"The death of Steve Blakely's wife has shocked the state, and the burning question is, were his actions deliberate or accidental?" "Observers in the packed courtroom were surprised by several heated exchanges between the Coroner and a clearly distressed Blakely, who refused to concede it was an act of mercy." "Experts from each side took a backseat as the arguments..." "Many Blakely critics say the criminal justice system will treat a high-ranking police officer more leniently than an ordinary citizen." "Nonetheless, amid demands for his immediate dismissal," "Assistant Commissioner Steven Blakely remains on leave until the Coroner's findings are published." "But this is one more scandal the government would like to end quickly, and one of the most highly respected investigators in the State may soon find his career in tatters." "Janet!" "Are you sure it's in here?" "I can't see it." " It must be in there somewhere." " Are you sure?" "What do you do with your phone in here, anyway?" "Don't know." "I was cleaning up..." "There's your ride." "Ah, there it is." "I'll sort all this." "Go, go!" "Good-luck talisman?" "They'll still be here tonight." "I have to go." "Be a grown up." "Yes." "You do." "Now." "Right, yes." "OK." "Got all your court stuff?" "Yes." "Hey." "Sorry about the short notice." "That's alright." "Been a while since I've worn anything except trackies." "You look fabulous, after a year with the bubs." "Janet!" "Wait!" "Forgot something." "I thought I had that." "It was on the floor." "A little hand must have gone exploring." "Did someone want to try on Mummy's curly hair, did they?" "Who was that, I wonder?" "Come on, 'fess up." "Come here, sweetheart." "Want to come here?" "One final goodbye, I guess." "Um, we should really..." "Yeah, alright." "Go to Mama." "Hope it goes well." "Text me with updates, yeah?" "Of course we will." "Bye-bye." "Bye." "Bye." "Bye." "So, whose case am I taking over?" "Ah, Geoff Green." "He called in this morning with whooping cough." "How long are we adjourning for?" "Um, we're not." "Directions hearing?" "Nope." "First day of the trial." "I'm starting a trial with no preparation?" "It's pretty straightforward." "Nothing's straightforward." "Not in my life." "Not anymore." "What's he like?" "Who?" "The accused, Alex Moreno." "Average." "Normal." "Normal?" "He was grooming a 13-year-old girl for sex." "There's nothing normal about that." "13." "God." "We'll be fine." "You should meet Caroline." "Hi." "Hey, Erin." "Detective Caroline Martin, Janet King." "You're the new Geoff." "That's me." "So we're going ahead, no more delaying?" "Nope." "Good." "Been after this bastard for years." "So when you first joined that chat room, you... ..you knew who you were targetting?" "Absolutely." "And in the chat room, Constable Martin, did you post many messages yourself?" "One or two, mainly just agreeing with something one of the others had said." "They were pretty short." "So nothing directly to Mr Moreno?" "No question or invitation?" "No." "Why not?" "Well, groomers are looking for vulnerability." "You want to appear shy and innocent, so I logged on as 'Sophie'.." "With the profile of a 13-year-old?" "Objection." "I'm aware that you've been changing nappies for the last year," "Madam Crown, but certain rules of advocacy, such as not leading the witness, are still part of the Evidence Act." "Yes, Your Honour." "I withdraw the question." "Uh, Constable Martin, when you logged on as Sophie, what information about her was available to the other people in the chat room?" "They thought that she was a 13-year-old schoolgirl." "And then?" "I waited." "Just waited?" "The quieter you are, the more attractive a target." "I did nothing and he made contact." "And all subsequent communication between Sophie and Mr Moreno is the full transcript in Exhibit A, Your Honour, which I tender..." "Yes, which you have already tendered, yes." "I haven't forgotten." "I still have all my faculties." "I have no further questions, Your Honour." "Mr Bernard?" "No further questions." "You're excused, Constable Martin." "Your Honour, if the court pleases..." "The court is rather peckish, in fact, Mr Bernard." "What say you put your no-case submission, if that's what it is, after lunch?" "Actually, I will be asking the court's permission to call a witness after lunch, Your Honour." "Really?" "Rather late in the day for that piece of news, isn't it?" "I want to call the defendant, Mr Moreno." "Very well." "Your Honour, my learned colleague cannot spring a witness on us without proper notice." "It is the accused, Madam Crown." "It's hardly pulling a rabbit out of a hat." "We'll break for lunch and resume at two." "All rise." "Did we have any idea about this?" "What did he tell the police?" "When we first dragged him in, he was on about being an artist." "That was his excuse." "Says he was making a photographic record of the journey between innocence to maturity, or some crap like that." "But then his lawyer turned up, told him to put a sock in it." "In the circumstances, if you want my opinion, that's the line they'll run with." "Ha-hey, welcome back!" "Thank