Janet King (2014) s01e04 Episode Script

I stuffed things up.
Yes, you did.
You can't ring me and leave five messages for me at the office.
I didn't want to.
I thought you'd be there.
It was after five.
No, I didn't go back yesterday after court.
I just got changed and went to the gym.
Bit of a swim, bike, treadmill, not that I need to explain that to you.
What's new in the Sex Crimes Unit? Timothy Clarke.
Took his computer in for repairs.
Bingo.
These were all found a hundred folders deep.
Mrs Vasilich.
We have a warrant for your arrest for the murder of Steven James Blakely.
Forensics rechecked Vasilich's jacket.
They had a look inside the pockets and they found blood.
Dry-cleaning hadn't got it.
Blakely's blood.
One of my accused wants to confess, but he won't talk to me.
One of the bikies? Yes, Toby Franzen.
Dianne Vasilich.
Said she'd been trying to get this bloke to tell her who had knocked off her daughter.
I said, 'Fair enough.
Who is he?' And she says it's Steve Blakely.
You got a good lawyer? And what makes a good lawyer, I wonder.
How do you find the defendant, Dianne Vasilich? Guilty.
Well, I'm down near Gerringong.
Why? Because a bushwalker just found Steven Blakely's body.
So Dianne and Brian didn't throw him off North Head.
In fact, given the time it takes to get here, they weren't even the ones who buried him.
Mrs Vasilich, your daughter was, by all accounts, exceptionally beautiful and vivacious, yes? So why did she turn to prostitution? There was a complete estrangement for two years, and then suddenly she was dead.
Well, I put it to you that you had to find who'd killed her, otherwise you could only blame yourself.
I just wanted justice No, you desperately needed someone to get you off the hook.
That's why it became obsessive, wasn't it? Because it wasn't just a frustration with the lack of justice - it was a mother's guilt.
That's a lie.
I wasn't obsessive, and I didn't hate anyone.
I just wanted justice for Oriana! On the count of murder, how do you find the defendant, Dianne Vasilich? Guilty.
My client is an innocent woman, a victim of a system which favours quick results over the truth.
She and her son have been imprisoned for a crime they did not commit.
And the discovery of Steven Blakely's body only confirms what they've been saying from the start of this debacle.
Once again, we see the danger of Crown prosecutors being overly persuasive and unnecessarily adversarial in court.
Janet King's gung-ho approach in this trial has caused a serious miscarriage of justice.
Perhaps if the DPP and the police were not quite so hand in hand, we might have a more balanced criminal justice system - not one which favours the prosecution, and certainly not one which results in the jailing of the innocent.
That doesn't change anything.
The Vasilich woman killed him.
Are you serious? We stuffed up.
She should never have been convicted.
Could have organised someone to bury him.
So now she's a criminal mastermind? Or she hired someone to rough him up.
She could plan his murder.
OK, let's say she did plan the whole thing.
Why wouldn't you pay to kill him? Why tackle a big man like that? Burying's the easy bit.
I don't know.
Self-satisfaction? Oh, God.
This is exactly why we should have waited.
You push us into running this, it goes off the rails.
We're the ones who cop it.
Nothing's gone off the rails.
We have a convicted murderer and her accomplice in prison.
We can't be sure of that.
What are you saying? She walks into Blakely's house, disturbs the murderer, he hides, she puts her hand in his blood and then leaves? That's your version of events? Who buried him? Enough.
Enough! I have no idea.
We are all in the shit here.
There's no way the Vasilichs could have buried the body? Impossible.
They couldn't have made it back to the hospital in time.
Someone else buried the body.
Not unless someone else killed him.
Unlikely.
Well, keeping an open mind then, are we? You know she's guilty, come on! It's only one detail at the end that's changed.
So where did Dianne and her son go, then, after they killed Blakely? If they're giving themselves an alibi by going to the hospital, why not go straight there? They drove Blakely's car with the body to the guy who'd bury him.
They told that guy to leave the car at North Head.
Why not take the gravedigger with you? Isn't that easier? Could be half a dozen different ways it happened.
And there's your reasonable doubt right there.
You find this third man, or Dianne and her son will walk.
They've already started crawling out of the woodwork.
No surprise.
Every crim and his dog will be putting up their hand for this one, after the deal we got our bikie friend Franzen.
Waste of time and resources we don't have.
You never know what the tide might wash up.
See you back there.
