Thursday 1 December 2011

Leahy-Arnold inquest: Alan Leahy denies involvement

Melanie Petrinec
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
© The Cairns Post

The husband of murder victim Julie-Anne Leahy has denied he had any involvement in the deaths of his wife and her best friend Vicki Arnold during a heated courtroom exchange today.

The bodies of Mrs Leahy and her best friend Vicki Arnold were discovered with gunshot wounds south of Atherton on August 9, 1991, after they had been missing for two weeks. Police and two previous inquests ruled the tragedy a murder-suicide, but both women’s families have refused to believe it. Mrs Leahy’s husband, Alan Leahy, gave evidence this morning at a third coronial inquiry into the women’s deaths, and emphatically denied he killed the women.

He admitted it was a mistake to become sexually involved with Mrs Leahy’s then 16-year-old sister, but said it did not mean he had a motive to kill to his wife.“I made some bad choices... but I did not have a part in my wife’s death,” he said. Barrister Ralph Devlin, who is assisting State Coroner Michael Barnes, put a series of allegations to Mr Leahy, including that he forced the women into his four-wheel-drive at gunpoint on July 26, 1991, and made his wife drive to Cherry Tree Creek.  “Did you have the intent of killing them and then driving the vehicle into the dam that was there?,’’ Mr Devlin asked. “Did you pretend to them that it was a new, good fishing spot?”

Mr Leahy calmly denied all the claims. Mr Devlin said he put the allegations to Mr Leahy in the public interest. “You understand I do it on the basis that is what the community, or some of the community, think,” he said. Mr Leahy’s defence barrister, Anthony Collins, told the court there was no forensic evidence to back the claims, or anything to place his client at Cherry Tree Creek. Mr Leahy will be cross-examined this afternoon, after which the inquest is expected to conclude. 


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2 comments:

  1. Guess it depends on whether he and a mate did the bank and when Vicki came to see him re gun use, he grabbed them under gun control and then got his mate to take them away either to mates house or their death. If so was his mate the drug lord and knew where to go?
    Or did he plan it carefully months before (remember the ins policy) and then grabbed them that night when Vicki came to give wife help to take him on about relationship with sister (probably to tell him to get out) and stash them probably tied up in the boot of their car in another house (remember too his job probably let him have keys to empty houses in last stage of completion). He would have then spent a few days casing the t'land to set up the murders - he would have needed clean clothing and a plan to make it look like murder suicide(+wanted the Lord C's money too)
    To me Vicki was wearing outside clothes whereas wife not so they were taken in their house (he forgot the ciggies too). Also he very carefully gave himself an alibi for that night!!
    Reckon if stashed in another house, house on outer Atherton area when he could make wife drive seat belt around neck gun on Vicki out around Atherton to get to Herberton Rd. Then reckon Vicky tried to run/pull belt off and he shot her through the seat. Then he shot wife and went after Vicki and shot her and pulled her back to car and tried to arrange gun. When he found wife still alive he went for rock+knife as gun jammed and she had to be dead.
    As to tracks not there - can one believe the cops looked? Or he brushed them off with a leafy branch. Didn't take much to fool these cops who then went on to try and cover their ineptitude.
    Reckon my theory sounds more plausible than a little soft handed obese accountant doing any of that!! Her only fault was poor bastard befriended the wrong person and got involved in her life. Shame she didn't pull the steering wheel and crash the car - then at least the cops might have got suspicious as pretty hard to set up suicide idea if crashed properly/rolled and they would have been found within hours.

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