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MURDERED in Australia - Anita Cobby
114 Plays1 year ago
In this episode, I will be telling Lisa about Anita Cobby - the amazing love story and brutal ending that was her life. This story has the highest highs and the lowest lows - and is beautifully heartbreaking.
When lives end so brutally, the ones that are left behind have to continue on and their story is important - but so is not forgetting those who were taken too quickly.
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Transcript
Introduction and Banter
00:00:05
Speaker
Well, hello, fellow true crime fans, and thanks for tuning in to another episode of Twisted Tales of Faith and Lisa. And we're glad you're here. So very, very glad. I always I always feel like I sound like Mr. Rogers in the intro. I feel like you sound like a valley girl. But you know how Miss Rogers always like hello, friends. It's a beautiful day in the in the neighborhood. It's trademarked. Can't sing the whole song.
00:00:32
Speaker
So Daniel Tiger kind of stole it. So, well, I'm sure they paid for it, but that's my deal. Don't tell me why I know that you have a kid. Luckily, my child never got into Daniel Tigers, but I remember you yelling about it all the time.
Shoutout and Story Suggestion
00:00:48
Speaker
Before we get into further business, Lisa has something personal. She needs to take care of you. I need to take care of this. I have a friend, Kurt, at work. And she does not say he's a friend when we talk on the side. That's a lie. Are you kidding me right now? He's going to listen to this and be like, what do you say about? I know. I didn't even. First of all.
00:01:07
Speaker
This guy has the best freaking dad jokes like ever. I love dad jokes like ever. I will seriously just out of nowhere. Send me a text message asking me like just a random question. And I'm like, dude, where's my joke? I love dad jokes. No, when you told me I'll have to share some of them with you, but you told me you were going to shout them out.
00:01:27
Speaker
I was like, I didn't think about it. Then when you started, I was like, I'm going to say she hates him. I'm going to cause division and strife in her work. Thanks, Faith. You're great. You're welcome. Kurt knows he's my favorite. He knows that's a lie.
00:01:39
Speaker
But yeah, he helped me find my story last week because we were all in this stupid like Kaizen event. It's not stupid. It was actually pretty. Informative, youthful, educational. Sure. Those things. Anyway, professionalism. And so it got brought up that I do a true crime podcast. And they all start giving you ideas. Everybody, everybody starts doing, you know, whatever. But Kurt took it a step further and was like, have you heard of the like the vampire story?
00:02:09
Speaker
Right. Which one starts messaging me like it was the Lilly Lid case. I know.
Maddie McCain Discussion
00:02:14
Speaker
But there's you. It's sad that you have to define which one because there's that. We've already done two vampire stories, but it was so close. And I was like, I honestly have never even like didn't know it was a thing.
00:02:26
Speaker
didn't even and I was living here at the time but again yeah head in the sand because I was probably too busy being like party animal weird doing dumb things losing brain cells but whatever either way fine anyway thanks Kurt you're the best that was a that was a good story it was a really good story Lisa did a mediocre job of saying it so
00:02:47
Speaker
You know, anyways, I'm surprised you could get the word mediocre out without like fumbling on yourself. So now I'm going to be tongue tied the rest of this episode. I really hope so. We'll count all of us together. How many times Faith botches what she's trying to say. I will. In fact, let's just make it a drinking game. Like everybody take a shot. Every time Faith messes up mispronunciates or messes up a word.
00:03:15
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. So we were talking earlier. I would love to know everyone's thoughts on the I am Maddie McCain. Yeah, girl. That's crazy. She's like a Facebook page. Actually, I think she had to turn it off because there was so much like hate and stuff. Well, I'm sure there's hate and I'm sure there's like seriously in the. Oh, I have a lot of thoughts.
00:03:37
Speaker
You know, and here's the crappy part. It's like you have a girl who's telling you, which it honestly, she could be just a lunatic, right? Because she could just be grasping at straws. Right. Exactly. And that's what I was saying too. Like, you hear this case and you're like, Oh my God, I'm like right around that age. I know absolutely nothing about my childhood.
00:03:58
Speaker
My question is like, I, like, I mean, I haven't done like a deep dive into it because, uh, life slash hectic, but it's pretty recent and there's not a whole lot of information out there other than, Hey, this is what's going on. And there's going to be a DNA test. But like, I mean, her story is, you know, her childhood, she never, she always got conflicting stories from her parents and everything else. But I got to think there's something like.
00:04:25
Speaker
How do you just go from, you're not my real parents, I have to be this missing girl? Like, I feel like there's more. Yeah. Well, I mean, it could also just be like you said, desperation, grasping at straws, like trying to find, I guess really any reasonable plausible explanation for your childhood. I guess I just look for like, there's something dark and twisted with, you know,
00:04:50
Speaker
My mind is not a healthy place. It's going to be an interesting development because like I can't like I mean we're we're honestly going to it's either a or if she is Maddie McCain like yeah mine that's going to be like super awkward if she's Madeline McCain. What do you do at that point?
00:05:11
Speaker
She's she's an adult talking about earlier, like. You know, everybody always thought the parents were kind of sus, right? Everybody. Everybody has. Yeah. And so. Everything from they murdered her to a child, child pedophile. Yeah. Yeah. Trafficking ring.
00:05:29
Speaker
So, I mean, if this girl was stolen and like sold on the black market, just for a couple who wanted a kid or something weird, random like that, like years. Like seriously could go either way. Like either these parents are going to be so freaking ecstatic that they just found their kid.
00:05:48
Speaker
and all of the true crime people who like spoke out. Oh, they're going to have to eat so much crow.
Anita Cobby's Life and Disappearance
00:05:55
Speaker
Oh, dude. Yeah. Like people pick up the mud, bro. But people like their people in England that like like journalists are broadcasters who legitimately lost their careers because they wouldn't let it drop and went so hard after the parent and their podcasters and like different stuff like that now. But do you know what I mean? Is that we're performing that we're like.
00:06:18
Speaker
But she's the she's the John Bonnet of England. Yeah, like people were obsessed. I just but on the other hand.
00:06:27
Speaker
There was never anything you have to look at every aspect of it. So I don't I don't necessarily. I said that those people would have to grow. I don't necessarily think that that's true because they were trying to get justice for a little girl that they thought were harm was harm. I know. But at the same time, you always have to go to the opposite end of the spectrum and think, you know, it's got to be something ewy.
00:06:49
Speaker
and not these parents. It's tragic. Well, but there were so many things that were conflicting. And and like you said, there's us, but like the young kids say these days. That's what you said. I do what I can. I'm not hip. All right. Well, I don't pretend to be. I am interested to see how this develops. And I want to time and date for the DNA test just so I can know when to count down.
00:07:18
Speaker
It's either stick your foot in your mouth or yes. Yeah, this is not actually real. Yeah. All right. Well, I faith. Well, let's let's without further ado, scrap where she rips my heart out. It makes me feel like I'm just he's a garbage. Well, tonight's episode, let me tell you.
00:07:39
Speaker
This is this is this is a rough. Honestly, it is like. A mixture of a rom com and a horror movie. No joke. You'll understand. So we're going to go to Australia. OK, which I've been once and it is the best vacation I've ever taken until you see a spider. Oh, my gosh, everything there can kill you. Yeah. But I loved Sydney, so.
00:08:08
Speaker
We are going to go to Australia tonight. That's where Nima was trying to go. Sorry. That was filter Lisa. OK. OK. We like Disney movies. It's fine. You judge us all you want. So I am going to tell you tonight the horrific story of Anita Coby. Have you have you ever heard of Anita Coby, Lisa?
00:08:30
Speaker
I'm going to go ahead and say no. Have you really not because you're smirking? I'm not sure. Put your phone down. The name sounds. I'm not googling anything. I promise. All right. Well, let's get into it anyway. Anita Coby was born on November 2nd, 1959 in Sydney, Australia. Her father, Gary Lynch, was a graphic designer in the Royal Australian Air Force. And her mother worked as a nurse and her name was Peggy.
00:08:58
Speaker
Now, Anita was a beautiful girl. Like, she was stunning. She was actually in beauty pageants. She won beauty pageants. She was titled Miss Western Suburbs, November 1979. I'll post pictures like she was beautiful.