I'm hoping our third man left his business card in the grave, along with the murder weapon.
As you can see, bashed in the back of the head with something heavy - three blows.
Attacked from behind.
Gutless.
Fell forwards, causing a depressed fracture of the cheek.
Any DNA not his? Anything else you've found that might help us identify who buried him? Not so far.
I'd say they were pretty careful.
Other injuries? Nothing major.
There are small, shallow lacerations on both feet, across the soles.
The dirt in them matches the dirt around the gravesite.
What else? There's paint under his fingernails, in his hair.
Off-white, matte.
Yeah.
The paint is of a domestic type.
He was renovating.
The place was chaos, stuff everywhere.
Which accounts for the cricket bat they buried with him.
Solid murder weapon.
Bit of weight behind it.
A handle.
But the dirt in the lungs means he was still alive when he was buried.
He wouldn't have known anything about it, if it's any consolation.
He would have died from the head wounds anyway.
But the immediate cause of death was suffocation.
They buried him alive.
Last time I was here, we had a chat about Dianne Dianne Vasilich.
I remember.
Now, you pointed out Toby Franzen.
You point her towards anyone else? Hang on, it's not like I brokered that deal.
I never thought she'd actually go and talk to him.
Did she ever ask about, you know, anyone else? She doesn't talk much.
She's um a bit of a fixture in here.
Ever since Oriana was murdered.
I guess this is the closest thing she has to Oriana's grave, you know? A bit tragic, really, the whole thing.
I mean, sometimes Dianne brings flowers.
Sometimes she she just sits here and stares into space.
On Oriana's birthday, every year, she totally writes herself off, and me, or whoever else is on, has to call her son to come and take her away.
She was alright, Oriana.
You know, a bit messed up with the drugs, but You know, she always came and said hello.
And through all the crap you could see she was well brought up.
And you never saw Dianne talking to anyone else other than Franzen? No.
Did you see her, or her son, on the night of 9th October? No idea.
You got CCTV in the car park? I suppose you'll be wanting a look? You got some time to help me go over my application today? You still want to train up to be a Crown after all this? Yes, I think so.
No, I do.
Even if there are weeks like this, I really like appearance work and Solicitor Advocate's the next logical step.
What, you're not doubting what we do, are you? Are you kidding? Tim Clarke, my child porn man.
Will the jury look at him and see him for the monster that he is, or will they think, 'We've all looked at stuff we shouldn't have.
He's just like us.
He wasn't the one actually causing the suffering.
' He does look normal, whatever that means.
So many of the photos he's got are taken with hidden cameras.
Imagine what it would be like to find out that men, all over the world, are watching you get undressed.
Or raped.
Your photos could be out there for the rest of your life.
Someone could walk past you in the street and recognise you as that girl.
What would that do to you? Or or think about those abuse victims who are too embarrassed to tell anyone what happened, and then a video of your abuse goes viral.
I haven't ever thought about it like that.
That's all I think about.
Excuse me, sir.
Hey, what'd you get from the Lions Gate? Nothing the night of the 9th.
No DVD labelled with that date.
Either they're crap at labelling Or someone's taken the footage from that night.
Why didn't you call? I went back to the Lions Gate.
I checked out the shop next door.
Think the owner'd be very happy for us to find something criminal going on.
He's not what you'd call a fan.
He's got a camera on the car park as well.
DVD of the 9th.
That's Blakely's car.
Mm-hmm.
It's the wrong time of day.
What the hell is he doing? That's Blakely.
Can you freeze that for me? And just yeah.
Get in a bit closer, yeah.
Danny Novak.
Car park of the Lions Gate Hotel, 4:30pm.
Blakely must have driven there straight after court.
Blakely and Novak? They argue for about five minutes.
Blakely gets in his car and he drives away.
Four hours later, Blakely is dead.
Blakely pulled this file out two days before he died.
He was going to reopen the investigation.
Oriana Vasilich.
This is the hotel room where she was killed.
Did Blakely have a suspect? According to his notes he knew exactly who it was.
He just couldn't prove it.
Danny Novak.
Owner of the Lions Gate.
So Blakely calls him up.
Tells him he's going to reopen the investigation and go after him.
Once it's in the system, it doesn't matter if Blakely's behind bars.
Novak employed Oriana.
He used her to sweeten business deals.
She knew a lot about things she shouldn't have.
If he felt he couldn't trust her anymore.
Bye-bye, Oriana.
