Jacqui Lambie (Tasmania, Jacqui Lambie Network) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak about the life and sudden death of 15-year-old Eden Jayde Westbrook in 2015. Many people around the world already know Eden's story better than most people in Tasmania and elsewhere in Australia. That is largely thanks to the podcast Our Little Edey—The Eden Westbrook Story and the dogged work of Amber Wilson at the Mercury. On Tuesday 18 June Channel 9's Under Investigation program brought Eden's story to a national audience. Getting Eden's story out there is thanks to unpaid advocates and especially the strength and persistence of Amanda and Jason, Eden's mum and dad, and their determination to find out what really happened to their beloved daughter.

The night before Eden died, she had had a disagreement with her parents about using her mobile phone and went to cool off, sitting in a car outside her home. At 8.45 pm, Eden's sister went outside to check on her, but Eden was gone. Her family spent the night searching for her. Early the next morning, on 18 February 2015, Eden was found hanging by a rope from a limb of a tall tree in a public park on the main road in St Helens on the north-east coast of Tasmania.

The police claimed Eden's death was suicide, and a Tasmanian coroner agreed. But in the days and weeks that followed, as the initial shock faded, Jason and Amanda simply did not believe that Eden had taken her own life. She had just come back from a holiday with her two sisters and was looking forward to a camping weekend. Eden was a bright and bubbly 15-year-old. She was doing exceptionally well at school. She had a lovely family and was looking forward to buying her first car. The coroner noted she was a sensitive person who cared for others.

I believe—and I am not alone in this belief—that something awful happened and that Eden was probably murdered. Disturbingly, it appears that some members of Tasmania Police have for unknown reasons covered up the crime. I've always been a big supporter of the police, including the Tasmanian police. They must deal with situations that most of us would hate. They also are often understaffed, and many of them live with PTSD. This is not about giving those hardworking, honest Tasmanian police a hard time, but my concern is that a small number of rotten apples in Tasmania Police appear to have engaged in a cover-up.

Eden's parents, along with the rest of her family, have fought for nearly 10 years to have the death of their daughter thoroughly investigated and made the subject of a public inquest. The family's investigation into Eden's death was assisted by a whistleblower who in early 2023 told Eden's mum and dad that her murder was covered up and staged to look like a suicide. Now a key witness, the person said to be the first to report the finding of Eden's body to police, is saying that she straightaway thought this was a murder staged to make it look like a suicide. The new witness made a front-page article in the Mercury only yesterday. The whistleblower said he had heard that Eden had been tied up in a tree with rope by an adult man and a younger female. He identified two people who he claimed he heard were involved.

It looks like there are numerous gaping holes in the police investigation and reinvestigation, including the failure to interview critical witnesses and share relevant information with the Westbrooks. The police also failed to seize CCTV footage so a proper timeline of events prior to the death could be established. The police didn't ask Eden's parents for her phone, and it seems they didn't examine Eden's phone and social media. Unfortunately, the phone was cremated with Eden. The police didn't even investigate Eden's movements prior to her death. Witness statements obtained by the family and a previous lawyer helped fill out that critical gap. I have seen multiple witness statements taken by a criminal barrister who believes they prove beyond reasonable doubt that Eden did not commit suicide. There are simply too many inconsistencies and far too many unanswered questions. There is a possibility raised by the new witnesses, as reported in yesterday's Mercury, that Eden's hands may at some stage have been tied behind her back, and there is an unwillingness to share critical details with the family, including vital autopsy photos, which form an integral part of the post-mortem report. Police failed to seize and properly examine CCTV footage of the skate park; a now deceased police officer said to Eden's parents shortly after her death that the footage showed her arguing with an older female in the early hours of 18 February 2015.

The investigation into Eden's death was conducted by Tasmanian police based at St Helens, but with oversight and input from a now deceased and alleged paedophile police officer, Senior Sergeant Paul Reynolds. A mere constable had primary carriage of the investigation. It also appears that no real forensic examination or analysis occurred. It seems a hasty decision was made to treat what should have been the highly suspicious death of a vulnerable child as a suicide. This seems to have occurred on day one, according to the new witness.

Reynolds's possibly improper or undue influence on or possibly criminal conduct in any investigation is now the subject of a review commissioned in 2023 by the Commissioner of Police. The Weiss report is due to be released shortly. I understand that the Westbrooks have made detailed submissions to this review.

