek counselling following her murder. Her widower, Tom, said in
356
00:23:23.680 --> 00:23:26.460
a statement, What was stolen from me on September 22nd,
357
00:23:26.440 --> 00:23:31.819
2012 was love, my best friend and my entire world.
358
00:23:32.859 --> 00:23:34.859
I think of the waste of a brilliant mind and
359
00:23:34.880 --> 00:23:38.079
a beautiful soul. I am half a person because of
360
00:23:38.119 --> 00:23:45.529
this crime. Her brother Michael said, I am in dreadful pain.
361
00:23:46.190 --> 00:23:48.490
I must carry on living a full life, yet I
362
00:23:48.529 --> 00:23:53.230
will never forget my sister. During this hearing, Bailey's lawyer
363
00:23:53.289 --> 00:23:56.759
Saul Holt QC said, said that Bailey understood he deserved
364
00:23:56.799 --> 00:23:59.960
a life sentence and that he was remorseful, saying, Part
365
00:23:59.980 --> 00:24:01.900
of Bailey's apology was also read out to the court.
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00:24:02.019 --> 00:24:04.279
Prosecutors hit back at the claim that he was remorseful,
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00:24:05.700 --> 00:24:08.329
arguing that as he had attempted to conceal the murder,
368
00:24:09.289 --> 00:24:26.460
that proved he wasn't sorry for his actions. During the meeting,
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00:24:26.500 --> 00:24:29.599
the suppression order was also lifted by Justice Geoffrey Nettle,
370
00:24:29.819 --> 00:24:32.849
which allowed for Bailey's extensive history of rape and violence
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00:24:32.869 --> 00:24:40.549
to be revealed and reported on. The courtroom was packed
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00:24:40.690 --> 00:24:43.049
out and the public gallery was full at the Victoria
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Supreme Court. Adrian Ernest Bailey was sentenced to life in
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00:24:47.230 --> 00:24:51.150
prison with a non-parole period of 35 years for the
375
00:24:51.210 --> 00:24:55.779
rape and murder of Jill Maher. When sentencing him, Justice
376
00:24:55.839 --> 00:24:59.160
Nettle said that Adrian Bailey was a sexual deviant, who
377
00:24:59.220 --> 00:25:01.400
either killed Jill because she was threatening to call the
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00:25:01.440 --> 00:25:05.079
police after being raped by him, or because the idea
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00:25:05.119 --> 00:25:11.029
of taking her life aroused him. You were larger and
380
00:25:11.109 --> 00:25:14.390
stronger than she, and you used that physical advantage to
381
00:25:14.450 --> 00:25:18.049
dominate her. In effect, you dragged her off the streets
382
00:25:18.150 --> 00:25:20.650
late at night while she was peaceably going about her
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00:25:20.730 --> 00:25:28.619
own business, within a stone's throw of her home. He
384
00:25:28.680 --> 00:25:31.180
also explained that had he not entered a plea of guilty,
385
00:25:31.880 --> 00:25:34.759
he would have received life in prison without the possibility
386
00:25:34.799 --> 00:25:39.289
of parole. Throughout his sentencing, Bailey stared down at the floor,
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00:25:39.789 --> 00:25:42.390
only looking up once as his sentence was handed down.
388
00:25:45.069 --> 00:25:48.730
Outside the courthouse, Jill's devastated father, George, gave a statement.
389
00:25:50.230 --> 00:25:56.839
Jill lived a life full of family, friends and her
390
00:25:56.859 --> 00:26:06.039
beloved Tom. Jill was brutally raped and murdered and is
391
00:26:06.119 --> 00:26:07.519
never coming back.
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00:26:09.839 --> 00:26:14.440
Following the high-profile case, in June 2013, Victoria's parole laws
393
00:26:14.519 --> 00:26:18.279
underwent a massive overhaul, directly as a result of the
394
00:26:18.319 --> 00:26:21.480
murder of Jill Maher and other women being attacked and
395
00:26:21.559 --> 00:26:26.180
or killed by people on parole. Nearly three years earlier,
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00:26:26.279 --> 00:26:30.200
another Melbourne woman, Elsa Corp, was attacked, stabbed and strangled
397
00:26:30.299 --> 00:26:34.380
in a South Melbourne motel by a convicted drug trafficker who,
398
00:26:34.619 --> 00:26:38.910
like Bailey, was also out on parole. Under the new
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00:26:38.950 --> 00:26:42.049
laws which were introduced in the Victorian Parliament later that week,
400
00:26:42.630 --> 00:26:46.440
breaching parole would now be considered a separate offence. A
401
00:26:46.480 --> 00:26:49.519
breach of parole could mean breaking a curfew or breaching
402
00:26:49.539 --> 00:26:53.119
an alcohol ban. Police could also take formal action if
403
00:26:53.180 --> 00:26:56.440
parole was breached and any violent offenders that committed a
404
00:26:56.519 --> 00:26:59.880
serious breach of their bail conditions could immediately be returned
405
00:26:59.900 --> 00:27:06.099
to prison. The new
Premier of Victoria said in June 2013,
406
00:27:06.099 --> 00:27:08.660
there is no doubt that the system failed Jill Maher.