you, Richard." "Great office." "I'll miss it." "Nice to be on the same team, at last." "Owen Mitchell." "Janet King." "Hey, Tony wants a word." "You got a couple of minutes?" "Mm." "Take care of that?" "Sorry." "Apparently I have to run." "Chief Superintendent..." "Jack Rizzoli." "Erin introduced us." "What is he?" "What, you mean nationality?" "Sexual orientation?" "I mean, what squad?" "Fraud, Vice?" "Was boss of the Intel Directorate." "Now Acting Head of State Crime Command." "Got the nod when Steven Blakely stepped down." "You heard about Blakely?" "This morning." "Shit!" "I need to express." "Moreno could claim he and Sophie never even met." "Doesn't matter." "As long as he incited a minor to commit a sexual act, that's all we have to prove." "Did he?" "He sent her a text telling her to masturbate before the photo shoot." "Conclusive." "Can he say it wasn't him who sent the text?" "There was a call from the same phone to his wife 20 seconds later." "Good." "If he's saying he's an artist, he might claim he was trying to encourage his model to have a greater sense of adult confidence." "So he wasn't seeking any gratification at all?" "'No, Your Honour, I was trying to relax a nervous subject before an artistic endeavour.' You still sent the text." "I was only trying to get the best photo." "It was all for art.' It's still no defence." "Did he send the text?" "Yes." "Is masturbation a sexual act?" "Yes." "He can rave about art till he's blue in the face, but the fact is, that is all we need." "What are you staring at?" "Um, is that OK?" "It's just a bit watery." "Yes, that's because I am not, in fact, a cow." "The Coroner's report just landed." "He's recommended charges." "Against Steve?" "Under that new legislation, assisted suicide." "Shit." "'Course, you don't have to accept his recommendations." "Imagine how that'd look." "It won't look good either way." "Arrest him, you're betraying a friend and role model." "Don't arrest him, you're protecting a mate." "Is this helping?" "Eh, don't suppose it is, really, is it?" "What a bloody joke!" "Do they realise what this man's done for this State?" "His wife was dying, for God's sake!" "And they really want him charged?" "Although if we do charge him, doesn't mean that you have to agree to proceed, does it?" "Helping our new-found friends in Crime Command is one thing, but let's see the brief before we start assessing our options." "Nonetheless, it is an option, theoretically." "Theoretically, but we're both accountable here." "Neither of us think a man like Steve Blakely should end up in jail, do we?" "We both can agree on that." "Well, I don't THINK he should, no." "But we can't rort the system just to get a particular outcome." "Did I say 'rort'?" "I didn't say 'rort'." "Why don't we just leave it to a jury and let it run?" " I'd do it." " You'd prosecute Blakely?" "I handled assisted suicide matters last year, I know the case law." "It's one of the rare times you can do your job as a prosecutor and not call for the defendant's blood." "Yes, the law was broken, but it was a dying wish and all for love." "We get the right judge and everything is sweet." "I mean, he'll get a bond, but that's the end of it." "No need for any real punishment." "Works for all of us, doesn't it?" "Can you state your full name for the court, please?" "Alexander Moreno." "Mr Moreno, you are charged with inciting a minor to commit a sexual act." "Yes." "Did you?" "No." "And why can you say that?" "Because I knew she was an adult." "Right from the beginning?" "Yes." "Thank you." "How are we going, Madam Crown?" "Any questions for the witness?" "Yes, Your Honour." "Would you care to share them with us?" "Yes, Your Honour." "I just... ahem." "Mr Moreno, when you were online on the... on the 27th, and Sophie first joined the chat room, there were six users logged on." "Yes." "One of the others, not you, asked Sophie how old she was." "Correct." "Ben asked her." "And she answered '13', didn't she?" "Yes." "So you thought she was 13." "No." "No?" "Why?" "Do you assume people lie, is that what you're saying?" "No, because Ben's next question was, 'Where are you?" "' and she typed 'Home alone, parents out.'" "So?" "Well, Ben's also 13." "We all knew that." "He logged on often." "So just because Ben's 13, you knew Sophie wasn't?" "I'm sorry, do you expect the court to believe that sort of gibberish?" "No." "Teenagers don't use the word 'parents', well, not to each other, anyway." "I know." "I have a 15-year-old, and I've watched her." "If Sophie was 13 and she was real, she would have typed 'parentals' or 'rentals' or 'rents'." "So I looked at all that and I thought, 'You're not 13'." "Yet, I mean, you and Sophie stayed in contact for months, and never questioned her age." "You kept on asking about young models for an exhibition you were doing on the loss of innocence." "Sure." "Well, I put it to you that you're lying to us, and that you DID believe that she was 13." "No, I didn't." "This photo was to be the last in a series." "Me and an adult." "My loss of innocence in believing that you can just take online conversations at face