Thursday, September 27, 2012

Man Arrested in Murder of Gillian Meagher


THE investigation into the disappearance of Jill Meagher has taken a tragic turn, with confirmation that homicide detectives do not expect to find the popular 29-year-old Irish immigrant alive.
A 41-year-old man arrested in connection with the case is tonight being questioned by detectives over the fate of Ms Meagher, an ABC Radio manager who has not been seen since the early hours of Saturday morning.
It is understood the man, from the inner Melbourne suburb of Coburg, is the man captured on a CCTV camera wearing a blue hoodie and approaching Ms Meagher outside a bridal shop on Sydney Road Brunswick, as she was walking the short distance to her house from a bar where she had been drinking with work colleagues.
It was reported that homicide detectives believed the man did not know Ms Meagher and that she had fallen victim to a violent, random attack. Police sources confirmed they were building a murder case.

Police arrested the man this afternoon and are holding him iat the homicide squad’s St Kilda Road headquarters. He has yet to be charged.
The arrest follows the emergence of further CCTV footage that suggested Ms Meagher may have been followed for several hundred metres along a busy Melbourne road in the final moments before her disappearance at the weekend.
The new footage, taken from an art store's security camera about 300 metres from the spot where Ms Meagher was recorded by another camera interacting with an unidentified man in a blue hoodie, has been examined by detectives.
Victoria Police refused to comment on the grainy footage and whether the figures it depicted were Ms Meagher, the 29-year-old ABC employee missing since the early hours of last Saturday morning, and the man in the blue hoodie shown on CCTV footage taken from nearby bridal store.
It is not known whether the man arrested is suspected of being the man in the blue hoodie.
Police would also not confirm a News Limited report that additional CCTV footage shows the same unknown man running towards Ms Meagher.
There are approximately 15 visible CCTV cameras between Bar Etiquette on Sydney Road, Brunswick, where Ms Meagher was drinking with ABC colleagues on Friday night and the bridal shop where she was last seen at 1:43am on Saturday.
Police so far have only released footage from the bridal store camera.
Prior to today's arrest, police flooded the streets of the inner-Melbourne suburb where the Irish national was feared to have been abducted while she was walking home.
Ms Meagher's uncle, Michael McKeon, told The Irish Independent that his family was in "a living nightmare".
"That is how most people would describe it, everything stops until you find the person, life is kind of numb," Mr McKeon said.
A police information caravan has been set up near the corner of Sydney Road and Hope Street, close to where Ms Meagher was last seen on CCTV footage.
Brunswick local Dan Gregson, one of five people captured in the bridal shop footage, said he walked past the man wearing the blue hoodie about a minute before the man stopped to talk to Ms Meagher.
"I don't remember that guy's face, you don't think to pay attention to everyone's face," Mr Gregson said.
"I told the police he was just a nondescript looking guy. There was nothing strange about him or I would have noticed."
Police are urging all witnesses, including people travelling down Sydney Road on trams, cars and taxis that night to come forward with information.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

My heart goes out to her loved ones and co-workers.

He must be a bad person for them to already arrest him and no body mentioned at this time.

He as been arrested;he has not been charged.

Okay

BostonLady said...

It's very eerie watching the video and seeing her walking, unsteadily and then see the man with the blue hoodie passing by a few times. If police do have the person responsible for Jill's disappearance, what happened to her? Also, did this person want to be caught? Otherwise, why would he go back and place her purse/handbag where it would be found?

Apple said...

Her remains have been found. I dont have the link - sorry.

MissUnderstood said...

http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/man-charged-over-jill-meagher-case-20120928-26olv.html

Man charged over Jill Meagher case

Police have charged a 41-year-old Coburg man with rape and murder over the disappearance of ABC employee Jill Meagher.

Adrian Ernest Bailey faced an out-of-sessions court hearing this morning, where he was charged with the rape and murder of Mrs Meagher in Brunswick on Saturday morning.

Late yesterday he was taken to a Gisborne South location, where he helped police search for Mrs Meagher's body.

Police have established a crime scene at the area.

MissUnderstood said...

Ms Meagher's body has been found off a dirt road in Gisborne South, about 50km northwest of the Melbourne CBD.

http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-news-national/man-charged-with-jill-meaghers-murder-20120928-26olt.html

Anonymous said...

Missing Baby!!! An Amber Alert has been arrested near my hometown for a 4 week old baby girl. I know that many here will be aghast that she left the infant alone in a car. I know it's wrong as well but you the mother is a little mentally challenged and it is a town of 1200 people. It is horribly wrong but it is done there all of the time unfortunately and I don't know that she would know better.

http://www.pjstar.com/free/x1238769521/Amber-Alert-issued-in-Toulon-baby-abduction

Anonymous said...

Please help find Ayla

OT

By Rebecca Palsha & Adam Pinsker
Channel 2 News

7:15 p.m. AKDT, September 26, 2012

ANCHORAGE, Alaska—
The Anchorage Police Department said Wednesday the human remains found in Earthquake Park on Sep. 24 has been identified as Letitia Baxter.

Baxter was the 63-year-old woman who was reported missing Aug. 3. APD said the Alaska State Medical Examiner's Office made a positive identification through dental records.