00:09:13
Speaker
And very easily could have transitioned into modeling. Like she was that pretty. However, Anita just wanted more out of life. She was, I mean, just, she was full of life, which we'll get to, but modeling was not her calling. And she decided that what her calling was, was to go into nursing, just like her mom.
00:09:34
Speaker
So she began to study nursing at Sydney Hospital. When she was 20 years old, she met a fellow nurse there named John Coby. John described Nita as, in his words, just these ringlets of hair everywhere. God, she was beautiful. And I thought, my God, she's just too good for me.
00:09:57
Speaker
John actually worked up the nerve to ask her out, knowing a hundred percent she's out of his league. She's going to say no, but she said yes. And as we can tell from the last names went well. Yeah. So John and Anita went on their first date. And after that they were, they were joined at the hip. Like they were always together. Um, after barely a year of dating, John proposed and she said yes.
00:10:26
Speaker
Shortly after their engagement, they got the amazing news that Anita was pregnant and they were like, it wasn't like a freak out. Oh my God, we're young. It is best news ever over the moon. They're ecstatic. They couldn't wait to become parents. They told everybody. And sadly, Anita miscarried, carried shortly afterwards. Take your first drink. No, no, that's actually the second I stumbled earlier, but you were too busy swiping left and right over there.
00:10:57
Speaker
Oh, yeah, I called you out. So after the miscarriage, they were both obviously devastated, but they they didn't pull apart. They comforted one another and they knew that, you know, their time would come. They would start a family together soon. It was going to be OK.
00:11:17
Speaker
They were married March 27th, 1982 and ready to start their own lives. And their life was literally like a rom-com. It was romantic. They had the sweetest love story. The couple loved their life. They went out with friends, concerts, went to the beach, immediately became dog parents.
00:11:38
Speaker
Like, they just had fun. Anita was a nurse at Sydney Hospital. John worked as a traveling nurse because the pay was better. Shortly after being married, a little bit into it, John, you know, got a little restless and rethought his life decisions and decided, you know, I don't want to be a nurse.
00:11:59
Speaker
So he sat Anita down and said, I want to move to Rockdale, which is where his family was from. And I want to pursue my dream. It has always been my dream to train horses, which is a slight shift in career focus there. And you know what? Anita supported him 100%. So she said, let's go. Let's do it. Start over. Let's go. So the couple packed up and moved and continued their venture together.
00:12:28
Speaker
Just a few quick years into this, John's horse, which he was a horse trainer, his horse won a race and he got $10,000 from that win. So with this $10,000, he thought really hard about what he wanted to do with it. And he sat and kneaded down and said, you know what, you supported me and you made my dream come true. What's your dream? That's what we're doing now. So, I mean, just seriously, how cute.
00:12:56
Speaker
So she said, you know what? Take a lesson, guys. Right. So she said, I want to travel. I want to see the world. So he said, all right. They both took an extended vacation from their jobs and they literally traveled around the United States, which they live in Australia. So why you'd want to go to the United States? I don't know. But I live there. So, you know, I was just going to say it's always different. They had the time of their lives.
00:13:20
Speaker
So the couple returned home in the middle of 1985, and John decided it was time to settle down. He wanted to find a stable job, maybe back to nursing. He wanted to buy a house, start a family, the whole shebang. Anita was still in her mid-20s.
00:13:42
Speaker
And she wasn't quite there yet. She, she's on the party train. They've just traveled the world. Now you want to go get a house in the burbs and have 2.5 kids with a picket fence. She didn't want that yet. Um, she really enjoyed the traveling and the carefreeness of their life. So for the first time, the couple wanted two completely different things in two completely different directions.
Investigation and Community Response
00:14:09
Speaker
And while they were still in love, they decided, you know what, let's take a break. Let's, we're going to separate. We're going to figure out who we are individually, what we want again, and then we'll decide how to move forward. Not any hateful, any, I mean, amicably. So Anita moved back in with her parents and her sister in Blacktail, New South Wales, and John moved back in with his family at Rockdale.
00:14:33
Speaker
Again, this is not a bad break. There's no animosity. They still talked on the phone literally every single day. They went back to like a dating friendship phase and only six weeks into the separation. They're already talking about, hey, let's get an apartment. Let's move back in together. We can't, we don't want this. So, um, February 2nd, 1986 was just a typical day.
00:15:04
Speaker
Nita got up. She had her shift at the hospital from seven a.m. to three p.m. She told her mom and dad before she left the house that morning, hey, I'm going to be out late. I'm going to dinner with friends. Don't wait up. She's 20 frickin six and she's still being like, hey, yeah, she's just courtesy. They're just good people. Well, I was just going to say, like, I don't care how old you are. If you're living with somebody else, but some people don't have that come home like, you know, like people get worried. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
00:15:33
Speaker
So the next morning February 3rd Anita's mother went to wake her up because she didn't hear like rustling around getting ready And Anita's not in her bed But honestly again, she's 26 She's she's literally still married. Yeah So her parents are only worried. She went out with friends late. Maybe she crashed at one of their house who knows Not a big deal. No red flags at all
00:16:02
Speaker
until her mom got a call from Sydney Hospital asking if Anita was okay because she was a no-call, no-show for her 1 p.m. shift. Which again, this is the girl that told her parents, hey, I'm going out with friends. Yeah, she's not just gonna not show up. No, and she loved her job. Like her patients loved her. Nobody had a bad thing to say about this girl. So Peggy, the mom, immediately knew something's gone.
00:16:29
Speaker
Like something's happened like that. Dang it. Take another one, guys. Number three. You're welcome for the buzz, people. I knew something was wrong. Anita was always punctual. She was considerate. There's no way she's just not going to show up. Nursing was her calling.
00:16:48
Speaker
So Peggy, her husband Gary and their other daughter Catherine started making calls to friends and family, just trying to see if anyone knew where needed ended up the night before, after she finished dinner, like, did she just oversleep she get like drunk maybe she get sick like
00:17:08
Speaker
Gigantic spiders and snakes. Maybe she's locked in a closet. Who knows? Right so around 8 p.m. That night There's still no word of Anita. Nobody's seen Anita and at this point like they're they're legitimately worried and They need to call John copy her husband
00:17:30
Speaker
And so they can't get ahold of John. And so they were told he's at this specific restaurant, out to eat with his dad and a friend. So they called the restaurant and asked the person that answers. Yeah, I literally have because 80s. Literally. So they called the restaurant, asked to talk to John and John answers the phone and they're like, hey, John, is Anita with you?
00:17:57
Speaker
And he says, no. And so they're like, well, we don't know where she's at. Um, she never came home last night after dinner. We, we can't find her. Do you know where she's at? Do you know maybe whose house John immediately.
00:18:13
Speaker
Something's wrong, gets off the phone and goes to tell his dad, hey, something's happened to Anita, I gotta go. And just pieces. Like a normal human being. So he goes directly to Anita's family's home and starts asking all the questions like rapid fire. Where did she go? Who did she go to? When did you notice her missing? Have you talked to all her friends she went to? Have you called the police? And he's just firing off all these questions frantically, I'm sure.
00:18:41
Speaker
One after another, after another, maybe he's not even giving them time to answer and her dad gets kind of pissed. Like he gets pissy because of course they've done everything. Like we've already done all that. We're not idiots, John. We've been looking for all day. You just found out about it. Somebody that's got anxiety about it and they want to know where we're at. Yeah. So John realizes him being at the house is causing a lot of stress for Anita's family.
00:19:10
Speaker
And so he leaves the next day. John and Anita were Anita were four. You're welcome. We're supposed to go to Shelley Beach. Guys, I know it's Thursday, but you're going to get loaded. Yeah. Hope nobody has an early morning. Yeah. If you start listening to this and you're here, shut it off and go to bed. And if you're listening to this at work, Salud Salud. You're welcome.
00:19:36
Speaker
So they were supposed to go to Shelly Beach together that day and, you know, maybe she just got like a 24 hour virus, something. And so John says, I'm going to go and I'm going to see if she shows up.
00:19:52
Speaker
There's might as well, right? Right. So as John's driving to the beach, he's got the radio on, he's smiling, thinking about it was literally just a few days ago. He and Anita were on the same road in the same car, talking and laughing. And I mean, they literally were a rom com movie. It's disgusting how happy and in love these two work.