value." "So why did you ask her to masturbate before the shoot?" "That was a joke." "Should we ease back on your workload, perhaps?" "Just for your first few weeks." "No-no, no special treatment." "You sure?" "It's obviously not quite like falling off a bike." "I'm fine thanks, Tracey." "Is that the warrant?" "For immediate execution, I was told." "Where is he?" "He's with Maya and Drew, up at North Head with Sally's ashes." "Her body wasn't released until after the inquest, so they're up there saying goodbye to her right now." "To hell with immediate execution." "I'm not going to arrest him there." "When he gets home." "I'll see him then." "Might all take a few hours, I'm sorry." "That's OK." "Just wake me." "We shouldn't waste a good week." "Nice." "Yep." "Handy having this so close, huh?" "Oh, hello." "Bit of a tough day in the end." "They pulled a swifty." "We've still got closing addresses, so all is not lost." "Might come and listen to them." "By all means." "It must be a slow day for policing if the head of Crime Command wants to hang around the courts." "Part of my previous job with Intel." "Convictions were getting harder, you know, all that work coming to nothing, so word came down from the top that we had to start working a bit closer with the DPP." "Lucky you." "Boy and a girl?" "Twins." "Twins?" "You seem so calm and relaxed." "Only to the untrained eye." "Mr King must be a very supportive husband." "Actually, I don't have a Mr King." "Sorry." "No, it's fine." "I do have..." "It's my mother." "I'm cooking for her tonight and she wants to make sure I've got everything." "Once a mum, always a mum." "Yeah." "One more." "That's it." "I couldn't get them in sync today." "Is there a trick to it?" "Blind luck." "OK, that's good." "I'll stop feeling so inadequate." "Can you be home by five on Wednesday?" "Yeah, Wednesday." "Pilates, remember?" "Oh." "Yep, sure." "Good boy." "Come on, darling." "How was your day?" "Um, challenging." "We had a paedophile who was posing as..." "Just ignore him." "Punishment will be counterproductive." "..who was posing as an artist." "He knows it's wrong." "He's just trying to test me." "Sorry." "What?" "Is punishment counterproductive?" "That's actually quite a big statement." "It all depends on the context, I suppose." "Let's just try and distract him." "Mm, yum." "You are brilliant." "You wouldn't say that if you saw me in court today." "Oh, give me a break." "Day one." "Nothing seemed to quite... fit." "Do you want me to...?" "No, are you kidding?" "She's settled." "Do you want to talk about work?" "Later." "We might watch some TV." "We'll keep the volume down." "Night-night." "Goodnight." "Well, Assistant Commissioner Blakely was very cooperative, as you'd expect." "Will he be pleading guilty?" "Well, that's a question for the Assistant Commissioner and his lawyers." "So he hasn't made any indication of his intention to plead?" "Ah, no." "No, he hasn't, which is entirely appropriate considering the circumstances." "Assistant Commissioner Steven Blakely first came to prominence in the mid-1980s with several high-profile underworld arrests." "He then transferred to the National Crime Authority, where he was responsible for the seizure of illegal drugs with a street value of more than 200 million..." "Who's looking at it?" "Richard." "Oh, good." "He needs a bit of real-world pressure." "Have you assigned a crown yet?" "I thought you might want to be consulted." "Whatever you think." "I'm impartial." "Anyone in particular I should impartially favour?" "No." "Yes." "No." "Yes or no?" " Maybe not Owen Mitchell." " Not Owen?" "Too close to Jack Rizzoli." "Oh, I thought we were now in favour of closer ties with the police." "I was, am, but I'm beginning to sense why my illustrious predecessor was opposed to it." "Look, whoever's got the least on." "Just keep it purely objective." "Owen." "Tracey." "How did I know you'd be wanting a word?" "In case you're wondering, yes, I've moved that assault matter, delayed the butcher of Branxton case and I am primed and ready for Blakely." "Janet's got it." "She has no prior history with Blakely at all." "That's what it came down to." "Much better for everyone." "Well, not everyone." "For the transparency of process." "So in deciding who gets what now Janet's back, what, sometimes it's seniority, sometimes it's take it in turns, and sometimes it's like, what, a judgement call?" "You could express it that way." "Any chance of getting a little a heads-up on which ones fall into which category?" "Possibly." "What happened?" "50 words or less." "Sally Blakely was diagnosed a year ago." "Oesophageal cancer, aggressive." "She was at home, couldn't swallow, very little chance of recovery, but not quite in the final stage." "Had a butterfly needle in her abdomen, so Blakely could give her a syringe every so often - a mixture of midazolam and morphine." "He kept a record of what he used and how much he had in the house." "Just after 7pm she started looking in a lot of pain, according to him, and within ten minutes, he'd given her three injections." "How many?" "Three." "Three syringes?" "And then he