But it's still just a theory, right? There wasn't any proof that Novak was involved.
It's just supposition.
DNA tests prove a lot more these days.
Who knows what they might find? Pretty good motive for a murder.
So Dianne Vasilich didn't kill Blakely? We will continue looking for our third man, but we'll divert some resources to Novak.
Surveillance, listening devices, phone taps, the whole lot.
Um, excuse me.
Watch it! Sorry.
Hey, I'm heading home.
Are you ready to go? No, no, not yet.
I'll be here for hours.
Will you be OK getting home? Oh, I'll find someone to protect me.
What I should do is stop panicking every time I hear a motorbike.
Look, I'll walk you and come back.
No, no, no.
I'm good.
Stay.
Stay.
Andy, hi.
Oh look, I'm still at the office.
I'll just grab a piece of toast when I get in.
Promise I won't work too hard.
Look, I've gotta go.
I'll speak to you soon.
U-J-U You came.
Oh, I've decided it takes too much energy to keep ignoring you.
Right, well you wanted to talk, so talk.
We can talk about what happened and what went wrong and how we feel, but it isn't going to change my mind.
I don't know whether it's a good idea for you to be staying with Danny while you're here.
Your father's not exactly popular with the police.
I was just thinking that maybe it's better for your career, now that you're not living in Sydney, to really distance yourself from him.
Sorry, you wanted to talk to me about where I'm staying? Your career's really taking off, that's all.
I'd just hate for all of your hard work to be undone by something like guilt by association.
Not guilt, definitely not guilt, but you know.
What have you heard? N-nothing.
You've heard something about Dad.
No, nothing.
I don't believe you.
Look, as long as you're staying there, I can never come and see you.
Thanks for the drink.
Don't worry about it, Princess.
It's just like issuing parking tickets.
They need to get their numbers up, so they drop in and see me.
What are they looking for? Well, entertainment.
No, I'm serious, Dad.
What was on the warrant? Can I look at it? Well, they waved it in front of me, but didn't leave it, so It's nothing important.
Trust me.
No, Dad, that wasn't just a casual thing.
They took away your computers.
Mm-hmm.
What else did they take? I don't know.
Nothing.
The warrant has to state what they're investigating you for.
Well, the easiest thing to do is just to cooperate, isn't it? Be polite.
Best way to show you've got nothing to hide, which I don't, OK? OK.
Really OK? Yeah.
Good.
You eaten? Oh, Amanda, hi.
Oh, hi, Janet.
Are you, um Ash had to nip out for a bit.
She asked me if I could stay on.
Oh, right.
OK.
Hello, sweeties.
Hello, my little one.
And how's work? The usual.
Have you been creating havoc today, huh? Who's up for a bath? Want to have a bath? They've actually had a bath.
Oh.
Oh, good.
Thank you.
I didn't know how long you'd be.
Right.
No, that's fine.
Um Um, I'm happy to take over now, if that's OK.
Oh, OK.
Thanks.
See ya, Thing One.
And see ya, Thing Two.
I'm introducing them to Dr Seuss.
Oh, fun.
See you.
Bye.
Well, don't look at me.
Mary Poppins is the one running the show now.
Ah, here's Mum.
Thought I'd make it home before you.
Surprise.
Did you see Amanda? Yeah.
Ah Isn't she great with them? Mm.
Hmm.
Where have you been? You look all zhooshed up.
I had to grab something up the road.
I was sick of them them always seeing me in my hausfrau outfit.
Pasta OK? Ah, sure.
Raid last night, chat this morning.
I'm flattered.
Night of Wednesday, October 9th.
What were you doing? At home, I guess.
That's where I spend my nights.
It's boring, I know.
Anyone verify that? I can.
I'll check in my diary.
I'll get back to you.
So what'd you do at home that night? Well, I probably cooked and watched TV.
It's hard to remember specifically.
If you were in the vicinity of Steven Blakely's house, we'll find out.
We'll track where your mobile was through, you know, transmission tower records.
We're also going to subpoena your phone records for the last two months, so if you've got anything to say, it's probably best that you say it now.
Nothing to say.
Want to tell me what's going on here? Disagreement over a car park.
Four hours later, Blakely's dead.
You're the last person seen with him, and you're arguing.
That's not a good look, is it? So why don't you cut the crap? I didn't kill him.
He was a friend of mine.
My condolences.