407
00:27:09.460 --> 00:27:12.640
Under the changes we've already introduced, the offender would have
408
00:27:12.660 --> 00:27:16.619
been back in jail, not on the streets. Our actions
409
00:27:16.660 --> 00:27:18.579
are the minimum we can do to try and make
410
00:27:18.660 --> 00:27:26.279
sure this never, ever happens again. The changes did not
411
00:27:26.349 --> 00:27:31.150
stop there. The High Court Justice Ian Callanan made recommendations
412
00:27:31.190 --> 00:27:35.710
to change the parole system. He highlighted 23 areas that
413
00:27:35.750 --> 00:27:36.829
required improvement.
414
00:27:37.410 --> 00:27:41.750
Dangerous offenders in the past have been given the benefit
415
00:27:41.769 --> 00:27:43.809
of the doubt that they shouldn't have been.
416
00:27:45.190 --> 00:27:47.009
That changes today.
417
00:27:48.670 --> 00:27:51.519
One such recommendation was that the paper system used to
418
00:27:51.559 --> 00:27:55.660
keep track of parolees... was replaced by an electronic database.
419
00:27:58.099 --> 00:28:00.880
Another was that the part-time parole board be replaced with
420
00:28:00.920 --> 00:28:03.599
a full-time one and that prisoners be required to prove
421
00:28:03.640 --> 00:28:06.220
they are at low risk of re-offending before they are
422
00:28:06.240 --> 00:28:10.809
released on bail. In September that year, it was revealed
423
00:28:10.849 --> 00:28:13.849
that Bailey had lodged an appeal against his sentence through
424
00:28:13.869 --> 00:28:17.329
the Victorian Legal Aid. The appeal argued that the minimum
425
00:28:17.369 --> 00:28:20.450
non-parole period was too long and that he hadn't taken
426
00:28:20.630 --> 00:28:23.809
perverted pleasure in murdering Jill, which was what Justice Nettle
427
00:28:23.849 --> 00:28:27.950
had said in his sentencing. In September, both the defence
428
00:28:28.029 --> 00:28:31.990
and prosecution argued their cases. On the 26th of September,
429
00:28:32.079 --> 00:28:35.880
after less than 10 minutes of deliberations, his appeal was dismissed.
430
00:28:37.960 --> 00:28:41.039
More controversy arose in November that year when a senior
431
00:28:41.079 --> 00:28:44.700
police sergeant with Victoria Police gave a talk about homicide
432
00:28:45.000 --> 00:28:48.069
at a fundraiser for the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia.
433
00:28:49.180 --> 00:28:51.630
During the talk, he showed a photo of Jill's body
434
00:28:51.670 --> 00:28:54.589
that had been taken at the crime scene. The detective
435
00:28:54.630 --> 00:28:58.109
apologised following an outcry and stated that the photograph had
436
00:28:58.190 --> 00:29:01.349
only been briefly displayed and that he had the backing
437
00:29:01.390 --> 00:29:04.289
of Jill's family to use it. It also emerged he
438
00:29:04.309 --> 00:29:08.200
had done this several times before. The police later apologised,
439
00:29:08.279 --> 00:29:14.539
calling the matter an unfortunate error. There was further controversy
440
00:29:14.559 --> 00:29:16.599
when a Catholic priest gave a talk at a primary
441
00:29:16.640 --> 00:29:19.759
school in Melbourne. He told the children that had Jill
442
00:29:19.779 --> 00:29:22.859
been more faith-filled, she would have been at home in
443
00:29:22.900 --> 00:29:26.049
bed and not walking down the street at night. He
444
00:29:26.089 --> 00:29:28.569
also said that she had been walking at 3am, which
445
00:29:28.609 --> 00:29:33.210
was not correct. The Vicar General of the Catholic Archdiocese
446
00:29:33.250 --> 00:29:36.869
of Melbourne, Greg Bennett, told the 3AW radio station that
447
00:29:36.890 --> 00:29:40.390
the Catholic Church apologised for the comments made by the priest. saying,
448
00:29:40.410 --> 00:29:43.829
He also spoke to the priest in question, who acknowledged
449
00:29:43.849 --> 00:30:02.670
the offensiveness of his remarks and also apologised. The suppression
450
00:30:02.730 --> 00:30:05.049
order that was in place during his trial had also
451
00:30:05.089 --> 00:30:11.099
had far-reaching consequences. Australian TV and radio presenter Derren Hinch
452
00:30:11.140 --> 00:30:14.420
was ordered to pay a fine of $ 100, 000 after he
453
00:30:14.460 --> 00:30:17.299
had attempted to reveal Bailey's long rap sheet of sexual
454
00:30:17.339 --> 00:30:20.480
offences and rapes. This was in breach of the suppression order.