called the hospital at 8:14, and when the ambulance arrived at 8:26 she was already dead." "So it WAS intentional?" "Three in ten minutes?" "Oh." "So you've brought in some backup for Moreno." "Ah, no." "Richard's instructing on the Blakely matter." "Oh." "Good." "So, intentional?" "Well, the police have charged him with assisted suicide." "That's law now, is it?" "It's still a crime because you kill someone, but if the evidence supports a terminal illness and the victim clearly wanted death, the range of sentencing is low." "That's what the Coroner thinks?" "Yes." "But Blakely says it was just pain relief." "Well, she's certainly not in pain any longer." "He's maintained it was the stress of watching a loved one in agony, just wanting it to stop." "There was no real thought of death at all." "Although according to the daughter," "Mrs Blakely said she'd rather die quickly than linger on." "What about the son?" "No, he doesn't agree, interestingly." "Should I bring Drew Blakely in?" "Yes." "OK." "Thank you." "So why Janet King?" "I believe it came down to availability." "You didn't think to look at who might be a better fit?" "I'm sorry, are you questioning how I manage my staff?" "Just a query." "She only just came back to work." "She's bringing up twins." "It wasn't exactly a stellar return to the courtroom yesterday." "I'd back her against anyone else on this floor." "Even out and out champions don't win every race." "Maybe so, but she hasn't had an assisted suicide case before, and Owen has." "So when the media asks why the DPP hasn't gone back to the man with the runs on the board regarding a tricky piece of new law, your answer's going to be?" "Well, how could we?" "Owen Mitchell came to the bar via police prosecution." "Yes, I know that." "Before that he actually worked as a detective under Steven Blakely." "It would have been a clear conflict of interest." "I knew it was something." "Yes." "I see your dilemma." "When was the last time you saw your mother alive, Drew?" "The day before." "Your dad was there?" "He was in the house, but he left us alone for half an hour or so." "Hi." "Keep going, please." "I talked to her for a bit, about stuff." "Nothing serious." "CDs, books." "She wanted me to buy some books on CD." "You know how much she liked to read." "Yeah." "Always had a book in her hand." "That was Mum." "Did she ever indicate that she'd had enough, was tired of living, words to that effect?" "I mean, maybe to Dad." "But not to you?" "No." "Are you absolutely certain you never heard her say anything like that?" "Yeah." "And if you were asked whether you thought your father could've ended your mother's life, what would you say?" "I won't have to say any of this in front of him in court, will I?" "Well, we honestly don't know at the moment." "I suppose..." "Look, the thing is, see, everything's black or white to Dad." "He loved her." "I mean, you know how much he loved her." "You saw us all together, right?" "But he's always like, 'That's right, that's wrong'." "There's very little grey in Dad." "So if it got to a point where that seemed right, then..." "..then, yeah, it's possible." "God, I suppose I could see it going that way." "OK." "Thanks, Drew." "We'll be in touch, mate." "Someone will see you out." "Just this way." "He's a credible witness." "So is his sister, and she says her mum DID want to die." "So where are we?" "Well, whichever way we go, we can't drop it." "What do we go with?" "You've charged him with assisted suicide, and yet Blakely himself says it was an accident." "Which could be manslaughter." "It was sort of an accident." "That's what we think." "But if it really was intentional, then that could be murder." "Which is what it would've been a year ago." "If we can't prove that Sally wanted to die, then we have to go for manslaughter." "Do me a summary and I'll discuss it with Tony." "Charge me with assisted suicide, they bump it up to manslaughter." "They want a big scalp, do they?" "Not really." "I mean, it's not like they want a custodial sentence or anything, but... they don't want it to look like a sham, either." "The problem is," "Sally didn't leave anything indicating what she really wanted." "And while Maya'll say Sally did want it to end, if Drew's asked he'll say she didn't, or at least that he never heard her say it." "Yeah, but Drew and Sally, they loved each other." "She would never have wanted to burden him with something like that." "He would have freaked out?" "He's getting better now." "He's found his niche in computing." "Makes decent money, but if you'd put something on him, you know," "I mean, emotionally, he just clams up." "Always has." "I tried to shake it out of him, but you are what you are, I suppose." "But then I would say that in my position, wouldn't I?" "And I can see their point." "A weak charge makes them look weak." "Oh, well, there's nothing I can do about it." "You got a good lawyer?" "A good lawyer?" "Now what makes a good lawyer, I wonder?" "You got any plans for tonight?" "Oh, no, I..." "Guess I'll finish this if there's nothing on telly." "Well, we can't have that, can we?" "I'll just give