The coroner, who was being advised by the late disgraced Paul Reynolds, handed down a three-page finding without investigation on 13 September 2016, in which she held that there was no reason to hold an inquest. The coroner found, based on several matters, including apparent incidents of previous self-harm and suicide attempts, that the death of Eden Westbrook was a suicide. The coroner found that Eden had died of asphyxia and hanging. She was satisfied that there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding Eden's death and that no other person was involved. However, nowhere in those three pages did the coroner refer to forensic findings that she relied upon to exclude foul play and indicate suicide. This would have included post-mortem results, autopsy photos, or forensic or DNA testing—of the rope, for example.

On the involvement of Reynolds, the coroner stated:

Senior Sergeant Paul Reynolds of the Launceston Coroner's Office also provided regular oversight and direction during the investigation period at my request.

The coroner stated that she was satisfied that she had received all available evidence that could reasonably assist her in determining the relevant matters under the Coroners Act 1995. An application by Eden's parents to have the matter reopened was refused by the Chief Magistrate in April 2022.

From the evidence of her two older sisters, Justine and Hunter, who lovingly applied make-up to Eden's face at the funeral home in 2015, it would also appear that Eden had suffered facial bruising and shattered teeth. This, of course, could have been a result of blunt force trauma to the face. If these injuries did exist, why did the Chief Magistrate, in her written reasons for not reopening the matter, state that there was no sign of any trauma to Eden? Despite many requests over many years and more recent requests by Channel 9 to have the autopsy photos released to an independent forensic pathologist authorised by the parents for analysis, the coroner's office has refused to release these photos, essentially on the grounds that this case is now closed and that it is not appropriate for any third party to receive the photos. If there is nothing to hide, why not release the photos?

What is also worrying is that Channel 9's Under Investigation producer was informed earlier this year that the autopsy photos were never in the coronial file. Does this mean that the coroner and the Chief Magistrate never viewed the autopsy photos? When Channel 9's Under Investigation with Liz Hayes asked an independent forensic pathologist to review Eden's case, the independent expert pathologist told Channel 9:

The Coroner's refusal to provide these photographs has severely fettered my review of this matter and, whilst I understand the sensitive nature of these photographs, it beggars belief that they have not been released from my examination, as they comprise an integral part of the autopsy report.

Did alleged paedophile policeman Paul Reynolds, who was assisting the coroner and oversighting the investigation, remove, sideline or destroy the autopsy photos? What role did he play in the obviously deficient police investigation? How are the parents and their legal advisers supposed to determine if they should appeal to the Supreme Court for an inquest when critical documents and images are not released?

It also appears, from the recent commission of inquiry and additional advice, that there was alleged paedophile activity happening within the St Helens high school itself. There are also concerning allegations that there had been child abuse perpetrated by members of the Tasmanian police in St Helens around the time of Eden's death. Was Eden somehow caught up in this awful activity? Was she being groomed or even abused? Was she being bashed and tied up before a staged hanging? There have been other suspicious and unsolved murders or disappearances in the north of my home state.

It is time for the Tasmanian Attorney-General to intervene, as occurred recently in the Jari Wise case, to ascertain whether systemic issues and corruption are involved and to direct that an inquest be held, as provided for in the Tasmanian Coroners Act. The Commission of Police also failed to ensure a proper review and reinvestigation of the matter when the Westbrooks made formal complaints. The outcome of a recent review was not shared with them. This whole thing stinks to high heaven. I believe this case needs an urgent public inquest headed by a respected interstate judge or coroner, with independent counsel assisting from interstate, as soon as possible.

How could Paul Reynolds have operated as he did for decades, as reported by Regina Weiss in her 2024 interim report? With clear knowledge of his misconduct, why was a full police funeral with a police guard of honour held for him and a eulogy given by the then commissioner? You need only look at the way in which the recent commission of inquiry into child sexual abuse in government institutions in Tasmania was prevented from making adverse findings or findings of misconduct and therefore from holding people, both offenders and enablers, to account.

There must be an independent commission of inquiry, underpinned by appropriately amended legislation, by a highly respected interstate judge—or judges—into the integrity, impartiality, competence and effectiveness of Tasmania Police and the coronial and criminal justice system in Tasmania. The possible murder of a young girl and what appears to be a botched investigation—potentially, a blatant cover-up—should be an enormous concern to all Tasmanians. I call upon the Attorney-General in Tasmania to direct that a public inquest into Eden's death by an independent and external coroner be held pursuant to section 24(1)(d) of the Tasmanian Coroners Act 1995. The Westbrook family have been fighting for answers for nearly 10 years. It is time the Tasmanian state government did its job and found out the truth behind what happened in St Helens.