455
00:30:21.220 --> 00:30:23.119
He failed to pay the fine and therefore on 17
456
00:30:23.119 --> 00:30:24.759
January 2014, the 69-year-old began serving a 50-day prison sentence.
457
00:30:31.680 --> 00:30:34.069
Almost two years after he had began his sentence for
458
00:30:34.089 --> 00:30:36.789
the rape and murder of Jill Marr, Bailey was found
459
00:30:36.829 --> 00:30:39.970
guilty of three more rapes committed before he had killed her.
460
00:30:41.109 --> 00:30:44.910
These three trials were all held separately between 2014 and 2015.
461
00:30:44.910 --> 00:30:49.829
His victims were two sex workers and a Dutch backpacker.
462
00:30:51.630 --> 00:30:53.730
In the case of the backpacker, he had pretended to
463
00:30:53.769 --> 00:30:56.569
be a good Samaritan, telling her she was being followed
464
00:30:56.609 --> 00:30:58.990
by a car in the bayside suburb of St Kilda
465
00:30:59.490 --> 00:31:02.630
as she walked home from the pub. Believing he was genuine,
466
00:31:02.690 --> 00:31:04.990
she accepted his offer of a lift and got into
467
00:31:05.039 --> 00:31:08.680
his car. He then drove her to an isolated spot,
468
00:31:09.000 --> 00:31:13.099
where he brutally raped her. An ephod was issued and
469
00:31:13.140 --> 00:31:15.559
she was able to identify him from a photo board.
470
00:31:16.380 --> 00:31:19.099
The survivors of all three rapes had come forward due
471
00:31:19.119 --> 00:31:22.200
to the high level of publicity
following Jill's abduction and killing.
472
00:31:23.549 --> 00:31:25.890
By that point, he had now been convicted of sexual
473
00:31:25.910 --> 00:31:30.849
offences against 12 different people. The systems of the Victoria
474
00:31:30.890 --> 00:31:34.759
Police were, once again, in the firing line. It emerged
475
00:31:34.799 --> 00:31:38.180
that Bailey's DNA had been obtained in 2001 after he
476
00:31:38.200 --> 00:31:41.819
had sexually assaulted another woman, but this DNA was not
477
00:31:41.880 --> 00:31:45.869
being held on the Victoria Police's DNA database. In April
478
00:31:45.900 --> 00:31:48.509
that year, the Victorian coroner announced plans to hold an
479
00:31:48.549 --> 00:31:51.309
inquest into Jill's death were no longer going to go ahead.
480
00:31:52.210 --> 00:31:55.410
Her family welcomed this news, saying all they wanted was closure.
481
00:31:57.910 --> 00:32:01.730
The non-profit organisation Legacy Australia that helps provide support to
482
00:32:01.769 --> 00:32:04.710
servicemen and women and their families who were hurt or
483
00:32:04.750 --> 00:32:08.150
killed in action set up an online condolences book. By
484
00:32:08.210 --> 00:32:12.480
July 2015, more than 3,000 people had signed it, many
485
00:32:12.539 --> 00:32:15.359
saying they had never even met Jill but felt compelled
486
00:32:15.519 --> 00:32:23.950
to offer their thoughts and prayers. Bailey was sentenced to
487
00:32:23.990 --> 00:32:28.130
a further 18 years in custody. meaning his non-parole period
488
00:32:28.170 --> 00:32:33.049
was extended from 35 years to 43. The following month,
489
00:32:33.089 --> 00:32:35.609
on the 25th of June, he lodged an appeal against
490
00:32:35.710 --> 00:32:39.250
two out of the three convictions and the extended non-parole period.