Lina a call." "So, um..." "Lenny." "Ah, Lenny McPherson." "Had hands like bloody shovels." "No, he was a good get." "I worked on that for bloody years." "Anyone you didn't get?" "Not many." "George Freeman and Danny Novak." "They were the two I really wanted." "But George beat us to heaven, or hell, as the case may be, and Danny got smart, didn't he?" "And then there was the Royal Commission." "In one year we went from a dodgy force that was controlling the whole bloody State to a clean one that handed the crims the advantage." "Still, you can't be wishing for the good old days." "Oh, no, don't get me wrong." "Something had to be done." "It was getting ridiculous." "But we lost a whole generation of experience, and then all of a sudden we've got kids and university students taking on hardened killers." "And everything's on camera now, so you can't get angry, you can't get upset." "Well, no wonder the bloody conviction rate's plummeted." "Well, actually, they're going up again this year." "Oh, yeah." "Yes, I heard that from Jack Rizzoli too." "Isn't it funny, that when the pollies swear blind they're going to get tough on crime, convictions go up." "Is that because all of a sudden we're better at our job or your lot are better at yours?" "Both." "Us." "Maybe, maybe." "Be hard to explain otherwise, wouldn't it?" "Good polly." "Good cop." "Good lawyer." "What are they, when you get right down to it?" "I tell you one thing, a good man is never beaten by fear." " Ready?" "Watch this!" " Bring it on!" "If there's anything, you know, I can do, just..." "Nah, nah." "Thanks, mate, thanks." "Thanks, Lina, thanks." "Oh, God, I miss her." "No, no, no, no, see, they don't understand how it feels." "You watch your love, the love of your life, in so much pain." "She could barely breathe, mate." "But then afterwards she was so full, and not just her, the whole room was full... of peace." " Love..." " Ready?" "We're on." "..that's all there is." "Mr Blakely, we have a lady who claims you deliberately shut down the investigation into her daughter's death." "Do you remember Oriana Vasilich?" "Yeah, yeah." "This is Dianne." "Do you know who killed her daughter?" "No, I do not." "Liar!" "You've known for years!" "Here's everyone saying what a great man you are, but it's all lies." "He was paid off, that's what happened." " He never lifted a finger." " That's enough." "Was it laziness or was it corruption?" "Do we know all the facts about Steven Blakely?" "And could it mean the recent death of his wife is simply the callous act of a man with much to hide?" "Can't get an unbiased jury with these sort of headlines." "Well, I think that's up to the defence, given the accusations." "I would've thought a respect for fairness might reflect well on us." "Owen, don't you have your own matters?" "I also thought second and third opinions were valued in here." "Yes..." "When sought, usually." "Who is this Oriana girl, anyway?" "Unsolved case from '94." "Working girl." "Smart, gorgeous and apparently a fantastic root." "So I heard." "Then got involved with some very powerful people, and one day she disappeared." "Probably started wanting too much." "Background knowledge can help." "It can also highlight an existing relationship with the accused, for those who want to find reasons to get a trial abandoned." "So it gets abandoned." "Where did the manslaughter charge come from anyway?" "What genius thought that was appropriate?" "We all did." "Brilliant." "It might work out better than assisted suicide, actually." "Hey." "Oh!" "Don't scare me!" "What's new in the Sex Crimes Unit?" "Sadly, nothing." "Just more and more of the same." "What's this?" "36,000 hard copies of child porn from a Russian internet site." "Who takes these?" "Mostly candid shots, bedrooms and bathrooms." "Their parents?" "Don't think about it." "Just contemplate the marvels of the internet." "Timothy Clarke." "50-year-old father of two, takes in his computer for repairs." "Bingo." "These are all found a hundred folders deep." "The problem is, if they really are from Russia, how do I prove that these girls are under 16?" "I can either find one who's, like, a five-year-old, beyond argument, or find one I can somehow identify." "Well, let's hope you find a five-year-old." "Do I?" "Do I really hope that?" "Alex Moreno asserts that he knew from the second message" "Caroline posted that she was an adult." "But what does his behaviour tell us?" "None of his subsequent emails or text messages suggest that at all." "In fact, every single one of them implies the opposite." "If he always thought she was an adult, why didn't he say that the minute he was picked up, or during his record of interview or at any stage during the committal hearing?" "Innocent people simply accept the world - they don't imagine deceit or subterfuge." "But if we are to believe Mr Moreno here, all we are doing is revealing our own innocence, because experience tells us he is making a desperate bid to save himself." "But the evidence of his guilt is in every line of the transcript." "Nothing further, Your Honour." "Thank you, Madam Crown." "I'll review the