🔗 Share this article

An politician from NSW has employed parliamentary privilege to reveal the name of a man previously charged in relation to the alleged kidnapping and killing of British toddler Cheryl Grimmer 55 years ago.

Disappearance at Coastal Area

Grimmer disappeared from near a bathhouse while with her parent and siblings at the seaside in the Illawarra region of NSW on 12 January 1970.

Court Case and Alias

The man, known under the alias “Mercury,” faced a trial in two thousand eighteen after entering not guilty. Yet, the proceedings ended when a judge ruled that a 1971 interrogation where he confessed to the crime was not admissible.

The accused made the alleged confession, which was the cornerstone of the prosecution's case, when he was 17 years old and still a minor under NSW law, and less than 18 months after Grimmer vanished.

Parliamentary Disclosure

On the day, Jeremy Buckingham disclosed the name of Mercury while shielded under legislative immunity.

Guardian Australia is choosing not to identify the individual. The suspect could not legally be named during the trial because he was aged 15 at the time of the reported offending.

Legislative Interruption

Before the MP disclosing the identity, the speaker of the upper house of New South Wales, Ben Franklin, interrupted him. He inquired if the member was about to reveal the name, which is presently required to be suppressed by legal order.

The president said: “May I just point out before you proceed under immunity, a member is shielded from the repercussions which would otherwise result from violating a court order of this nature, which could otherwise amount to a legal offense.”

“However, all members have the responsibility to use their privilege responsibly, and this house can take measures against representatives who are judged by the assembly to have abused privilege. The comity between the parliament and the judiciary should not be treated lightly, and I urge the member to consider these issues carefully before continuing.”

Relatives Demand

The revelation of the suspect's identity has come after Grimmer’s relatives gave an unprecedented demand to the individual last week – consent to meet with them by midnight Wednesday or Buckingham would reveal his name in parliament.

They also presented a file which holds the confession the suspect made when he was seventeen, according to the legislator.

Case Reopened

Police reopened the case after a 2011 inquest finding ruled that Grimmer was deceased and advised that authorities re-examine.

The suspect was arrested in March 2018, and was then in his 60s. He was freed a year after the interview was ruled unacceptable.

Without it, the NSW prosecuting authority found there was insufficient evidence for the case to proceed.

Admission Particulars

During the trial, the tribunal heard that during an questioning with officers in the early 1970s, Mercury had admitted to murdering Grimmer, telling police he had intended to have “sexual intercourse” with the girl before allegedly killing her.

Judicial Ruling

But the judge ruled the interrogation could not be used as proof in the trial.

In his ruling in the NSW supreme court, the justice said the interview was inadmissible because of the way in which it was carried out and the particular susceptibility of the accused at the time.

“No parent, grown-up or lawyer was present at any stage of the police interview,” the justice said.

He heard evidence from mental health experts who concurred that the teenager had a below average intelligence, was undeveloped and more vulnerable than the typical teenager.

Background of the Accused

The court heard the accused had a strained relationship with his family, a history of fleeing from his residence, moving countries, limited intelligence and limited schooling.

The prosecution argued that at the time of the questioning, there were no mandatory requirements or standards for an adult support person to be there when questioning juveniles.

The additional evidence before the judge was composed of records from the time and reports from 1970-71, derived from his involvement with the youth legal system.