ipl-logo

Michael Murdoch's Murder Case Study

785 Words4 Pages

The definition of murder is the killing of a human being by a sane person, with the intent to harm or kill and with no legal excuse or authority (Hill, Gerald & Kathleen, 2016). A murder was committed on the night of 1986. A young nurse was named Anita Lorraine Cobby was violently killed by five drunken men.

Cobby was murdered by a group of five men who together had over 50 prior convictions including armed robbery, car theft, breaking and entering, assault, escaping lawful custody, receiving stolen goods, drug use and rape. John Travers, the leader was 19 at the time. He was raised in Blacktown, NSW in poverty. He was an alcoholic by the age of 14. Michael Murdoch was also 19 at the time of murder. He was a childhood friends and associate …show more content…

She was less than two kilometres away when she was abducted by the five men who were drunk, driving a stolen car on their way to buy drugs. The group needed money for petrol and drugs when they saw Anita walking alone down the road. They drove to a paddock where they gang – raped her. They broke her fingers and dislocated other bones before slashing her throat. The cut was so violent that her head was barely connected to her neck. After her body was dragged to her final resting place through a barbed wire fence. This was indicated from her injuries. Two days later her body was discovered in the middle of a farm in Prospect. The Western Sydney suburb is 4km away from Cobby’s home in …show more content…

The code also states that any person who commits murder is liable to imprisonment for life. The court sentencing orders that the person must not be released from imprisonment until they have served a minimum of 30 years with the exception of circumstances parole (Queensland Consolidated Acts, 2016). The gang were accused of murder under these laws and regulations.
The gang was taken into custody once being questioned about the murder. The police tracked the murder to them after a tip off from the public directly leading to the five men and the previous charges of Murdoch and Les Murphy for stolen vehicle offences backed but this statement. They were both released on bail but returned to police custody shortly after. A lady known as Mrs X was a friend of Travers and agreed to help the police record a confession from him while being held in a cell. John Travers confessed to Mrs X that he, Murdoch and the three Murphy brothers were responsible for the murder of Anita

Show More
Related
281 Words | 2 Pages

At the age of 17, Ryan Matthews was sentenced to death for the murder of convenience store owner, Tommy Vanhoose. Police failed to investigate on all evidence to convict the real killer, Rondell Love. Love shot Mr. Vanhoose four times and fled, taking off his mask and diving into the passenger side window of the getaway car. Hours after the crime, Ryan Watthews and associate, Travis Hayes (also 17) were stopped because the car they were driving in resembled the killers. A witness claimed that Ryan took part of the crime, others said he was too tall to be the suspect.

Read More
380 Words | 2 Pages

Brett Peter Cowan an Australian sex offender who was convicted of the murder of Daniel Morcombe in which disappeared from a bus near his home at Woombye on the sunshine coast on the 7th of December 2003. His parents became household names in Queensland through their campaign to find Daniel and making this the attention of people to keep their children safe. The abduction lead to an eight year investigation involving suspects leading up to the undercover police scandal in august 2011. In cowans early years he became involved in petty crime throughout his late ten years such as breaking and entering and stealing.

Read More
171 Words | 1 Pages

Case details Mr Stephen Gilham aged 58 and Mrs Helen Gilham aged 55 and their two sons Christopher aged 25 and Jeffrey aged 23 lived in Woronora. It is a suburb in southern Sydney. Mr and Mrs Gilham and Christopher were murdered in their family house on 28th August 1993 at or around 4am. They were savagely stabbed to death and house was set on fire.

Read More
616 Words | 3 Pages

In this case, the cases R v Dean, R v Baker and R v Villa, were cited and used as a precedent stating that “where multiple murders are committed by the one offender, the offender’s culpability for each murder is informed by his culpability for all the murders”. Due to the similar situations in which multiple murders occurred in those cases, it was used as a referral for the sentence given. STATUTE Section 19A (1) of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) states that life imprisonment is utmost punishment for murder. This was a main factor that contributed to his sentence – life imprisonment. The other reason for this was Section 61(1) of the Crimes (Sentencing) Procedure Act 1999 (NSW) (“the Sentencing Act”).

Read More
574 Words | 3 Pages

* Disclaimer, many of the exact numbers and dates were different across sites so the most common dates and numbers were used. In June 1838, and the following months later that year, the Aboriginal culture and Australia was severely impacted in many ways because of the Myall Creek Massacre. This was an incident that approximately twenty-eight men, women and children of Aboriginal culture were violently slaughtered for no reason but to kill.

Read More
1075 Words | 5 Pages

On March 5, 1770, three men died of gunshot wounds and two others died from their injuries. The events leading to their deaths are crucial to understand. Great Britain had stationed soldiers in Boston to enforce laws and defend protests. The colonists were resisting the British laws because Britain had been enforcing taxes created by the British Parliament in which the Colonies had no representation. Tension between the colonists and soldiers erupted on the night of March 5.