Whether you did it yourself, or you paid some arsehole to do it for you, we're gonna find out.
And that's a promise.
Richard! What are they looking at Dad for? I I don't know.
Yes, you do.
You gave me some bullshit story about moving out of the house.
I go home and find the cops raiding the place.
What did Danny say? Tell me, Richard.
I'm not supposed to be talking to you about this.
It's a bit late for a crisis of conscience now, isn't it? He's a suspect in the murder of Steven Blakely.
A murder suspect? I I didn't want to say anything.
Why would he want to kill Steven Blakely? Because they think .
.
they think he killed Dianne Vasilich's daughter, Oriana.
That is such bullshit.
Blakely and Novak argue on the afternoon of Blakely's death.
Blakely dies before he can reopen a case in which Novak is the prime suspect.
That can't be a coincidence.
Novak always knew Steve would reopen the case.
Well, reasonable assumption - that's what the argument's about.
Reasonable assumptions don't stand up in court.
Now, all we need to do is find something tying him to the murder.
And if not him, then his lackey.
At the moment, the only person we knew was definitely there, besides Blakely, was Dianne Vasilich.
But we have to We all want to get Novak.
I can appreciate that.
But the next time we go into court on this case, whatever we have, whoever it is, I want to be rock fucking solid, alright? Excuse me, sir.
Sorry to interrupt.
There's a Tatum Novak here to see you.
Said you'd know what it's about.
Tatum, hi.
Hi, Andy.
I hear you're down in Canberra now.
Yeah, with the Commonwealth.
You get to do all that big international stuff.
All their trafficking, drugs, people.
Those things sound more glamorous than they actually are.
Tell me about it.
So, you're here about Steven Blakely's disappearance.
I want to make a formal statement.
You sure about this? Yes, I am.
OK.
Come through this way.
Hey, how'd you go last night? Last night? Yeah, did you get all the work done you wanted? Oh yeah, almost.
Never-ending.
You know how it is.
I know.
I've got this Solicitor Advocate interview on top of everything else.
Mmm, don't wait.
Oh, OK, I'll see you in there.
Place runs on coffee.
Hi, the usual, thanks.
Short black.
The cops won't give out information about number plates to us, will they? You want something like that traced, aren't you married to the right guy? Or you could ask an ex-police prosecutor who might still be able to pull a favour or two, and keep his mouth shut.
Maybe I could.
Hmm.
Anyone feel like doing any work today? Lina? Perhaps a table in the corner for the overflow.
I don't want overflow.
I don't want any of it.
Oh, I don't believe choice is involved.
If you are not coping, you need to ask for assistance.
I'm coping.
We take occupational health and safety very seriously here.
That makes me feel better already.
Have you made your appointment yet? Counselling is compulsory for all solicitors in the Sex Crimes Unit.
I haven't, no.
Counselling's not to be underestimated.
It is a powerful tool, which can provide you with practical mechanisms for coping.
Accepting counselling is not an admission of weakness.
It's simply taking responsibility for yourself and your work.
So do you? I don't need it.
I thought you might be reluctant.
Appointment.
Five o'clock.
How'd you go? She says Danny was home all night, didn't even make a phone call.
She's a lawyer, right? Yeah, Commonwealth DPP.
She wouldn't want to fuck up her career.
We should keep the pressure on him.
There's someone here I'd like you to have a talk to.
Brian Vincent turned up at my place with a fistful of cash.
Asked me to do him a favour.
Which was? He had something in the boot of this car.
It was wrapped in one of those painting sheets.
You know the ones you use to stop shit getting everywhere? He wanted it buried.
I took it down to Gerringong.
And dug a hole, chucked it in, along with the bat.
Then I drove the car back to North Head, and then I went home and I had a beer.
I thought we should bring you up to date.
You've found us the third man? Not quite.
Ah, he's being coy.
Go on.
We've interviewed Danny Novak, who Of course, he denies everything.
And his daughter's got an alibi for him on that night.
The night that Blakely died? What other night? Just clarifying.
Now out of all the crims who have come forward, looking for a deal, we have this bloke, Leon Cranford.
It was a big four-wheel drive.
Took it down to Gerringong, dug a hole, chucked it in, along with the bat.
Then I drove the car back to North Head, and I went home and I had a beer.
Now there's another 40 minutes of it, but that's the juicy bit.
So Danny's out of the picture, then? Danny argued with Blakely four hours before he died.
He's still in our sights.