00:20:16
Speaker
So all these thoughts are suddenly turned off when the radio station is interrupted by a news bulletin and it changed everything. Oh no. The naked body of a young woman has just been found in a paddock at Prospect in Western Sydney and the police have yet to identify the body.
00:20:36
Speaker
Note a paddock is a small keeper enclosure where horses are kept in exercise because I didn't know she's like a fenced off thing like spirit. Oh, that's not going to look good for him. Oh, I didn't even put that together.
00:20:50
Speaker
Oh, twists. Sorry. You're fine. I didn't even I literally didn't put that together at all. Thank you, Lisa, for paying attention. Right. So on Tuesday, February 4th, 1986, the day after it was realized she was missing, a local farmer by the name of John Rean noticed his cattle were all like gathered weird, kind of like how all the cattle these days are lined up in a single file. I'm staring at the cars all weirdly. Has to talk all the bloods.
00:21:20
Speaker
Dang, man. Dang, a blaze. Dang it. Five. Yeah, guys, we need to stop this game. It's going to get bad for you tonight. If you are playing this game and you get alcohol poisoning, Lisa is the one to sue, not Faith, because I said this was a bad idea.
00:21:35
Speaker
Um, game canceled. I'm still going to count because it makes me happy, but don't do it. Um, so he notices his cows are all like in this weird circle. So he goes to investigate and bet he wished he hadn't because he found the naked body of a woman that was bruised and battered and just left there in his field.
00:22:00
Speaker
So he calls the police, obviously. And when they're questioning him, you know, they do the standard questions. Did you hear anything suspicious? Did you see anything suspicious? And he thinks about it for a minute. And he said, actually, yeah, on the night of February 2nd, he heard some screams. But here's the thing. The road that he lives on is called Rain Road.
00:22:27
Speaker
family property. And it's a very popular spot for teenagers to go park and party type of situation. So he's used to hearing kids just causing a ruckus. So it was nothing out of the ordinary for him. Like he heard it, he looked, nothing seemed to miss. So he went back to sleep. Now,
00:22:51
Speaker
I usually do not do this, but here's your trigger warning because this case and the crime scene left some of the most seasoned investigators in Australia absolutely horrified. And I'm going to glaze over some of it because it's just not needed. But just know, I will warn you ahead of time when something expressly horrific is about to happen, but just know, trigger warning to come.
00:23:22
Speaker
So the police go and they discover a naked body of a woman lying face down on the ground. When they turn her over, her eyes are still open and her face, which this is a direct quote from one of the officers on the scene, was frozen in sheer terror.
00:23:44
Speaker
She had new just viewing the body right now. She had numerous lacerations of her entire body and body, neck, head, face, everything. And her neck was cut so badly, she was almost decapitated. And when I say almost decapitated, the police couldn't even move the body because they were afraid if they moved her at all, the head would completely detach.
Arrest and Confessions
00:24:08
Speaker
Wow. Yes. There was nothing on the body to ID her. There's no clothes with like an ID in it. No purse, no wallet. She was left naked and that was it. The only thing that stood out at all was a wedding band she was wearing and it was like an old Russian style. It was three bands in a realm together.
00:24:31
Speaker
And it was very unique looking, so they thought someone might use it to know who this woman was. So Detective Sergeant Ian Kennedy, remember that name. Ian Kennedy. Detective Kennedy knew that Anita had been reported missing.
00:24:53
Speaker
because her parents has called it in, John's called it in, they know. So if this is her, if this is this missing girl's body, he figures that from this ring, the parents might be able to identify her. So the ring is removed and it's put in an evidence bag. He puts it in his pocket and he starts towards Anita's parents' house.
00:25:16
Speaker
He gets there, knocks on the door. He shows the ring to Gary and Gary, the father, is like, you know, could have been hers, could have not, not really sure. Which I have some feelings on. My first thought is if this ring is so distinctive, that everyone there is like, you're good. How does your dad not know? I'm going to go with men are oblivious. Well, you got to notice some things on my thing is even if women get flashy. Yeah. Well, even if like
00:25:45
Speaker
My thing is, is there seem to be some tension between dad and the husband, John, when he was there earlier, like even, you know, so maybe he wasn't in support of the marriage. Maybe it's not hers because I can't fully believe that it's hers type of deal. I was just gonna say that. But on the other hand, I've been married to your brother 15 years and my dad still can't spell my last name correctly. So back to your dad's or believe, yeah.
00:26:13
Speaker
Yeah, I got it. I said I believe I didn't say a word. Yeah, I believe I'm in oblivious. I believe that's not what I said. I said a Harry Potter spell is what it sounded like. Here we go. I'm not counting anymore. I'm just going to just point it out. I'm just going to be like, I love you. So the dad could have I think the dad was just in denial and probably a dad like mine. It's like, I don't know. That's jewelry. I don't know. Exactly. I didn't buy it.
00:26:39
Speaker
Right. So her sister Catherine assured the detectives that this ring 100% is not Anita's. It is the same style and it does look like Anita's ring, but this one's rusted and Anita kept her ring pristine. So it's definitely not hers 100% not my sister that you found. Unfortunately, what Catherine thought was rust was dried blood.
00:27:08
Speaker
So she didn't realize that, but as she's saying, all this detective Kennedy's like, ee. Later that day, John Cobbie did confirm to the police that that ring that they had is 100% his wife's ring. They asked him, can you come to the station? Because that's where the body is and no one's been able, no one has been by to identify her yet.
00:27:33
Speaker
And John paused for a second, looked at the police and said, no, I can't do it. Can't not me. I cannot see my wife's body that that can't be the last time I see her. I can't do it. I'm sorry. I'm not. I can't. Like, dude, I'm sorry. Like, just pause. I don't know that I could do it either. Well, and they were so in love. I mean, anybody.
00:28:01
Speaker
Yeah, like how hard it is it is it to like put your dog down and be in the same way? I still cry over Duke and it's been like that's what I'm saying. You know what I mean? Like, I don't know, I'm just saying I kind of have his back on that like. Oh, 100 percent. But a part of some people want like the resolution and then there's a part of people that's like, you know, if this is really that person, I I don't think I could bear it. You know, I give him props for knowing like, no.
00:28:31
Speaker
I could, but I'm not going to. That's not going to be the last time I see my wife. So Anita's mom said, you know what? I've been a nurse my whole life. I've seen multiple dead bodies in my career. I can do it. And I can go identify my daughter. However, the police agreed with you. It was a terrible idea.
00:28:55
Speaker
And the family realized just how brutal, they did not realize how brutal, but they realized this was a brutal death because the police officers looked at her mom and basically said, under no circumstances can you see this body. You can't do it, you can't be the one. No, someone else.
00:29:17
Speaker
So her dad and I like again, I'm going to intervene, but they're going to put it on a man to do because they're stronger. It's expected of a man to be able to let it go. Yeah. Which is not fair or not. Yeah, that's not fair at all. But someone has to say who it and.
00:29:36
Speaker
They're trying to protect this mom because she thinks in her head, I can 100 percent do this. Yeah. And they're saying, no, ma'am. Like, I've seen the worst with all due respect. It's not. No, ma'am. It's not your kin. It's not somebody that you deeply love. Like, yeah. So they discussed it. And her father, Gary, was the one that was determined to this task would fall to him. When Gary got there, they pulled the sheet, cover whatever from her body.
00:30:02
Speaker
And people who were there, like police officers, investigators reported that he literally dropped to his knees and just lost it upon seeing his daughter. I cannot, like dude, Gary, I am sorry that you had to witness that. Oh, you have no idea how sorry. So that confirmed it, that the body found in John Raines Field was that of Anita Coby.
00:30:30
Speaker
The police had told her family that they're trying to prep them for what's to come. And they said this, what we've been through is the shortest, easiest part of the investigation. We're entering in the worst, longest part of the investigation, trying to identify who did this to your daughter. But Detective Kennedy gave the family his personal guarantee, his word, he would find the people responsible
00:31:00
Speaker
for killing Anita. And he started that investigation immediately and everybody was questioned. Obviously, who's the first person they bring in? The husband. The husband. And what started as really light, normal questioning turned pretty quickly into, well, why are you guys separated? Which turned it even more quickly into, we know you killed her.