Read More
725 Words | 3 Pages

Carl Williams: the non-ideal victim: HEATHER JONES 214139974 Carl Williams; convicted drug trafficker and murderer, was serving a life sentence in Barwon Prison’s Acacia unit when he was beaten over the head with the stem from an exercise bike and killed by Matthew Johnson in 2010. The first link that is listed when his name is searched in Google is the Wikipedia page titled “Carl Williams (criminal).” The initial impression is that he is not regarded as a victim of murder, but largely still as the killer he was. This is understandable. Williams is responsible for ordering the deaths of and killing members of Melbourne’s underworld, all of whom have left behind families and loved ones.

Read More
3197 Words | 13 Pages

Arthur Shawcross, otherwise known as “The Genesee River Killer”, was a serial killer most famous for the murder of eleven women in the upstate New York area from 1988 to 1990. However, these were not his only crimes. In the year 1972, he was also arrested for the murder of two children. Shortly after his arrest, Shawcross was released on parole and had his criminal records sealed in order to prevent a public panic at this newly released child murderer.

Read More
390 Words | 2 Pages

After reading chapters one and two of the Psychology in Everyday Life book and learning about the four big ideas in psychology, and also while trying to figure out the contributing factors of Andrea Yates’ murder of her children. I have to focus in on and think about big idea two, the biopsychosocial approach, that integrates three levels which are biological, psychological and social/cultural; all together these factors influence and give insight into behavior and mental processes. (CITE BOOK) After reviewing these, the psychological factors that I believe to have contributed to Andrea Yates’ murder of her children are, firstly biological, Andrea had a genetic predispositions, which means Andrea had an increased likelihood of developing

Read More
955 Words | 4 Pages

The Port Arthur Massacre occurred on the 28th and 29th of April 1996 in Port Arthur, Tasmania, Australia. Martin Bryant is undoubtedly guilty for the murder of 35 people along with 20 people injured as he had the motive due to being socially inappropriate, mentally disabled, and infused with a high level of frustration and anger towards others. Similarly, witnesses report seeing him at the scene of the crime and time frames noted by those who saw him, place him at Port Arthur on the day this event took place. Further to this, though he initially denied having anything to do with it, he later confessed at the court hearing, and admitted his guilt. Martin Bryant is undoubtedly guilty for the murder of 35 people along with 20 people injured as he had the motive due to being socially inappropriate, mentally disabled, and infused with a high level of frustration and anger

Read More
1050 Words | 5 Pages

Homicide: the deliberate and unlawful killing of one person by another person. To you does this word fit in the events that have happened. It was obvious Tom my client was not trying to deliberately kill his little brother, Doodle. Tom cannot be legally convicted of a crime he allegedly committed. It may seem like he's guilty with all fingers pointed at him for the death of Doodle, but allow me to elaborate on how my client is indeed innocent.

Read More
834 Words | 4 Pages

Jeffrey Dahmer was a notorious serial killer who liked to pick up men in bars telling them he was a photographer and he wanted to take their picture. Once at his place he would offer alcohol and drug them so they could not get away. Dahmer was a sadistic sexual serial killer who liked to have control over his victims even after they were dead. Dahmer who would dismember his victims’ bodies often saving their skulls or other body parts also practiced necrophilia and cannibalism.

Read More
681 Words | 3 Pages

Murder on a Sunday Morning, is an Oscar award-winning documentary that tells of the conviction and trial of 15-year-old Brenton Butler for the death of Mary Ann Stephens in Jacksonville, Florida of May 2000. The film is a 111-minute movie directed by Jean-Xavier de Lastrade. The plot originates from the incident of Mary Ann Stephens being shot in the head by a black assailant; and then begins to unravel as Brenton Butler is arrested 90 minutes after the murder has occurred. Pat McGuinness, one of the main interviewees in the movie, takes up the case and defends Brenton Butler. The documentary presents the film from the trial, as well as interviews and investigations that Pat McGuinness and his partner Ann Finnel performed to gather facts for

Read More
1046 Words | 5 Pages

(2) A person sentenced to imprisonment to life for the crime of murder is to serve that sentence for the term of that person’s natural life. The fact that Katherine Knight was sentence to life imprisonment for the murder of John Price reflects society’s standards in that nobody should get away with taking somebody else’s life, especially in the way in which Katherine did. 6 THE EFFICIENCY AND EFFECTIVENESS OF THE LEGAL SYSTEM IN ACHIEVING JUSTICE Once Katherine Knight pleaded guilty to the murder of John Price, the court was able to sentence her quite efficiently once all evidence was heard. The efficiency of this case and also the fact that Katherine Knight received the harshest penalty possible in Australia for her horrific crime shows how justice was achieved.

Read More
1730 Words | 7 Pages

. Christie’s detective world is very much a product of the post World War I ‘modernist’ cynicism which also rendered in humans, a sense of introspection. As Poirot says, “It is the brain, the little grey cells on which one must rely. One must seek the truth within, not without.”

Read More

More about Michael Murdoch's Murder Case Study

Related Topics

Open Document