evidence and deliver my judgement on a date to be confirmed." "So you talked to Gillies?" "Yeah, I saw Tony." "According to him, we all share the same goal." "Got to be seen to play fair and play our cards in a way that keeps you out of jail." "I'll drink to that." "It'd be much easier to do if the old pisshead trusted me a bit more, but... it's OK." "Good." "So?" "The problem with assisted suicide is, it admits an intention to kill." "But there's a lack of evidence supporting the assertion that Sally wanted to be killed." "So then it starts to sound like murder." "There was never any intention." "It... it was accidental." "That's right." "That's their point." "Or our point." "Their point?" "Our point." "What can I say?" "I've got a foot in both camps." "Anyway, as a cop, looking at the scene, us cops can see what happened." "It was an accident, with unintended consequences that nonetheless could have been foreseen if you hadn't have been so emotional." "Exactly." "An accidental death." "Right." "The bummer is, to us lawyers, that's called manslaughter." "The good news, however, is..." "Well, it'll all be better if you..." "plead guilty." "Fuck off!" "Steve, if you fight it and lose it, you WILL go to jail." "Have you all gone fuckin' mad?" "This is bullshit!" "My wife dies in my arms, and before I can even scatter the ashes," "I'm in the Coroner's court." "And then some mad bitch tells everyone I'm bent, and the good news, the good news, is I've got to cop it!" "Fuck off!" "Who's running this prosecution?" "Janet King." "What about her?" "Can we get to her somehow?" "She been shagging a postman or something?" "She's gay." "Surely that's still illegal somewhere." "Fuck, I don't know." "Just give me her address and a bottle of uppers, and I'll take care of it myself." "Come on." "I'm joking, Clive." "I'm just letting off steam." "Nobody's wearing a wire, are they?" "No!" "Come on." "Please." "Look, if you plead guilty and you show remorse, it lets them argue for a suspended sentence." "And I wear a manslaughter conviction." "You stay free." "I've still got to face myself, Owen." "Just think about it, Steve, eh?" "For all of us." "Is your client ready to enter a plea?" "Yes, Your Honour." "For the charge of manslaughter, how do you plead, Mr Blakely?" "Guilty, Your Honour." "Is Wednesday clear, Counsel?" "As the court pleases." "Wednesday, then." "I'll hear submissions on sentencing at 10am." "And given the unusual circumstances, I am happy to continue with the current bail conditions unless the Crown objects?" "No objection, Your Honour." "The matter is adjourned until Wednesday at ten." "Bail to continue." "Heading back?" "No, I've still got the Moreno case." "Do you want me to start on a draft for Blakely?" "What do you recommend?" "Well, if we want it suspended, maybe we should just ask for a year, 18 months?" "Man of fine character, impeccable record." "An act driven solely by love for a terminally-ill wife." "Do you think?" "I could say it with feeling." "Tatum." "Janet." "Hi." "Erin said that you went somewhere." "Yeah, yeah, I'm down in Canberra at the Commonwealth DPP." "But we're up here for three or four weeks for a big trafficking case." "Sex?" "I mean the case?" "Is it sex trafficking or is it, what, drugs, or guns..." "Yeah, it's sex." "Right." "Do you have any time..." "Anyway, I'm running late, so..." "Good luck." "Yeah, thanks." "You too." "So..." "What?" "Why did she leave?" "Why should I know?" "I..." "I mean, I don't, obviously." "Change of scenery, better architecture." "Who knows why women do anything." "Some women." "Young women." "Younger... women." "Forget it." "Ignore me." "Do you know?" "No." "Don't ask me." "I had six months out, and when I came back, she'd left." "And don't say it." "I knew you'd come back." "I knew you'd say it." "We must be mindful that Mr Moreno's reputation both as husband and father, and as an artist, has been on trial here." "In the end, the crown case relied on the absence of evidence." "Nothing directly proves Mr Moreno did know Sophie was really 27, so he must have believed she was 13." "Mr Moreno's argument, on the other hand, rested on a real piece of evidence, the word 'parents'." "Plus, his rather convincing explanation for why he kept his knowledge of Sophie's real age to himself." "Did Mr Moreno believe he was communicating with a minor?" "Despite Madam Crown's rather smug assertion that I will be outing myself as childishly innocent, I am not persuaded he did." "Therefore, the charge is not proven." "Mr Moreno, I find you not guilty." "You are free to go." "All rise." "Don't worry, we'll get him, sooner or later." "'Mr Moreno's convincing explanation.'" "Is that what Judge Renmark called it?" "You could've asked for help." "I'm in the Sex Crimes Unit now." "I know." "I'm sorry." "So I do know a bit about the case law in this area." "If we had time we would've asked, but we only had an hour, and we thought we had to prepare for a defence on the grounds of art." "Which is no longer valid." "Oh, it's all changed." "Legislation went through last June." "Art is no longer a defence." "I didn't know." "Not