491
00:32:40.609 --> 00:32:44.079
In the summer of 2016, Bailey lodged yet another appeal
492
00:32:44.150 --> 00:32:46.500
against one of his rape convictions and was given a
493
00:32:46.539 --> 00:32:51.400
three-year reduction to his sentence. During the court proceedings, Bailey's
494
00:32:51.440 --> 00:32:55.160
lawyer explained that following psychological testing, he was not deemed
495
00:32:55.200 --> 00:32:58.470
to suffer from psychopathy but rather he had been diagnosed
496
00:32:58.509 --> 00:33:03.410
with borderline personality disorder. His borderline personality disorder manifested itself
497
00:33:03.470 --> 00:33:06.309
in extreme and severe mood swings, as well as poorly
498
00:33:06.349 --> 00:33:10.170
controlled anger. He also said that as a child he
499
00:33:10.190 --> 00:33:12.329
had suffered sexual abuse at the hands of an older
500
00:33:12.369 --> 00:33:15.180
female relative, as well as physical abuse at the hands
501
00:33:15.220 --> 00:33:19.119
of his father. Despite his efforts to reduce his sentence,
502
00:33:19.500 --> 00:33:21.619
he will be in his 80s before he can even
503
00:33:21.660 --> 00:33:25.029
be considered for parole, and
even if that happens... a
504
00:33:25.049 --> 00:33:27.460
parole board must be satisfied that he is no longer
505
00:33:27.519 --> 00:33:34.200
a danger to the public. In November 2020, Bailey's mother
506
00:33:34.259 --> 00:33:37.049
broke her silence to give an interview about her son's case.
507
00:33:37.789 --> 00:33:40.390
She explained that prior to Jill's murder, she'd tried to
508
00:33:40.430 --> 00:33:43.190
tell the police that she believed he was dangerous and
509
00:33:43.230 --> 00:33:45.440
that the police had failed to heed her warning and
510
00:33:45.500 --> 00:33:46.700
take the appropriate action.
511
00:33:48.359 --> 00:33:50.319
Well, you're a very powerful voice to put to it
512
00:33:50.359 --> 00:33:52.140
because you're coming from the other side of it. And
513
00:33:52.279 --> 00:33:54.279
I was about to say about your son that I
514
00:33:54.319 --> 00:33:57.839
thought it was important people know about his history and
515
00:33:57.880 --> 00:34:00.539
what he'd done because.
516
00:33:59.779 --> 00:34:00.720
The system failed.
517
00:34:00.740 --> 00:34:02.660
He shouldn't have been on the streets.
518
00:34:04.079 --> 00:34:07.369
And let me tell you, Neil, I went high and
519
00:34:07.509 --> 00:34:11.170
I told them that I had concerns. And nobody listened
520
00:34:11.210 --> 00:34:15.110
to me. Nobody. His parole officer didn't listen to me.
521
00:34:15.469 --> 00:34:18.530
I went into the city to an officer's in the
522
00:34:18.550 --> 00:34:21.949
justice system. Nobody listened to me.
523
00:34:23.389 --> 00:34:25.530
Is this before he killed Jill?
524
00:34:26.389 --> 00:34:26.929
Yes, it is.
525
00:34:28.289 --> 00:34:32.449
Yes, it is. Nobody listens.
526
00:34:33.179 --> 00:34:35.440
We need to listen to these voices. We need to
527
00:34:35.480 --> 00:34:39.179
listen to the victims' voices. Just because they're not with
528
00:34:39.219 --> 00:34:42.880
us anymore doesn't mean they're less important and their voices
529
00:34:42.940 --> 00:34:43.659
shouldn't be heard.
530
00:34:51.289 --> 00:34:54.989
Jill's devastated widower Tom left Australia and returned to Ireland
531
00:34:55.050 --> 00:34:59.309
in August 2013. In November the following year he made
532
00:34:59.349 --> 00:35:01.739
a trip back to Australia to promote the White Ribbon
533
00:35:01.780 --> 00:35:07.659
campaign aimed at stopping violence against women. In June 2013
534
00:35:07.659 --> 00:35:11.280
he gave an interview with ABC and explained how he
535
00:35:11.340 --> 00:35:13.699
felt the justice system had let his wife down.
536
00:35:14.070 --> 00:35:18.630
Do you think that the justice system failed your wife
537
00:35:18.730 --> 00:35:19.250
and yourself?
538
00:35:19.289 --> 00:35:20.469
Yeah, absolutely, of course it did.
539
00:35:21.730 --> 00:35:23.590
I think that the primary role of a parole board
540
00:35:23.610 --> 00:35:26.829
should be to protect the innocent. Very secondary to that
541
00:35:26.869 --> 00:35:31.599
would be rehabilitation. Rehabilitation is still a thing we need
542
00:35:31.619 --> 00:35:33.280
in our justice system, of course it is, but it's not.