We can test this guy's story, but he seems to know things that we never made public.
Like the drop cloth, the exact burial site, the weapon.
How does he know Dianne Vasilich? Well, he knows Brian.
He says they were drinking buddies down at the Lions Gate.
Well, what's he want? I assume he's not chatting out of the goodness of his heart.
Yep, he's currently on bail for dealing meth.
Not much goodness of heart there.
He wants those charges dropped and a guarantee of a year for being the gravedigger.
A year? For taking part in the murder of an Assistant Police Commissioner? He didn't kill him.
Sorry.
Accessory after the fact is still an accessory.
He might have killed him.
There's no evidence tying him to murder scene.
Dianne Vasilich seems to have cornered that market.
Well, you were the one who said she wasn't a criminal mastermind.
This guy's story fits.
They turned up at his doorstep on the night of the murder, all panicked, with a body in the boot.
He's got form, needs cash.
It's a win-win situation.
Could have heard it anywhere - down at the Lions Gate, on the street.
That's why we're not charging him and why we're still watching Novak.
If we test Cranford and he proves to be on the level, he's not going to swear to anything, unless we promise him that deal.
We need to start thinking about this appeal.
Vasilich? Ned Kelly.
Yes, Vasilich.
You don't think Cranford will prove to be the third man? I think there'll be an appeal.
Dianne didn't do it? I don't know.
But not if Cranford's Look, there are a lot of ifs, and one of them leads to an appeal.
If we're forced to run that, I'd prefer it wasn't rushed like everything else.
Grab a tea and we'll get started.
Um, I Sorry, do you mind? I have an appointment.
Just give me half an hour.
What the hell, Tatum? Let go of me! You lied to the police.
I don't know what you're talking about.
Bullshit! I saw you the day after, the day that Blakely disappeared.
You told me you didn't go home.
You went to the gym.
Swim, bike, treadmill, remember? That was weeks ago.
You've got your days mixed up.
I don't.
It's me.
I remember everything.
I could tell you which earrings you wore, which suit, the exact time of our conversation.
Oh, you make things so hard.
I didn't lie to the police.
I lied to you, OK? I didn't want you to know my schedule, what time I got home.
Well, they're still looking at Danny.
If they find anything to tie him to that crime scene, or that he ordered someone else to do it, your career is sunk.
You think about that.
You'd better think that you gave me confidential information about a police investigation.
What, so now you're blackmailing me? I'm just telling you that you don't have the moral high ground.
I haven't perverted the course of justice! Yes, you have! Did you cop a truckload of work from Our Lady of the Schedule? Yep.
Want something to take your mind off it? Mm, I could do with some cheering.
I didn't say it would cheer you up.
You seriously need to think about getting this Clarke guy off the streets.
He's a bad man.
You found something with the number plates? I asked a mate who asked a mate who asked a mate.
So you get the benefit of the lawyer network and the cop network? Put up with a lot of shit from both sides too.
Tim Clarke, previously known as 'Tim Cunningham', convicted of the rape of a 14-year-old in Adelaide, served eight years.
Told you it wasn't cheering.
I can't use this.
You want to rethink slipping a photo of a six-year-old into his file? No, I I can't.
I can't.
Really? Conscience? This from the woman who knows his car has South Australian plates.
Bet that information's not in the file.
Why are you here? Your appointment's in 20 minutes.
Go, go.
Oh no, I'll reschedule.
Bye.
She'll feel better for it.
You're uncomfortable being here.
Oh, I'm only here because it's compulsory.
I'll explain what I'll do and what we'll do together.
That might make things easier, OK? Sometimes people who do the sort of work you do, experience traumatic stress disorder.
Although you yourself haven't suffered abuse, the work you do exposes you to the stress of witnessing the horrors.
It's important to distinguish between a normal response to witnessing a traumatic event and something which becomes abnormal.
It's completely normal to feel anxious and fearful, to have bad dreams, to not be able to stop thinking about what you've seen, heard or experienced, to become obsessive.
The problems arise when you get stuck in that psychological state.
Have you experienced any of these responses since working in the Sex Crimes Unit? No.
You haven't behaved in a way which is outside the realm of your usual behaviour? Something that made you stop and think, 'I don't know who just did that'? Never.
You're not drinking more? Using drugs? Avoiding sex, fighting with your husband over small issues? Do you always shut down like this when things get too difficult? I don't know what you mean.