trying to be smart." "Just saying." "OK, let's debrief." "Bad luck." "Was it?" "She lost." "I heard." "I'm sure she's really very good, though." "Have I gone mad, or is that the most perverse judgement you've ever heard?" "Ever?" "We need to go over it." "Copy it." "Get a highlighter." "Why?" "'Cause we have to find an error." "Why?" "We can't do anything." "The Attorney General can." "In the House, move a motion, take a vote, kick Renmark out." "But he's retiring soon anyway." "Still, it's pretty bloody infuriating." "That sleazy creep's back out there now because a geriatric judge gave him a get out of jail free card." "Why wasn't that being heard by a jury, anyway?" "They asked for a judge alone." "No, they can't." "It had to be a jury trial." "Yes, but we didn't object." "Why not?" "Because Tony told me not to." "Renmark's a pro-Crown judge." "Or has been." "So what happened today?" "What was different?" "Me?" "I mean, sure, he didn't like me." "Yeah, I kinda got that." "Was it something I said?" "Is that what lost it?" "What?" "Nothing." "No, tell me." "Was I really that smug?" "Or was he just getting lazy and didn't want to write a judgement?" "What do you think happened?" "Well, it's as much me as you." "What is?" "Well, we were too busy trying to guess what the defence would be." "But the charge had three elements to it." "We should have just concentrated on making sure we were strong on all three." "Control your emotion and go back to first principles." "That's what you always used to say... and we didn't." "In summary, given the agreed facts, the Crown accepts that Steven Blakely's motives were only to relieve highly-distressing pain and anguish, and, as such, we do not seek a term in custody..." "What are we doing here, Richard?" "Arguing for a suspended sentence, I think, aren't we?" "Yes, but why?" "Put aside who Blakely is for a moment, and let's relook at the facts and the circumstances." "Do they make that appropriate?" "Don't they?" "Do they?" "Well, here are the facts." "The autopsy report, the amount of pain she would have been in, the dosage and frequency of drug use over the previous month." "Blakely's first statement to the police," "Maya and Drew's first statements." "Three injections of morphine in ten minutes." "They sleeping?" "Finally." "Oh, you look exhausted." "What can I do?" "Nothing." "Go lie down." "I'll join you in 20." "Hmm." "Don't work too late." "Hey, sorry for the time." "Hope I didn't wake..." "Don't apologise for calling late." "I wouldn't have answered if I didn't want to talk." "Thanks." "Um, it's just..." "Drew's credit card account." "He had ordered those audio books for his mum two days before." "So?" "Doesn't that show her intention to live?" "Maybe." "Then." "So you're still happy asking for a suspended sentence?" "I..." "I don't mind." "Just asking." "People in palliative care can change their outlook on life pretty quickly." "If she declined rapidly in the last few hours and he was there like he claims, panicking, highly emotional, watching her writhe in agony, maybe it's true." "No-one else was there that day, were they?" "When was the last time the nurse was there?" "Was that the day before?" "Uh, you've got a report." "It's in the file." "Um..." "OK, here it is." "It was mid-morning on Tuesday." "Tuesday?" "Your Honour, you cannot give a terminally-ill patient that much morphine in ten minutes and look surprised when it kills them." "Even given the highly stressed and emotional state the accused claims he was in, somewhere in the back of his mind, he had to know death was a real possibility." "And even more tellingly," "Steven Blakely hadn't called his community nurse for three days." "His wife is in increasing pain and normally the greatest fear in that scenario is running out of painkillers, and indeed, he was." "So why on earth didn't that concern him?" "Can we seriously believe that was just an oversight?" "Under those circumstances, really?" "Your Honour, the Crown submits it was because he must have known, somehow, consciously or otherwise, she wasn't going to need any more." "Steven Blakely's a public figure, in whom the public had unconditional faith." "This makes his actions, which were deliberately reckless, even more appalling." "He didn't order any more painkillers, and he gave Sally three quick injections which were always going to be potentially lethal." "This was an act at the high end of criminal negligence." "The need for general deterrence in this case is demonstrably grave and paramount." "An immediate custodial sentence, in the upper range of eight to ten years..." "What?" "!" "..is the minimum that should be considered." "Bullshit." "Thank you, Counsel." "I will consider the issues raised and sentence the accused tomorrow at 10am." "All rise." "I had no idea." "It was widely believed that Assistant Commissioner Steven Blakely would receive a suspended sentence, but in a surprising turn, Janet King, Senior Crown Prosecutor, argued persuasively for a heavy custodial sentence." "Others remain horrified at the prospect of one of our best investigators being jailed for nothing more