543
00:35:34.280 --> 00:35:37.599
A person like that, they have to do a risk
544
00:35:37.639 --> 00:35:41.159
assessment of, and the number one priority of that should
545
00:35:41.179 --> 00:35:43.179
be to protect the innocent, and that's what they didn't do.
546
00:35:44.480 --> 00:35:47.880
In his case. And that's why Jill's not here.
547
00:35:49.440 --> 00:35:51.480
How did you feel when you found out that he
548
00:35:51.719 --> 00:35:57.519
had served two previous prison sentences for sexual assaults, multiple
549
00:35:57.579 --> 00:36:01.679
sexual assaults, threats to kill, abductions, the whole thing, and
550
00:36:01.739 --> 00:36:05.780
for the last sentence, he served less than half of
551
00:36:05.840 --> 00:36:10.829
the maximum penalty for 16 counts and five victims?
552
00:36:12.309 --> 00:36:12.389
Um.
553
00:36:13.570 --> 00:36:16.429
I felt furious, and I'm still furious. Whenever I hear
554
00:36:16.809 --> 00:36:20.679
anybody say it, whenever I read it, my blood boils,
555
00:36:20.760 --> 00:36:26.719
because it's... It sends a disturbing message.
556
00:36:29.119 --> 00:36:32.780
This man is unrepentantly evil.
557
00:36:33.119 --> 00:36:35.590
He's been let off too many times by our justice system,
558
00:36:35.630 --> 00:36:39.789
and he's just... It's obviously a complete menace.
559
00:36:39.829 --> 00:36:41.750
And it sends out a really dangerous message to.
560
00:36:43.599 --> 00:36:45.460
To society, I think, if you do this.
561
00:36:45.579 --> 00:36:50.780
I mean, I'm aware that his previous victims, in the
562
00:36:50.820 --> 00:36:53.739
previous case before Jill, were sex workers, and I'll never
563
00:36:53.780 --> 00:36:57.150
be convinced that that had nothing to do with the
564
00:36:57.170 --> 00:37:01.170
leniency of his sentence, which, as I said, sends a
565
00:37:01.409 --> 00:37:04.570
very disturbing message, because if we say, what it says
566
00:37:04.650 --> 00:37:06.670
to women is, you know, be careful what you do,
567
00:37:06.690 --> 00:37:09.269
because if we don't like what you do, you won't
568
00:37:09.289 --> 00:37:11.150
get justice. And then what it says to people like
569
00:37:11.170 --> 00:37:14.989
Bailey is, Not don't rape, but be careful who you rape.
570
00:37:17.230 --> 00:37:19.690
He also wrote an essay for the White Ribbon website
571
00:37:19.800 --> 00:37:23.519
called The Danger of the Monster Myth, tackling the stereotypes
572
00:37:23.579 --> 00:37:27.300
that many have about sex offenders. Part of the essay reads,
573
00:37:27.960 --> 00:37:31.139
We cannot separate these cases from one another because doing
574
00:37:31.199 --> 00:37:33.449
so allows us to ignore the fact that all these
575
00:37:33.489 --> 00:37:37.250
crimes have exactly the same cause. Violent men and the
576
00:37:37.329 --> 00:37:41.059
silence of non-violent men. We can only move past violence
577
00:37:41.079 --> 00:37:44.099
when we recognise how it is enabled and by attributing
578
00:37:44.139 --> 00:37:46.420
it to the mental illness of a singular human being,
579
00:37:46.940 --> 00:37:50.900
we ignore its prevalence, its root causes and the self-examination
580
00:37:50.940 --> 00:37:55.800
required to end the cycle. Male self-examination requires this courage
581
00:37:56.260 --> 00:37:58.630
and we cannot end the pattern of men's violence against
582
00:37:58.690 --> 00:38:07.170
women without consciously breaking our silence. Although nothing can ever
583
00:38:07.210 --> 00:38:09.389
be done to ease the pain that has been caused,
584
00:38:10.360 --> 00:38:13.159
Jill's friends and family are determined that her and her
585
00:38:13.280 --> 00:38:17.579
impact will never be forgotten. Tom has said that following
586
00:38:17.619 --> 00:38:20.389
the death of his wife, the writings of Maya Angelou
587
00:38:20.429 --> 00:38:23.409
have been a source of peace and comfort, with the
588
00:38:23.469 --> 00:38:28.710
following in particular resonating with him. History, despite its wrenching pain,
589
00:38:28.929 --> 00:38:32.789
cannot be unlived, but, if faced with courage, need not
590
00:38:32.929 --> 00:38:33.469
be lived again.
591
00:38:38.639 --> 00:38:40.250
Thank you.