00:31:26
Speaker
You did it to you. You worked with horses. Great point. Didn't even think about that. So to add to fuel to this fire, her friends and coworkers had already told police that they were pretty sure Anita was actually dating another nurse at the hospital and were worried that John had found out and in a fit of rage or jealousy.
00:31:50
Speaker
killed her he didn't mean to it was an act of passion but he thinks they're in love and fixing to move in back together and get re you know re redo their wedding vows or whatnot and she's she's off dating people so that added you know
00:32:08
Speaker
Yeah, you know, feel that that is true to the fire. It got awkward. I'm just going to go ahead and finish that for you. I don't know. I was sorry. I was choking, but try not to be loud. It's OK. It's all right. I understand. I've been there before trying to die in peace and fight over your whole. Yeah. So you have to dial it wider. This line of questioning and this thought that John was it fit a passion fits really nicely, but completely screeches to a halt when the autopsy comes back.
00:32:39
Speaker
because the medical examiner, Dr. Joseph Duluth, determined that there were multiple people involved with her horrific murder. What? Yup, multiple. So now we're at February 6th, and the people in the community knew that Anita's body was the one found that day. But no one, and I mean no one, expected what would happen on February 6th.
00:33:06
Speaker
That morning, as people drove to school, drove their kids to work, daycare, whatever you got going in the mornings, a radio host named John Law read the leaked copy of the autopsy on a live morning radio station.
00:33:26
Speaker
Think about it. This is a beyond brutal murder. And he's reading the exact findings on a morning radio show. Right. When parents are dropping their children off to school. Not only that. What a crap bag. Her family could be listening. Her husband could be listening. So just a journalist. Get a clue. Yeah, right.
00:33:53
Speaker
I am going to give you an abridged version, if you will, of what he read on this morning station, the findings from the autopsy. Anita had been sexually assaulted in a brutal fashion, orally, anally, and vaginally. There was bruising on her head and body caused by fists and feet.
00:34:18
Speaker
Her right eye was severely bruised, abrasions to the back, her back, her legs, her arm and her chest, just entire body, because she'd been drug through a barbed wire fence before she was murdered. Both shoulders were broken. She had a ton of defensive wounds showing that she fought like hell and was alive through most of this.
00:34:44
Speaker
Three of her fingers were nearly severed from trying to defend herself. She had lacerations to her neck, three minor, three major, which resulted in the near decapitation. And most structures, muscles on the right side of her neck and trachea were completely severed because of the cut. He went into detail.
00:35:07
Speaker
on a morning radio station about that. That makes my stomach hurt and I didn't even give you the worst details. I just went over it. Thank you. And he felt like that was something the public needed to know. Because he was asked, why would you do that?
00:35:28
Speaker
you know what and he said you know maybe maybe the public that's awake at 10 o'clock at night but not kids on their way to school and and truth be told nobody needs to know that no I was just gonna say like
00:35:43
Speaker
When you say somebody is killed in a horrible fashion, just let their imagination leave it at that. Well, not only this, we don't we don't. He also included. Well, I can say, though, when we did the the Christian Newsome case, I did go into detail. Yeah. But this is a podcast and we warn you.
00:36:01
Speaker
Yes. It's going to get gruesome. Yes. Did he even warn anybody? No, he just started going into it. Here's a news bulletin on the Anita Cobb case. Here's what autopsy found. And he threw in that the doctor performing the autopsy estimated that the level of torture, that this level of torture took place
00:36:24
Speaker
at about two hours. She was raped and beaten for two hours and she was alive the entire time until the fatal cut to her neck at the end. He felt like the public just needed to know. Had nothing to do with ratings. No, I'm sure it doesn't. So this is how her family learned what happened to her. So not only is her family grieving,
00:36:49
Speaker
Now they have these pictures, their imagination are showing them what happened to her. Yeah, it's running wild now.
Trial and Sentencing
00:36:56
Speaker
So they're being tortured mentally, just like their daughter was tortured physically. But people in the community were mad at Anita's parents and John because their kid heard it. How could you let this happen? Like they personally liked it.
00:37:14
Speaker
Like people are angry. I feel like we talk about people being triggered by stuff, right? Yeah. I feel like anything that happened after that was triggering should have been. Like all that guy's fault. Yeah, like if that family went on a just tirade. Oh, yeah.
00:37:40
Speaker
Well, police tried to determine where the leak came from and they couldn't. But here's the other problem with this jerk reading all this publicly.
00:37:51
Speaker
When police are investigating a murder, they might let a few details go, but they usually hold a few things close to the vest that only the murderer would know to catch them. You've just told everybody exact details so everybody knows there's nothing to hold to the vest. I was just gonna say, man, and you always have those weird lunatic people that's like, I did this, but they didn't. So police have nothing. They have no evidence because she had nothing on her. This is going unsolved, isn't it, Faith? Let's just keep going.
00:38:21
Speaker
So immediately there's a got my answer. Immediately. There is a huge reward up to 50,000 for any information leading to an arrest, which this is the first time in a reward of that nature was presented that quickly after murder. Usually it's when a cold case type of situation when they've exhausted all options. This is she was murdered two days ago, 50,000 to anybody because we've got nothing and everybody knows everything that we know.
00:38:52
Speaker
The brutality of her murder rocked Australia and further out, to be honest, when her funeral was held just a few days later, which this, oh gosh, John, literally her husband had to be held upright. He couldn't stand on his own. And in the middle of the funeral, while the funeral's going on, he just screamed out, please God, don't take her away from me, like losing it.
00:39:20
Speaker
And and sadly things never really changed from John from that like what you picture him looking like right then
00:39:28
Speaker
They stayed, I mean, he stayed in a dark, bad place. He never really got over losing her. This is a guy that was a nurse, a horse trainer, traveled, successful at an early age. He started drinking and abusing drugs heavily, even though he had no history. Maybe he had a social game, anything. He actually said all he wanted to do was feel her one more time and die.
00:39:56
Speaker
And he blamed himself because the day of her murder, they actually talked on the phone before she went to work. And he said, hey, do you want me to come pick you up after work today? And she said, no, I'm going out with friends. I've already got plans. That's when they made the plans for the following day. So he talked to her that morning.
00:40:14
Speaker
and offered and I should have forced it. I should have said, let me drive you. All these things in hindsight that she blamed exactly. But John just couldn't get it back together. And we'll talk about John at the end, but investigators are now just literally trying to piece together the events of that night. They're trying anything. And a lot of times we talk about sloppy detective work or lazy cops.
00:40:40
Speaker
I'm still trying to figure out like these friends that she went out with, like who were they and where do they come into play? Is it, did she never even make it there? No, she got there. We'll get to it. So this detective, this police squad, Australian man, you guys do the damn thing. They have nothing, legit nothing. So what they did is they found a female police officer that was the same height and build as Anita.
00:41:09
Speaker
They dressed her in the exact identical outfit that Anita wore and made her walk the exact path Anita would have taken, hoping it would jog somebody's memory. And we got a $50,000 reward. Think hard when you see this, people. They had her walk the streets. They had her walk by the train. They actually recorded a reenactment of Anita's path and movement that night and aired it on TV. So somebody somewhere might see it. I remember.
00:41:39
Speaker
Like, I've never seen they were. I mean, I mean, could you imagine, though, how many false. Oh, yeah. Things that they had to like sift through to get to like reality. Yes. Like they the fact that they were just like opening up an opening up a call center. Yeah. But they what what do you know about this? They would do it. So they just wanted one detail. Someone to remember one detail.
00:42:07
Speaker
Police knew from talking to her friends, you asked that her friends, they'd gone out to dinner and they dropped her off at the train station, which she took home every day, which trains are a big thing in Australia. I did that. And this was most nights. And when she'd get off the train, Anita would usually call her dad to come pick her up. On this night, all the phones were out of order.
00:42:32
Speaker
due to an outage in the area. And so she couldn't call her dad to pick her up. Everyone in the area remembered. All those phones were out. It's blackout. So that's all they've got. Nothing else. She had a typical night. She couldn't call her dad. She had to do something to get home. That's all we know. We've got nothing. Because when the friend dropped off at the airport, I mean, at the train station, they didn't know at the other side of the train, like when she got to her destination, the phones would be out.