"The medical examiner's office has not released a cause or manner of death." said APD Spokesman Lt. Dave Parker. "The investigation is continuing with both the ME's office and by APD homicide detectives."
It was Baxter's boyfriend who said he found the remains.
Gerhard Hesse was walking in the woods near the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail this past Monday when he made the discovery. He had been searching for Baxter, who had been missing for almost seven weeks, almost daily.
“I did not think it was her, because it was so decomposed.” Hesse said.
He said only bones and some hair remained. Hesse also said he found shoes, an olive colored jacket, a purse and a shirt that was similar to the type of clothes that Baxter owned, and was wearing, before she disappeared.
Anchorage Police confirmed Wednesday afternoon that it was Baxter that Hesse found. Until then Hesse remained optimistic that Baxter might come home alive.
“If it’s not her then we still had hope.” Hesse said.
Channel 2 contacted Baxter's brother-in-law Wednesday. Bill Cross says the family is not ready to speak on camera but he did thank volunteers, friends and police for their efforts to find Letitia.
Baxter and Hesse were a couple for 22 years. About eight years ago Baxter moved across the hall from Hesse in the four-plex he owns in West Anchorage. Hesse said every morning he’d go across the hall for coffee and breakfast. At night when he got done with work, he’d go to Baxter’s apartment for dinner and then they’d watch T.V. Hesse said Baxter liked mystery shows like 48 hours and Dateline. The pair often went for long walks on the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail.
“We had so many good times together.” Hesse said.
Contact Rebecca Palsha

Editor's Note: KTUU's Neil Torquiano contributed to this story.
Copyright © 2012, KTUU-TV



Anonymous said...

Please help find Ayla

OT

The boyfriend sounds guilty


Police Say Letitia Baxter Could Still Be In Anchorage
Family Holds Out Hope
August 12, 2012|By Mallory Peebles | Channel 2 news

Courtesy APD

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ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Anchorage police say this is being classified as a suspicious missing person case, however, there is reason to believe the 63-year-old woman is still in the area.

Family and friends of Letitia Baxter are still holding onto hope she will be found.

For more than 20 years, Gerhard Hesse and Baxter have been together, but the days he's counting now are the ones they spend apart.

Gerhard Hesse says, "Hopefully I hear her voice on the telephone and that she turns up somewhere would be the best sound I ever hear in my life."

Her boyfriend, family and friends have been combing through parks she often traveled and posting signs to see if anyone has information about where Letitia is. Police say there has been no suspicious credit card or phone activity which leads them to belive she could still be in Anchorage.

Letitia does not own a car and walks nearly everywhere she goes. She was visiting her sister the day she went missing, August 3, but didn't mention if she was going to run errands or walk straight to her apartment on Eagle Lane. Her boyfriend Hesse lives across the hall and, along with the rest of family and friends, is hoping for her safe return.

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Hesse says, "If people want to be helpful maybe if they walk their dog, don't walk on the trail just go a little on the outside. The dog can have more fun and maybe they'll find something."

Brother-in-law Bill Cross says, "You hold out hope that someone will hear this report see this report and maybe make contact with the Anchorage police."

Letitia Baxter is 5 foot 6 inches tall and weighs around 120 pounds. She has gray hair and hazel eyes. If you have information about her disappearance, contact Anchorage police at 907-786-8900.

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Anonymous said...

In response to a post that has since disappeared.

First I'd like to say thank you to all the men who buck the new order and continue to protect and honor women in a special way. Your wives, daughters and mothers are lucky to have you. It's reassuring to know that there are still men like you around. It saddens me that any man feels the need to defend his protective instincts and training. Please don't get discouraged. Self-sacrifice, not muscle, makes the man (or woman). I hope your daughters appreciate the good advice you give them about protecting themselves and being careful about the choices they make and the situations they put themselves in. There's no substitute for common sense.

Arguing the right to walk the streets safely isn't going to keep anyone safe. Of course we need to do whatever we can to make the world a safer place. But we can't replace good sense with laws. Laws don't keep us safe unless everyone abides by them, which of course they don't. Punishing the law breaker and taking them off the streets is to prevent them from repeating the crime. It doesn't undo what's already been done. So we need to use good judgement and protect ourselves and others from becoming victims of crime. You can scream your rights at the top of your lungs to an attacker but do you honestly think he is going to listen to reason? It's irresponsible to make yourself a target.

I'm soul-weary of hearing the endless harping on rights to the exclusion of good sense and personal responsibility for ourselves and toward others. I thank the framers of the constitution for recognizing our God-given rights and want them to be protected but critical thinking is being replaced with catch phrases and buzzwords. Political correctness saves individuals from having to think for themselves. Just take a poll to find out how you should feel on a topic. Our world is turning upside-down and backward. I feel as though I have been dropped onto a different planet than the one I grew up on.

We've not only tried to substitute good judgement with rights, we've also tried replacing courtesy with laws.

I was taught, and taught my kids to defer to their elders, to protect and help the younger, the weaker, the handicapped, the friendless and to thank others, rather than take offense when help is offered. If a man, woman or child holds the door for us, we appreciate that that person is thinking of someone other than themselves and respond with a smile and a thank you.This is common courtesy on both sides. Give and take.

I remember reading that when rats are overcrowded they become increasingly stressed and start to attack and kill each other. I live in a large mid-western state and have seen the same effect here as the city has grown.
I also remember reading that historically the Japanese have been known for their extreme courtesy which they learned from living in close quarters, in houses with paper walls. It distressed them to think of offending anyone.

Manners are the grease that prevents friction in society. Isn't this being taught in our homes and schools anymore? We learned as kids that there was a time and place for everything. You adjusted your behaviors to suit the situation rather than endlessly asserting your rights. You whispered in a library to avoid distracting others and then you yelled until you were hoarse at a ballgame. These things were ingrained in us.

Here's a recent article about a mother who put her 2 kids on potty chairs at the table in a restaurant.
http://www.examiner.com/article/mother-of-twins-potty-trains-a-restaurant.
Even if no one taught you better, shouldn't you be able to realize for yourself that a restaurant isn't the time or place for potty training. We seem to have lost the 'common' in common sense and common courtesy. SIGH