It must put a strain on your marriage, this distancing, this refusal to admit what's happening My marriage is none of your business.
Your emotional and psychological health is my business.
Knowing how you function in your marriage is part of that.
I'm here to discuss work.
I'm not judging you, Lina.
No, you're talking to me like I'm a child.
Tell me about your work, then What do you want to know? Do you find it satisfying? Do you feel like you're making a difference Things only get to my desk when the damage is done.
I-I can't make any difference at all! I'm completely impotent.
Th-that's a good Freudian term for you.
Why don't you write that one down? 'Lina also has anger issues, probably stemming from the fraught relationship she has with her father.
' How am I doing? I'll cook tonight.
I was thinking spag bol.
Won't say no.
Andy Campbell talked to me yesterday.
What about? He was asking about 9th October, the night that Steven Blakely disappeared.
That was the night that we watched that English Premier League soccer game, remember, and we ate pad thai? I couldn't forget that night.
You were busy trying to teach me the finer points of soccer, while I was choking from too much chilli.
Well, I warned you about the killer sauce.
And you bought that disgusting Thai beer.
You still drank it.
Yeah, because I was dying of chilli poisoning.
You were trying to get your head around the offside rule.
Too busy watching the players.
They do have great legs.
But it's a boring game.
Which is why I made you watch another match that I'd prerecorded.
Yeah.
And you kept me up so late I could barely stay awake at court the next day.
It was a good night.
Yes, Princess, it was.
I'd better head off.
I'll walk you to your car.
I'm very proud of you.
You know that, don't you? Yeah, I do.
You're smart, but you work hard.
Your colleagues respect you and what you do.
Oh, I think they do.
I hope so.
And respect's very important.
It takes a lot to earn it and it can go just as fast.
And that goes for self-respect as well.
Don't fuck up what you've got by getting involved in things that don't concern you.
I know.
No, you don't.
That's why I'm telling you.
Don't interfere.
Dad, I'm sorry.
I was just It's OK.
It's alright.
Nothing more to say, OK? Did you know Oriana Vasilich? Who? Dianne Vasilich's daughter.
The one who was murdered.
I've never heard of her.
Now if you want to keep that job in Canberra, you'd better get down there and do some work, eh? This Canberra thing, moving down there, it had nothing to do with that Richard character, did it? He didn't mess you around or hurt you or anything Oh, no.
No, no.
Nothing like that.
It was a good offer and a great career move.
It worked out really well, except I don't get to see you as much.
I love you, sweetheart.
You too.
I'm off, Amanda.
Thanks for tonight, too.
It's a pleasure! - Janet King speaking.
- Hi, it's me.
Hey, whose phone are you calling from? Jennifer's.
I left mine at home.
Hey, can you do me a favour? I need to drop in on Danielle from mother's group.
I totally forgot to bring her address.
I can't.
I'm racing.
On my computer.
I need to grab her before she leaves for work.
Sorry.
Well, maybe you should take your phone with you.
Alright, here it is.
Ah, laptop.
What do you need? It's mail from Danielle Rowe.
Came yesterday.
Danielle Rowe.
Hang on, here it is.
Ah, address.
108 Cartwright Street.
Thank you, that's great.
May I go to work now? Of course.
I'll see you tonight.
See you then.
Good morning.
Not necessarily.
Tony's waiting for you in his office.
Detective Campbell is with him.
Maybe that will brighten your day.
Hmm, doubt it.
Hey.
Ah, at last.
What do you have for us? OK, we found this last night under the Douglas Park bridge, exactly where Cranford said it would be.
Fingerprints? Well, mud and water.
Unlikely to be able to lift anything useful.
We're still checking for DNA, but that's unlikely too.
There's some dirt we found lodged underneath the metal hand grip that comes from the same area we found Blakely's body.
Well, this spade was definitely used to bury him, then.
Yes.
But you don't know who handled it.
I'd say the bloke who told us where it was buried handled it, wouldn't you? Not necessarily.
Lucky guess by Cranford, was it? Someone might have told him.
We've confirmed he drinks at the Lions Gate.
Dianne Vasilich and Brian Vincent have been there on many occasions.
They had time to go from Blakely's place to Cranford's, drop the car and the body there and get back to the hospital by 8:21 to be caught on the CCTV.
Now, he told us about the burial site, the murder weapon and where the spade was buried.
None of those facts were known by the public.
We also found five grand in cash hidden in a biscuit tin in his kitchen.
