The murder of Ebony Jane Simpson occurred on 19 August 1992 in , New South Wales, Australia. Aged nine years, Simpson was abducted, raped, and

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...

ed by asphyxiation when Andrew Peter Garforth (born 5 August 1963) drowned her. Garforth pleaded guilty to the crimes and was sentenced to

life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes for ...

without the possibility of parole.

Abduction and murder

On 19 August 1992, Simpson disembarked from her school bus. Her mother, who usually met her at the bus stop, was busy that day and had arranged for Simpson's older brother to meet her and accompany her home, after his bus reached the bus stop. Unfortunately his bus arrived later than usual and Simpson was not there. Simpson, not seeing her brother at the bus stop, decided to start walking home as it was only a short distance away. Simpson thought that she would meet her brother at home. Police immediately suspected that Simpson had been kidnapped rather than running away. Suspicion fell on a man who was seen working on his car near where Simpson had gotten off the bus. Over a hundred people began searching the area for Simpson, including police, firemen, State Emergency Service members, and volunteers. Two days later, on 21 August, police found Simpson's body in a dam at a wildlife sanctuary near her home. Her hands and feet were still bound. Later that day, 29 year old Andrew Peter Garforth was arrested and confessed to the murder. With her house in sight, Garforth had grabbed Simpson, thrown her in the

boot A boot is a type of footwear. Most boots mainly cover the foot and the ankle, while some also cover some part of the lower calf. Some boots extend up the leg, sometimes as far as the knee or even the hip. Most boots have a heel that is cle ...

of his car and driven off to a remote dam. Once there, he bound her with wire, raped her, weighted her schoolbag and threw her into the dam's reservoir, where she drowned. According to police, Garforth had participated in the search for Simpson on the day her body was found.

Arrest

Garforth confessed to the crime after police detained him, showing no remorse for his actions during the confession and court sessions. He pleaded guilty to the murder of Simpson and was sentenced in 1993 to life imprisonment. Justice Peter Newman refused to fix a non-parole period and ordered that Garforth's papers be marked "never to be released". Garforth

appeal In law, an appeal is the process in which cases are reviewed by a higher authority, where parties request a formal change to an official decision. Appeals function both as a process for error correction as well as a process of clarifying and ...

ed to the

High Court of Australia The High Court of Australia is Australia's apex court. It exercises Original jurisdiction, original and appellate jurisdiction on matters specified within Constitution of Australia, Australia's Constitution. The High Court was established fol ...

, but he was refused special leave. It is one of two similar cases which were refused special leave. In discussing the meaning of "life imprisonment" when Garforth appealed his sentence the Judges said, "the community interest in retribution, deterrence, protection of children and the community in such situations may so strongly outweigh any regard for rehabilitation that a life sentence becomes the only option." In 1995, Garforth lodged several claims for victims' compensation via his lawyers, relating to alleged assaults which occurred in prison. The claims were later withdrawn after public outrage. Garforth's prisoner status was downgraded upon the recommendation of the Serious Offenders Review Council in 2015, giving him access to prison employment and rehabilitation courses. The council's decision was immediately reversed by Minister for Corrections David Elliott.

Aftermath

Simpson's parents, Christine and Peter Simpson, joined forces with Grace and Garry Lynch, the parents of New South Wales 1986 murder victim Anita Cobby, to create the Homicide Victims Support Group. The group provides support to the families of murder victims and lobbies for victims' rights. Following the 1988 state election, the NSW Government introduced legislation in 1989 and 1990 broadly aimed at truth in sentencing. Garforth's case was often cited as a test case for the application of the principle of life sentencing and security classification.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Simpson, Ebony 1990s in New South Wales 1990s missing person cases 1992 murders in Australia Deaths from asphyxiation Female murder victims Formerly missing people Missing person cases in Australia Murdered Australian children Murder in New South Wales People murdered in New South Wales Rape in Australia Incidents of violence against girls

Abduction and murder

Arrest

Aftermath

See also

References

Further reading

External links