00:43:00
Speaker
So they're at a loss, and they need a break. And they got one. Two teenagers, Linda and John McGoughley, called in and said, hey, we heard a woman scream outside our house that night. And we ran outside and saw two men forcing a woman inside their vehicle around 9.50 PM, February 2nd. The night Anita went missing.
00:43:26
Speaker
And they said just a few minutes after we saw this, we're freaking out. We don't know what to do. Our older brother got home. We were like screaming to him, telling him. And so the older brother immediately goes and gets in his car trying to search for this vehicle they described. It was a white Holden with gray on the bottom, poor condition, patchy paint work. He's looking for it because he knows the woman was taken and this kid's going to find him like that. I mean, that's all they've got. So they told the police.
00:43:54
Speaker
So investigators took this information, but the fact that they said it was 9.50, Anita has a schedule. She does the same thing. It's too late for her. So they go back to the friends, talk to the friends, and realize dinner went over. She took a later train. That's exactly. That was 100% in their gut. That was Anita, because that's when she would have been trying to walk home with the phones out. So they've got something now.
00:44:24
Speaker
crappy white car patchy paint gray bottom, find it. So they go out and they find the car, the owner of the car. It was reported stolen before that. So it's another dead end. However, at this point leads are just bam, bam, bam, bam, like everybody, the community is invested.
00:44:48
Speaker
They've heard what happened to this girl and like any wackadoodles over here. I'm sure there are, but like that wasn't what was focused on. It was the community heard what this girl, what happened to this girl. Yeah. And they weren't going to let it happen to another whoever did it had to be failed. Like the community was a hundred percent. You're about to pay.
00:45:06
Speaker
So we have crocodiles here and they're they're about we have everything here. We've got that old timey, you know, where they pull the snake. Yeah, exactly. Yes. So an informant comes. Oops. I'm going to push you into the river. Right. So many accidental deaths waiting to happen.
Aftermath and Impact
00:45:26
Speaker
So an informant actually comes to the police and says, I know who took her. I know who killed her.
00:45:34
Speaker
It was three men and their names are John Travers, Michael Murdoch, and Les Murphy.
00:45:41
Speaker
So that's really specific. So let's let's look at them. Yeah. I'm going to save the ringleader to last because, who? Ha. He he he can't be in public no matter what. If this is true or not. All right. But Michael Murdoch. Oh, what? Why is it going to be if this is true? Like if this is not if this informant is correct, even if this isn't the guy, this guy needs to be locked up 100 percent.
00:46:10
Speaker
Right. So Michael Murdock and I'm thinking again. Well, Michael Murdock and I don't like you. So we're back to that. Michael Murdock was Trevor's best friend since they were kids. Right hand man. My uh, Trevor's John Trevor's who because her husband's names, John, out of respect for him, I refuse to call this guy by the same first name. So we're just going with Trevor's or Trevor's.
00:46:32
Speaker
Travers was the ringleader, his best friend, Michael Murdoch, best friend since they were kids. That's my other brother's name. No respect there, huh? Nope. He and this is what kills me. This Michael Murdoch spent his youth in a juvenile detention center. And he was sexually assaulted multiple times in this juvenile delinquent center. And he took to writing politicians
00:47:03
Speaker
over and over requesting reform and protection for assault to stop assaults in the future. And he's named in this. Wow. Okay. Les Murphy, the, the baby of the group was only 22. He had a rap sheet, but it was like petty theft and petty, like nothing major. Travers on the other hand is just an absolute waste of air.
00:47:29
Speaker
He had a very long sorted history of violent sexual assault and was a suspect in multiple races in Western Australia against both, rapes, sorry, multiple rapes, rapes, dang it. Multiple rapes in Western Australia against both men and women. A woman claimed that he raped her and as he raped her, he held a knife to her neck the entire time.
00:47:58
Speaker
And trigger warning, there's, I don't even know. It was rumored and well known that when Michael turned, or not Michael, sorry, Travers, when he turned 18, he celebrated that birthday by raping a sheep and then cutting it up and cooking it at a barbecue for his friends and family.
00:48:22
Speaker
Um, so many things. Um, that's just a blip of his his his records and his known like the guy doesn't deserve the year. I don't get it. No, no. Awesome. So he spent time. In like a delinquency center. No, that was his buddy, Michael Murdoch.
00:48:48
Speaker
Now he was in he was in and out. Travers was like one of nine, eight or nine kids, like in and out of foster homes type of situation. Of course. But he was just a a violent guy sexually like he didn't care what it was. He was raping it. Animals, men, women didn't matter to him. That's insane. Yeah. So police. I feel like this is like one of those nature versus nurture things like.
00:49:17
Speaker
had his childhood not been the way that it was and he wasn't going. I don't think there's an excuse for that. You're just there's something not. There's a missing part in his brain. Yeah, there's something missing. Or you literally just got to a point in your life where you're like. I don't care, I guess, but.
00:49:36
Speaker
A lot of people do, but in a very different way. Yeah, yeah, yeah. When you're over drama and you're like, you know what? I'm just going to be a shut in, Lisa. I was going to say, let's not air your dirty laundry on the podcast there.
00:49:49
Speaker
Let's pump the brakes. So police have these three names. They have their rap sheets. And so they did it. They got two groups, found out the location where these three men's are and men's men's men men. These three men men will be shut it or whatever one man. And they're they're doing a raid like they're busting down doors. They are going to get them. Yeah.
00:50:18
Speaker
And like legitimately, which, you know, we got to add a little humor into it here. There was a port like the first place that they they broke into. They bust down the door of this house, but didn't see this gigantic fish tank. So busted it and there's water everywhere. Fish are flopping like that's the scene like. Well, we could have done this. Yeah. All three men were arrested that night and brought in for questioning.
00:50:45
Speaker
And the police's plan, which again, Australia's police standing ovation. They're not gonna bring up a need at all. They're not questioning them in the murder. They're not charging them in the murder. They're arresting them for the theft of the car.
00:51:02
Speaker
Well, because if they get them to admit to the car in questioning, that leads them to the murder, which is a good plan. Smart plan. So Murdoch and Murphy both admitted we stole the car.
00:51:19
Speaker
Yeah, 100% you got us. But adamantly denied knowing anything about our being involved with the murder, shocker, when brought it up. They were both charged and unfortunately they were released on conditional bail.
00:51:36
Speaker
I would admit to grand theft auto before. Well, they didn't like they questioned them about the car. They admit to murder the car and then they're like, all right, well, this is the car. Then they were like, we don't know what you're talking about, bro. We just stole. We boosted a car. Yeah.
00:51:50
Speaker
So they're both released back in the public. Of course they are. Which I have a problem with. But. So do I, because bye. Bye Australia. It was nice knowing you. Nope. Nope. I'm telling you this, this police, they're amazing. The police don't have any physical evidence. So they released them and put a 24 hour shadow on them trying to see if they would lead the police to the stolen car where evidence would be found.
00:52:17
Speaker
That's their plan. Well, yeah, because now these stupid kids are going to be like, we need to go. Yeah. Oh, let's go burn it. So the police are like, of course you didn't murder. No, you were. You just wanted to. My apologies, please. You're going to have to. We're going to charge you. Grand Theft Auto. It's a crappy car anyway. Probably not worth that much. So we're going to charge you. You'll have to come back for court. Go ahead. So sorry. Sorry for the fish. Very, very tell Dory. We loved her. You know what I mean?
00:52:56
Speaker
so So Travers on the other hand his his interrogation went differently So he admitted to stealing the car They asked him did you steal the car? Yep, I stole it, but that wasn't his whole statement. This is what he said Yeah, I stole the car, but I didn't kill that slut
00:53:17
Speaker
Sir protest too much We didn't say anything about Killing our are any type of in what? He just blurts it out there. I'm gonna go ahead and say like He is the reason there are warning warning labels on hot coffee on a hot coffee Yeah, yeah, I stole the car, but I can kill that slut like Alright, so do not drink the bleach at this point
00:53:47
Speaker
He is not released on bail, mainly because, if you remember, he has these other outstanding sexual assaults. So he is ordered to give a blood test so they can test it against these other people that have accused him, and he is sent to jail. So he asks the cops, can I, can you call my aunt and tell her to bring me some cigarettes?
