The name Anita Cobby means something to every Australian. A beauty queen, a nurse, a beloved daughter and wife – a young woman whose life was brutally and senselessly taken.
The horrific rape and murder of Anita sent shockwaves through the nation. Under immense pressure from the community, police launched a targeted and efficient investigation to bring the killers to justice.
Here’s how they did it.
How the police caught Anita’s Killers
Anita’s body was found in a field in Blacktown on February 4th, 1986. A $50,000 reward for information was posted, as police began a recreation of the events leading up to Anita’s abduction.
Then-constable Deb Wallace dressed in similar clothing to Anita in the hopes of jogging locals’ memories, catching the same train to Blacktown Station from where Anita took her last steps.
The Crime Insiders podcast spoke with Deb about her formidable career with NSW police:
Meanwhile, Chief Inspector Gary Raymond ‘turned the streets over’ looking for information. On the night of the murder, three witnesses saw Anita dragged into a stolen white Holden. They called the police at the time, but the killers had evaded detection.
Raymond received a tip-off that the car was stolen by a gang of five young men, and the search began. John Travers, Michael Murdoch, and brothers Les, Michael, and Gary Murphy all had histories of petty crime and violence.
A neighbour of Travers’ also told police she smelled burning in his backyard, where the killers drank beers around a fire where they had disposed of Anita’s clothing.
The five men were arrested on 21 February. While in custody, Travers called an unidentified woman asking for cigarettes, and police decided to leverage her connection with him.
The woman, labelled Miss X, wore a wire while speaking with Travers in prison, eventually recording him admitting to Anita’s murder.
The trial
Despite all the men participating in the assault, the other four tried to escape a murder conviction. Their argument that Travers killed Anita unprompted and alone was undermined by the legal doctrine of common purpose.
Even if the other men didn’t physically commit the crime, they knew what Travers was doing, and thus were all responsible for her death.
All five were found guilty on all charges and each sentenced to life in prison without parole. Michael Murphy died in prison aged 66.
Anita Cobby’s memory lives on as more than just a cautionary tale. Both her parent’s commitment to justice is remembered in the community support group they founded for families dealing with violent crimes, and a park in Blacktown is dedicated to Anita’s memory.
Learn more about the impact of Anita’s case on this episode of Morbid
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