than trying to alleviate the agony of his dying wife." "But Steven Blakely has robbed us of any opportunity for one final act of love." "He deserves what's coming to him." "All we wanted was a chance to say good..." "Did you know Janet was going to say that?" "I'll defend her right to say it." "Don't you have any control over this place?" "You're the director, the man in charge, who's supposed to put his stamp on everything." "So much for working together!" "Don't you start!" "Make sure everyone tows the line and proper results are achieved?" "!" "Can I just speak to her..." "I don't want her on our cases!" "You don't get a say in it." "We have to work on our relationship." "Well?" "Read Drew's interview." "And the autopsy, and the nurse's report and look at the photos." "What do you know about HIM, Janet?" "You don't know him at all." "Reports don't help you understand a man." "Is he really who you think he is?" "Oh, for fuck's..." "Don't you tell me who Steve Blakely is, please." "I have worked with him for 20 years." "You've been brainwashed by that silly ranting Vasilich woman." "No, I haven't." "Oriana's murder is an entirely different matter, anomalies and all." "What's THAT meant to mean?" "That's what this is about." "I get it now." "It's all about you." "Don't be ridiculous." "She got taken to the cleaners in the Moreno case, and your pride took a bit of a hit." "So now you want to salvage your reputation by sending Blakely to jail." "Yeah, that'll show us how tough you are." "That'll show 'em you're back to your best!" "To hell with fair play!" "To hell with teamwork and natural justice!" "Christ, you selfish dyke!" "Hey!" "I want an inquiry into her, Tony!" "Come on, get out!" "Go on, get out!" "Oh, it's OK for her to send an Assistant Commissioner to Long Bay, but I can't tell her what I think about it?" "You know, is that what the culture is around here now, huh?" "From the side of the fence that I sit on, Tony, if you're gonna give attitude, you've got to be able to take it!" "What?" "!" "Now, I apologise for the personal insult, yeah." "Obviously out of line, and I'll put that in writing." "But I won't back away from what I said about her professionally." "Haven't you thrown the cat among the pigeons." "No choice." "The joys of appearance work." "It's not for everyone, I suppose." "No." "Uh, they were in the kitchen." "Thank you." "If I'd forgot those, I would have been in real trouble." "How is Ash?" "It is generous of her to give up her career for you and your children." "All good?" "Yep." "God bless modern refrigeration." "No more bad apples." "Yes, everyone thinks that's such an advance, don't they?" "But even the ones that look good are trouble, as Adam and Eve found out, so you never can tell really..." "can you?" "What do you think of Owen Mitchell?" "Oh, actually, strike that question." "It'd just be gossip and... no." "Uh, a lot of the blogs and commentaries this afternoon were swinging back in Blakely's favour." "'Why lock him up', 'happens every day in cancer wards', etcetera, but for what it's worth, I agree with you." "What do you think he should get?" "I don't know." "I haven't followed it." "No, but I mean as a gut feeling." "Like, which side are you on?" "Just call me neutral." "Honestly, I've got enough problems with my own work at the moment." "Well, thanks for your support." "Well?" "Shouldn't be long now, Your Honour." "We're just trying to locate Mr Blakely, Your Honour." "Has anyone been in contact with him this morning?" "Not as such, no." "You've obviously tried calling him." "Of course." "And gone to his house?" "No-one's answering." "What exactly are you telling me, Mr Schaeffer?" "He isn't there, he isn't here and he's not answering his phone, and now we're half-an-hour late?" "He's bolted?" "Uh, yes, Your Honour." "Could be car trouble, um, traffic." "I'm issuing a bench warrant for the immediate arrest of Steven Blakely." "Sergeant Downs, please contact the Australian Federal Police and Australian Customs, and instruct them to issue PASS alerts on all sea and air borders." "And circulate a description of the car and the man to all relevant authorities in all Australian jurisdictions." "Steve?" "!" "Steve?" "Whatever happens, you can't blame Janet." "It's never personal." "Basically she's just her own worst enemy." "Not while I'm alive." "Janet King." "It's Andy." "He left a message on his computer." "What?" "It just says, 'please forgive me'." "If anyone has seen my father, please get in touch with the police." "Find him." "Dead or alive." "I want speed, I want professionalism," "I want a result." "So, what have we got?" "Car's unlocked, keys under the front seat, no obvious blood, no obvious damage to the interior of the car or boot." "But this car is parked outside Blakely's house and the neighbour heard a female voice yelling outside the door about 7:00PM." "That's a woman." "Who is she?" "I don't like you questioning me and my work in front of a witness." "You totally intimidated her." "I've just secured the assistance of an eye-witness in a murder case while you've been fluffing around, making cups of tea."