00:54:14
Speaker
So this aunt was married to his uncle. It's not a blood relative.
00:54:19
Speaker
So OK, this aunt was married to his but it's not like it's not like it's like if Bella got in trouble, she says, call my aunt Lisa like it's not. No, that doesn't work anyway. It's just, you know, you said it. It was weird if they got divorced, married to my uncle. Well, if they OK, if his aunt and uncle got divorced, she's no longer related to him. It's just as a type of deal. So probably shouldn't say that again.
00:54:45
Speaker
Yeah. Lovey. Not anyway. Detective. He listens. No, that's fine. Detective Kevin Rowell calls the aunt, which who even today is only known as Mrs. X.
00:54:59
Speaker
And Detective Kevin tells her, we've got your nephew in lockup. He wants you to bring him cigarettes. Doesn't give charges or anything else and this woman loses it and is sobbing hysterically on the phone. And she tells the detective,
00:55:23
Speaker
I need to talk to you about Travers and his behavior towards women. I was planning on calling the police today anyway because I heard the report of what happened to that poor and needed girl and I think my nephew's involved. Ooh. That's why she starts sobbing. Ooh. Yeah. So the detectives ask her, would you be willing to talk to your nephew and try to get a confession?
00:55:51
Speaker
on Anita, because again, they have no evidence, nothing to time to the murder. And Mrs. X says yes. So the police coach her, just get there, don't ask any leading questions, just hand him a cigarette and see what he has to say, because they don't want to say that it's like, you know, that they were leading him or that they were entrapping him, like they just want to know what happened, right?
00:56:18
Speaker
So on February 22nd. I'm sorry, but it's super sick. It's super sick that this woman is like, I already know he's full of blood. Yeah. And you know she's got to be scared of him.
00:56:33
Speaker
like I just kind of wonder at this point like how many red flags were out there for this guy and nobody listened you know what I mean because if she's so terrified you can't tell me oh yeah well the deal isn't they were able to hold him because he had other people who had already fingered him in assault like they'd already said that's the guy that raped me
00:56:55
Speaker
So, why he wasn't picked up before this, I mean, that is the one slight, but if you don't have evidence, it's the he said, she said. I was just thinking, I was gonna say, that's the worst part. It isn't he said, she said, and it's- The worst thing that could happen. So, on February 22nd, 1986, Mrs. X goes to bring Travers, his cigarettes, and sits down to talk to him in the little opening through the glass thing that you see on TV, the petition, whatever it's called, right?
00:57:25
Speaker
You know, it'd be super cool. What? If this story ended like my, um, my Dexter story. Yeah. And she just like jumps over and cuts his heart out. Yes. Yeah. Feeds it to a bunch of sheep.
00:57:42
Speaker
I don't know where the sheep come in, but I'm cool with that. Because he sexually assaulted a sheep. Yeah, and the sheep have rights. And then butchered it and fed it to his friends and family. So, you know, so Mrs. X goes in, sits there and talks to him.
00:57:57
Speaker
She gets up calmly after done talking. She walks away. She turns the corner and literally collapses into the detective's arms. And she says these words. It was him and there were five of those bastards. What? Five. We only know the names of three right now. Yep.
00:58:19
Speaker
She tells the detectives that she, that Travers told her a lot. He spoke about an axe that was used with pure joy. And he was, in her words, direct quote, not human.
00:58:38
Speaker
She told the police that Les, the younger, the baby of the group that just had the petty thefts in crimes, right? Les Murphy had two older brothers and they were there that night as well. Their names were Gary and Michael. So at this point, police need evidence.
00:59:03
Speaker
Right. And so. Sorry, I lost my spot. No, you're fine. At this point, they need evidence trying to like. Yeah. I'm like waving to myself right now, just taking it all in. Yeah. So because they only have a he said, she said still. And there is no way they want these guys to walk. Right. So the police go back to Mrs. X.
00:59:32
Speaker
Well, they don't go back to her yet, but they've decided the best way to get evidence is to get her wired and send her back in with Travers. So the police sit down with Ms. X and her husband, Travers uncle and told them, this is the plan. This is what we want you to do. And police had discussed and we're really very hesitant to sit down with this couple because they were worried the husband is not going to agree. It's his nephew and people tend to protect family, right? Right.
01:00:01
Speaker
But Mrs. X and her husband, her husband sat and listened to everything, listened to what his wife had to say, listen to what the cop said. And he looked at his wife and said, you're doing the right thing by helping them. You need to help them. So the police assured her that they were sorry, but there's not a love strong enough. If if if the person you love is doing something that courageous.
01:00:28
Speaker
That's not courageous. No, I'm talking like oh, no, I thought you meant her like she No, don't even claim him. He's no kin of mine. No, I'm changing my last name. Yeah
01:00:46
Speaker
So the police assured her that they would protect her and her family. Nothing would happen. Literally, her name is not known. She is known as Mrs. X to this day.
01:01:00
Speaker
So she gets strapped to the microphone. And I want you to remember, this is 1986. There's not even pagers yet. So this isn't today's little high tech. This is like. Like I hope her boobs were big because we really because it's like a tape recorder and you press the buttons to record type of deal. So she strapped to the microphone and Miss X goes back in to talk to Travers.
01:01:26
Speaker
Travers openly discussed the murder again. He told her, you need to go back to my house and I need you to go into the kitchen and get the knife with a brown wooden handle. Because that's the one I used to kill Anita Coby. I need you to get rid of that. He told her that they burned all of Anita Coby's clothes. You tell me he gets away with this. I'm literally going like when the podcast is off, I'm going to decimate the side of your face. I threatened you last week. All spare.
01:01:57
Speaker
So he said, you know, that night we already took care of most evidence. We burned her clothes in an incinerator in the back garden. We even got rid of all the ashes. But I need you to go in my bedroom and I've got a faded pair of jeans on the floor. Still has her blood on them. Get rid of them. Burn those for me. Then I need you to go talk to the others named all them and tell them to get rid of the damn car.
01:02:24
Speaker
So if that's not enough, he also says I've been thinking about it and prison's not the life for me. So you're a good auntie and you need to help me escape. So this is his plan. Right. So all of this is being recorded. I understand that. But his Miranda rights. Right. There's got to be a way for him to get out of this. Let's just keep going.
01:02:51
Speaker
No, I can see where this is going. I can see your face. So he says, listen, there's this train tracks right outside the prison. So I need you to do is go mess with the tracks, which will cause the train to derail smashing through the prison walls. And I can walk right out and escape like a Fast and the Furious movie. Right. This is my plan.
01:03:12
Speaker
But as he's talking through it, he realizes this is not the best plan, so we're gonna have a second plan. What I want you to do is I want you to go back to my friends, tell them to get rid of the damn car. But I want you to tell two of them to go to the back door of this prison around 3 a.m., get some shotguns, go to the back door of this prison because they tuck me in at night and then I don't see anybody till the morning. So they can bust down that door and I can escape.
01:03:42
Speaker
Of course, Travers, I will do that. That's what she says. Right. All this is a recording. So police now have all this information. And they're going to go a rating again. And they're going to arrest Murdoch and Murphy and question them with this new information, the two they've let out. And they did so. And both men immediately told detectives it was all Travers. They had no part of it. Travers.
01:04:12
Speaker
He did it all, he's crazy, he's a crazy person. Right. So when Detective Rosetta goes in to tell Travers, we got a new charge, you're now being arrested for the murder of Anita Coby. And the words that came out of his mouth is, so who gave us up? Like the guy doesn't, I mean, doesn't think before he speaks.
01:04:36
Speaker
So, um, they get him into the interrogation room and he just starts telling the cops everything from that night, just like it's normal stuff. That night, they, they boosted the car. Um, and they're driving down the road and they see Anita walking by herself. And he and Murdoch were the ones to grab Anita.
01:05:01
Speaker
They get her in the car, they tell her to strip off all her clothes. She refuses, she's begging for her life. She tells them I'm married, I'm on my period, please. They beat her, strip her clothes off anyway. Then they make her, they orally rape her, all five of them. They take turns orally raping her. But then they realize, there's no way I wouldn't.