He's a saver.
He's an accessory to murder.
We're charging him.
And we're also going to give him the deal he wants.
Unless anyone has any objections? We're being pushed around again.
I'd prefer to think of it as being cooperative.
You seriously want to give Cranford that sort of deal? You think they should they charge and have him plead not guilty? Why not? Test his story in court.
And risk him being acquitted? If there's enough doubt surrounding his story, he should be acquitted.
He wants to plead! He wants a deal.
What, you think he didn't bury Blakely? He could have overheard someone bragging.
Maybe he was paid to take the fall.
Maybe he killed Blakely himself.
You see, this is guilt speaking.
Your guilt.
You're terrified we've made a mistake with Dianne Vasilich, and you're desperately trying to find proof of that.
You didn't convict her.
The jury did.
I know how the system works.
Well, we can't let emotions cloud our judgements.
By 'we' you mean 'me'? I'm too soft, am I Mother of young children.
That what you're saying? Because it's bullshit.
I'm one of the best prosecutors in this place.
If I have a feeling about Dianne Vasilich, it's not hormonal - it's intuitive, and that is a product of years of hard work.
Well, wrap your intuition around this.
Occam's razor.
Dianne Vasilich killed Blakely.
She had motive, she had his blood in her pocket, she calls her son Brian for help.
Brian has a connection with Cranford.
Cranford admits to burying the body and the bat, and he knew details about the burial that only the police knew.
Now, you can forget everything else, forget double guessing yourself.
There was a question raised by the discovery of the body.
That question has been answered, has it not? There are a number of possible answers.
Well, this particular answer is not beyond all doubt, but it is beyond reasonable doubt, I believe, and that is why we will accept Cranford's plea, and we will recommend the sentence as suggested by the police.
Yes? Yes.
Thank Christ for that.
This afternoon we arrested and charged a man, Leon Cranford, in connection to the murder of Assistant Commissioner Steve Blakely.
The man has been very cooperative with police, and will be appearing in court shortly, where he will plead guilty to disposing of the body of Steve Blakely in a shallow grave near Gerringong.
Good result.
Is it? Isn't it? Because the police got it wrong about Danny Novak.
Ah, well, no, because we got it right about Dianne and her son.
Have a good night.
Goodnight.
Hey, Ash.
I'm sorry, yeah.
I'm still at work.
Look, I'll have to meet you there, OK? Thanks.
Bye.
Should we be worried we haven't heard anything from Amanda? No.
You want me to text her? Yes.
Then I don't look like the overanxious one.
I thought you'd be relieved now that the Blakely thing is finally sorted.
I am.
You don't seem relieved.
Are you relieved to have a job offer? Thank you.
Thank you.
I was going to tell you.
You said you weren't going to pursue it.
I did, but they wouldn't take no for an answer.
That's why you were late that night, wasn't it? Out of your hausfrau clothes? That was just a preliminary chat.
Oh, that makes it alright.
I was going to tell you.
When? The day you started? It's not an offer.
I still have to go through an interview.
Yeah, Wednesday the 30th.
I know.
I saw the email.
You read my private messages? You told me to look in your mail.
There it was.
You didn't have to read it.
You didn't have to have a preliminary chat behind my back.
You always have to control everything.
We had a deal.
You were staying home full-time with the kids, and now you're not.
Isn't that worth discussing? I didn't want to discuss it.
I knew you'd be like this.
What, betrayed? I I haven't betrayed you.
What, lying's not a betrayal? You're always so fucking perfect.
Don't you put it back on me.
You're so tied up with your work you don't see what's going on around you anymore.
You don't see me.
Not anymore.
I'm going to go pay.
Hey.
Ready to send Harry Lime away for a long time? Harry Lime? The Third Man.
Carol Reed.
Don't worry about it.
You OK? Fine, I'm just tired.
Kids.
Must be exhausting.
Do you think I'm too controlling? I'm not the right person Someone has to be in control.
Otherwise nothing gets done.
Of course.
Big difference between in control and controlling.
Sure.
Do you have enough autonomy, working with me? Tons.
I'm approachable? Always.
Helpful? Definitely.
Yeah.
We should get going.
Yeah.
Mr Cranford, can you describe to Her Honour your family situation? I'm on a disability pension.
I had a car accident and broke me leg.
It's not good.
I'm in a lot of pain.
Too much pain to work.