01:05:29
Speaker
So they realized they need gas, so they push her battered abused body into the floorboard, use her money that they stole from her to buy their gas. He went into graphic details to these police on recording in this interrogation room about everything that they did to her, the different terms, the positions, everything. And then he stated that he killed her after everyone was finished. After we all had our turn and we finished, I killed her.
01:06:00
Speaker
because she saw our faces and she'd recognize us and all his friends were saying, killer, killer, so he did it. So the three men go to the courthouse to have the charges read against them, right? And everybody's there. There's a crowd outside of this courtroom.
01:06:24
Speaker
There are signs, they owe this crowd to the public. They had signs that said hang the bastard. Construction workers were there that had literally hung up dummies by nooses. They were screaming, rocking the car, beating the cars. Everybody there wanted to watch these men burn. And the officials involved said they'd never seen anything like this at all.
01:06:52
Speaker
One of the signs literally read, my tax dollars aren't gonna keep them up. Hang the bastards. Like people were frothing at the mouth and Australia doesn't have the death penalty. They wanted them to die, like they were done. So the court appearance lasted about five minutes and they're taken back to the jail, back through this same angry mob who's screaming for their deaths. Literally signs. You got, you got, you got. I couldn't even imagine.
01:07:22
Speaker
So now the hunt is on for the last two suspects, Michael and Gary Murphy, Les's brothers. Their photos are plastered everywhere. Tips are being called in from everyone. People are invested in getting these dirt bags off the street, right? Absolutely. So police are raiding every location that they're given.
01:07:47
Speaker
Just, they're gonna find it. Every time a tip came in, they're out. Tip comes in, we're out. Until finally, another informant comes forward and says, here's the exact location, both men are at the same house.
01:08:00
Speaker
over 50 officers, including a tactical unit and a fricking helicopter, surround this house. All right. The tactical officer busts through the front door and they're sitting on the couch next to a woman and a baby is Michael Murphy with his brother, Gary, behind him, standing there. And it's gotta be one thing like they busted and they're all just, this is like a stare off, like one of those pregnant pauses, right?
01:08:25
Speaker
Deer in the headlights, bro. Gary immediately skeets. He's out. He takes off through the back door. Michael, his brother's a little bit slower, jumps up off the couch. The tips escape. But Detective Kennedy's there and says, not today, boy. And he takes him to the ground, holds a shotgun to his face, and says, get down and stay down. Shotgun to the face. We like Detective Kennedy. We like him.
01:08:54
Speaker
No, no, I like I like Gary made it to the backyard and is running when he is tackled Through a fence with his head going through the fence getting all scratched up Which I feel is karma from the barbed wire that they drug her through right?
01:09:11
Speaker
And side note, I will post a picture of this. This is that picture I told you would make you have a better day. There's a photo of Gary being brought in in handcuffs with the urine stain going down his pants. No way. Because he peed himself. No. Oh, yeah. Thank you. So, mwah, chef's kiss. He's so afraid he pees himself. He goes through. He's tackled through a fence. Rhett bastard. And but they get him and
01:09:37
Speaker
their statements and reports from the police stating that they were glad he peed himself so that the other inmates would see what kind of person he is and know what to do with them. Again, shout out to Australia's police officers and this unit, they are amazing. Anyway, both men are placed in separate cop cars and brought to the station for questioning, obviously. Michael Murphy starts talking as soon as the police shut the door in the cop car, like you read the rights, put you in the cop car,
01:10:06
Speaker
It's not a lawyer, he's per- No, Gary's the pisser. Michael's like, listen, I was at the murder, I was there, but I never touched her, I didn't do anything, it was all the others. And with all five men, they all basically stated the same thing. They were there, they raped her. No, we raped her, we're there, we raped her.
01:10:31
Speaker
But we didn't want her dead. We just wanted to have some fun with her. Wow. We raped her. We just wanted to have some fun. Yeah. Basically, their statement is we raped her. We took her to this field and we were going to leave her there. And we're all walking back to the car. Just, you know, have a good day, ma'am. Thanks for your service type of deal. When Trevor's hung back and against all their wishes went crazy and killed. Right. Right. Yeah.
01:10:59
Speaker
But Travers maintained the entire time that they were there and they were cheering him on, even stating that they were saying, do your thing, Tronnie, do your thing. Wow. Yeah.
01:11:11
Speaker
So there was one thing that was consistent throughout the entire process with all five men. They're all a bunch of absolute twisted, sick, effing, crap eggs, scum between my toes. True. All true. But not a single one of them showed any sorrow, guilt or remorse. None of them gave a crap. What a shocker.
01:11:35
Speaker
Yeah, Gary P boy later added to his story that he heard his brother Michael telling Travers do your thing. Literally, they're just turning on each other trying to get the blame off that someone wants a deal. Yeah, I'm gonna tell you whatever you want. Give me a deal.
01:11:51
Speaker
All five were charged with abducting, assaulting, murdering, raping, and robbing Anita. Travers was additionally charged with two counts of assault from different women from January 8th, 1986. So those two assaults that happened were just the month before, like not even full 30 days. So that could have been why he was still out. The trial started on March 24th, 1987, and lasted 54 days. Travers immediately pled guilty, just, I did it, I'm out.
01:12:21
Speaker
So he's not even at the trial, which the other four are pissed about. But we don't see Travers again, he's not in anything until the sentencing, like he's out. I'm guilty, I did it, I told you everything. I mean, no guilt, no shame, just it happened. That's so messed up. Gary Murphy, bladder boy, his lawyer requested a separate trial from the others and he stated it's, Gary changed the story
01:12:48
Speaker
He said that he'd been out hanging out with all the guys later that night. He was there when they stole a car, but he left. He never saw Anita. He wasn't there. And he gave an unsworn statement so he couldn't be cross-examined. And the lawyer argued that the only reason he gave the statement that he did saying that he was there was under duress from the pressure of the police officers because he had a fractured jaw in two places, don't you know, because of that tackle through the fence? Hell yeah.
01:13:18
Speaker
But it was under duress. The cops beat him. I hope it didn't hurt, buddy. So her dad, Anita's dad, testified at the trial as he was the one that had to identify their body. And honestly, everyone in the official capacity was really worried about this because her dad told Detective Kennedy, wouldn't take me a second to snap a neck.
01:13:41
Speaker
Yep, so he's staring at four of these four of these guys and they're legitimate one It reminded me of the it reminds me of criminal minds. You got two legs. I got one question That's what her dad won't take me but a second to snap a neck because remember he was a he was he was in the army do it and he was a design guy but
01:14:01
Speaker
So when Detective Kennedy takes the stand, they ask how Michael Murphy received the mark on his cheek after his arrest. There was a mark on his cheek. And Detective Kennedy's response is probably when I had my boot on his head as he lay on the floor.
01:14:17
Speaker
Again, I'll show you. I love your comps. The freaking jam, bro. That's the guy that he had his boot on the floor and said, get down, stay down, shotgun to his face, boot on his face. Well, how did- Well, it would have been better if him had been like, what, Mark? Yeah. I just loved it. Well, how did he get that, Mark? Why would I put my boot on his face? I'll have mafia style. Right? What, Mark?
01:14:39
Speaker
So the defense, right, the defense tried to set up like a police brutality type of situation, but they failed mainly because excessive force was authorized to bring these men to justice by any means. Get them off the street, right?
01:14:58
Speaker
So the detectives, the officials, everyone involved in this were so careful throughout the entire investigation and trial to make sure there would be absolutely no claim of police brutality. Nothing else could be used to get these guys off on a technicality, nothing. They were overly cautious. They did everything by the book. They legit dotted every I, crossed every T. It was not gonna be their fault that these guys were out in public, right? Right.
01:15:27
Speaker
So on June 16, 1987, all five men were found guilty of sexual assault and murder, each being sentenced by the Supreme Court in New South Wales to a life in prison, plus additional time without the possibility of parole.
01:15:44
Speaker
That's a huge thing in Australia, because it's always with parole. They believe in rehabilitation. Australia said, there is no rehabilitation. You're done. No. This is so twisted and morbid. You suck. We don't like you. And if we could kill you, we would. So this is the sentence we're going to give you. And you know, besides Detective Kennedy, I love a snarky judge.
01:16:10
Speaker
So Justice Alan Maxwell stated this, that this crime was one of the most horrifyingly brutal physical and sexual assaults. This was a calculated killing done in cold blood. The executives should grant the prisoners the same degree of mercy that they bestowed upon Anita Lorraine Cobby at Mr. Rean's paddock that night.
01:16:38
Speaker
Damn. Yeah. Basically, hang them, hang them high. Yeah. So at this point, they all went to jail. They did. They got John Travers is serving time to this day at Wellington Correctional Center, which is a maximum security prison. He started there. He got transferred to Goldberg Correctional Center in about 1992.
01:17:03
Speaker
In 1996 he got a little frisky decided prison wasn't for him again And he and another inmate attempted to escape by hacksawing and kicking through a back door He really likes those back doors, but was noticed
01:17:17
Speaker
re-arrested, recharged. He was often kept in protective like custody, like kind of like an isolation deal, I believe, at Gullburn doing to multiple bloody fights with other inmates. He threatened multiple staff members and eventually Gullburn said, we're done back to Wellington at max security, you go. And that is where, again, he still is today. Wow. Les Murphy is serving also at Gullburn Correctional Facility.
01:17:45
Speaker
He was actually granted a retrial because his IQ was so low that it was borderline on a mental... Handicap. Yeah, thank you. I couldn't think of a PC word to say there. So he was resentenced to life in prison. They just took away the without parole, but he's never been able to go up for parole. So basically they said, sure, fine, life in prison, you get parole.
Prisoner Updates
01:18:12
Speaker
We'll tell you when that comes up.
01:18:14
Speaker
So he's still not ever. Michael Murdoch also was sent to Goldberg and was.
01:18:24
Speaker
He was the best prisoner ever. He got reclassified as a medium security prisoner. They're real big on high security media like that. He was reclassified as a medium security prisoner and the public went banana sandwiches. In 2002, they had to move him to Lithglow Correctional Center, which was, again, a maximum.
01:18:48
Speaker
They went crazy, so much so they said, fine, back to Mac security you go, we give. They signed their petition. Gary Murphy, P-Boy, was bounced around to multiple prisons until 2019 when he was severely beaten by several prisoners in a shower block of Ten Wing in Long Bay.
01:19:12
Speaker
He was beaten so bad, he had to be transferred to the hospital in critical condition, wasn't able to sit down for a while.
01:19:21
Speaker
They didn't say what happened to him, but I hope it was just. I know exactly what happened. Something was inserted someplace. He did not want it. Yes. On August 23rd, 2020, it was revealed he was sitting back to prison, so he's still there as well. Michael Murphy was bounced around from prison to prison, but again, he literally was.
01:19:45
Speaker
model, never caused any trouble, kept to himself like quiet, reserved. He died in September 2018 in prison from liver cancer. So John Cobbby, what happened to him?
01:20:00
Speaker
As stated earlier, after Anita's murder, his life just fell apart, heavily into drugs and alcohol, bad. The struggle bus hit him and drug him. He did not go to the trial. And right before the trial started, his parents went to court and basically said, can we send him anywhere else? He cannot be here for this. He cannot hear it. He cannot. He has to be. He's going to deteriorate. He can't.
01:20:30
Speaker
And the court agreed and granted permission for him to leave. So he actually moved to Michigan in the US to stay with friends, then moved to San Francisco where his substance abuse got so bad. He woke up one day with a broken foot and couldn't, nothing. Didn't know how it happened, where it happened, just foot's broken.
01:20:50
Speaker
He moved back to Sydney, eventually, changed his last name to Francis, and started his life over completely. He was a new person. He was no longer John Cobbie. He was John Francis. Went to work, got married, whole nine. In 2016, he's sitting on the couch with his son. And a news article comes on because it was the 30th anniversary of Anita's death. And John just starts sobbing. And his kids like,
01:21:19
Speaker
What, what, what? And he looked at his son and said, that was my wife, I was John Cobbie. Literally, they had no idea. He couldn't talk about it. He mourned Anita's death, he still mourned her death. For the longest time, he didn't know any details besides what was read on that radio.
01:21:42
Speaker
He didn't know the names of the men. I mean, he stayed in a drug coma basically until it was done and then moved back and never looked into it. And then when he started working again, he started working as a psych nurse in the prison system and his sister swears he did that to find those men and kill them himself.
01:22:03
Speaker
And I say, Huzzah to you, I wish you had been able to. Hell yeah. At least one of them, dude. Right? Um, uh, Travers, cause he, they're all horrible.
Memorials and Reflections
01:22:16
Speaker
Anita's dad died in 2008. Um, just poor health. He lived with Alzheimer's and fortunately Alzheimer's a curse. You can't remember anything, but for this man, after knowing what happened to his daughter and seeing it, I have to
01:22:29
Speaker
Not being able to remember those details, that was a small mercy, the last part of his life. And I hate to say because Alzheimer's horrible, but her mother died in 2013 at the age of 88 from lung cancer. However, they did the damn thing in honoring Anita. They set up a nursing scholarship in her name.
01:22:49
Speaker
They joined forces with another couple whose daughter had also been the victim of a brutal murdering. And they set up this charity called the Homicide Victim Support Group, which was a community support group to help families deal with horrendous crimes to their family, like how to deal with the aftermath.
01:23:11
Speaker
just walk beside and walk with like, they set this huge thing up so people could get help and they didn't have to do it alone like they did. There is a park on Sullivan Street in Blacktown where her family was from. And it is named Anita Cobby Reserve in her memory. It's got a beautiful mural in her name, but yeah. So that is the awful, horrible story.
01:23:42
Speaker
I really wish that some of our stories ended with. Happily ever after his head off. Yeah, yeah, that that would be my happily ever after. No, I know that's kind of morbid. I love that her dad looked at Detective King. He said, I don't need but a minute snap a neck. Yeah. Yeah. Like literally when he was brought into the courtroom, everybody's like like nobody knew what was going to happen. Just get there.
01:24:04
Speaker
Yeah, I can take out one of them. Yeah, just let me hear. I feel like that's me. And I don't. Like 110%. And you know what? If I could just get there. And I bet if he did, no one would see a thing. Yeah. You know, like that town in Missouri where that one guy was like shot up and it was horrible and the whole town was like, we don't know who did it. Yep. Nope. Not a clue. Yep. I could at least take out an eye, right?
01:24:28
Speaker
Oh, he didn't want an eye. He wanted a life. Wow. You know, on the one hand of a story, dude, I think these douche canoes living out. 30 plus years in prison because you know. They didn't farewell. I hope I hope that's the truth. I don't I don't think that one was in custody because he's always getting in fights and getting like crap beat out of one.
01:24:52
Speaker
The only one that did was the young kid that only had the petty thefts. And he literally like kept to himself and just kept quiet. Like he they said that like any type of schooling or university like he still didn't learn. He still did it. Oh, no, he's still there. Yeah.
Conclusion and Teaser
01:25:07
Speaker
So my heart breaks for poor John. I mean, just yeah, I know. Oh. The whole thing is too much. There's a lot. And I left out the worser part. That's good. Of what they did to her. I don't know. Because what I told you is bad enough. There was no need. Yeah. Do you see what I mean? It's like a it's like a great rom com and a horror movie all jumbled together in my gym because I mean, it's it's things like you'd seen a movie.
01:25:33
Speaker
Like it is awful and Detective Kennedy, if you are still around and anyone who ever hears this knows Detective Ian Kennedy, just shake his hand for me. Probably when I put my boot on his face, like no shame in his game, it was me.
01:25:53
Speaker
So anyway, thank you for tuning in. Yep. That was a long one. Sorry. As you know, it's all right. Faith goes over. Yep. Well, that's not as long. It's only an hour and a half. That's pretty good for me. That is pretty good for you. Yeah. I have got one on deck. That is a serial killer that I've never heard of. Okay. And wowza will we need.
01:26:16
Speaker
mental health days afterwards. All right. Well, I don't look forward to that at all. No, it's the worst. But y'all have a great night to come. All right. Talk to you next week. Bye.