The drugs, the painkillers, are really expensive.
My wife and I have two kids.
They're both at school.
She is unemployed.
She was made redundant.
She hasn't worked for a couple of years, and half the time we're fed by the Salvos.
What do you have to say about your recent conviction for drug charges? Surely that criminal endeavour provided some profit? It was a once-off, and I got done.
I see.
Look, when Brian came around and offered me some work, I was desperate for money.
For my kids.
It's the only reason I done it, and I'm sorry.
I realise it was a dumb-arse thing to do.
Thank you, Mr Cranford.
Madam Crown? Thank you, Your Honour.
Mr Cranford, you'd describe yourself as a good family man? I am.
Doing your utmost to take care of your kids.
Of course.
Everything you do in life is designed around what's best for your children.
Absolutely.
Such as dealing drugs, burying dead bodies? I was desperate.
Not much of an example to set them Objection! I Withdraw that remark.
And now you're sorry.
Yes.
If you're so sorry, why didn't you confess to the police immediately? 'Cause I was scared.
You waited until you thought you might get a deal.
So I could be around for my kids more.
How much do you make burying a dead body? Do you charge by the hour? Did you have to provide your own spade Your Honour, my client is being harassed.
Your Honour, characterising the burying of what you know to be a dead body as the act of a man desperate to provide for his children is contemptuous of this court and of the law.
Hey? Mr Cranford, you willingly assisted in the burial of the body of a murdered man for the money.
I didn't help kill anybody! It's a nonsense to say that you did it for your family All I did was dig a hole, chuck him and the baseball bat in, and that's it! I'm sorry, you chucked him and what into the hole? The baseball bat.
Are you sure about that? Your Honour, in light of the defendant's recent response, I seek leave to enter a nolle prosequi in relation to the indictment currently before the court.
A new indictment against Mr Cranford, containing one count each of perjury and attempting to pervert the course of justice will be filed in due course.
I object.
Madam Crown.
Steven Blakely was murdered and buried with a cricket bat.
A Gray-Nicolls, to be precise.
Which Mr Cranford would have known if he'd buried him, which he most clearly did not.
Your Honour, this is outrageous.
I will stand this case down until tomorrow morning at ten o'clock, at which time I want clear submissions on what has happened here today from both counsel.
That was a gift.
Whoever put him up to it should ask for their money back.
This is insane.
What is it with you and this case? The guy was working.
It was pitch black.
He didn't have a torch, and he made a mistake.
Even in the dark there's a big difference between a baseball and cricket bat.
You were there, were you? Why didn't you ask him what sort of bat it was? Jack, this is never-ending.
We will finish this, OK? I promise.
Come on.
Let me buy you guys a coffee.
Do you think Cranford'll talk? He's looking at serious time for perjury.
That might help persuade him.
Depends on how much money he was paid and how scared he is.
While we're leaning on him, we're working from the opposite direction.
Novak won't know what hit him.
Danny? I thought he'd been ruled out.
Cranford either overheard something, or he was paid to lie.
Novak is going to be at the other end of one of those scenarios.
Get the fuck away from her! Fuck! You get the hell away from her! What the hell? I will not let you hurt her Are you right? I know who you are and what you do.
What's your problem? You're my problem.
I know what you do with young girls.
You rape them.
That's what you did in Adelaide.
You're a filthy fucking rapist! You're nuts, woman.
Don't worry.
Hey.
I'll look after you.
Come with me.
You touch her and I'll kill ya.
You forced her into your car.
I saw you.
Leave my dad alone.
You're freaking her out.
I'm calling the cops.
You ran the Blakely murder trial.
That's right.
The Vasilich family had nothing to do with that murder, and neither did I.
The police are wasting their time harassing me about it.
Blakely's murder is just a small part of it.
A small part of what? If you want to sort this mess, ask yourself - how did Alex Moreno manage to get acquitted? Have a nice evening.
I don't want anyone to think this government has locked up an innocent person.
Shut it down.
If the police had done their job properly and found Blakely's body before they charged Dianne Vasilich we wouldn't be in this situation.
We're drowning in work and you're stalking Renmark.
Someone leaned on him.
Something's wrong.
The government has appointed recently retired judge Granville Renmark to inquire into the functioning of the Office of the DPP.
How dare you invade the privacy of my home.
As a Crown Prosecutor, you're held to the highest standards.
Just like a judge.
I'd tread very carefully if I were you, Ms King.