SENSITIVE documents relating to West Gate victim Darcey Freeman and her father have been stolen from a judge's car in the city.
The documents were taken from a car belonging to Family Court Chief Justice Diana Bryant.
The theft, on Thursday night, occurred only hours before Darcey was buried at a private funeral yesterday.
Darcey, 4, was allegedly thrown from the West Gate Bridge by her father Arthur on January 29, which was to have been her first day at school.
The Herald Sun believes the theft of the briefcase, which contained several files, did not involve forced entry.
The car may have been left open in Little Collins St, about 40m west of Spring St.
Police have been told the theft occurred between 7pm and midnight, but have not found security footage to identify the culprit.
A search of nearby lanes did not find the briefcase and police have made an urgent appeal for witnesses.
It is not known whether the thief knew of the contents of the briefcase.
The documents include transcripts of the Freemans' case.
It is not known if the material contains psychological reports.
In a statement released on Thursday, Darcey's relatives said the justice system had ignored their fears about her safety and had failed to prevent her death. Chief Justice Bryant confirmed a Family Court judge's car had been broken into and personal items, including a briefcase, stolen.
"There were no court files, but the papers included a transcript," she said.
Earlier, Chief Justice Bryant revealed she had reviewed all relevant reports relating to the Darcey Freeman case.
She was to hand over all available documents to the federal Attorney-General next week, after he called for a review of the Freeman matter.
"We'll co-operate in whatever way in making available to him all of the material and events that occurred," she said on ABC radio.
But she said the judicial system was not told of concerns that Darcey was at risk.
Federal Attorney-General Robert McClelland has asked his department to review the family's case.
"(This area of the law) is an extremely difficult area, and if there is anything we can learn from this tragedy to improve how the system is run, we will not hesitate to take the necessary action," Mr McClelland said in a statement.
Victorian Premier John Brumby welcomed the review.
"Anybody who has family or friends who dealt with (this area of the law), you know the system isn't perfect," he said.
"I think it's very timely to review this case and to see the way in which it was managed.
"It's a federal responsibility and I think the sooner that review's undertaken, the better."
- Anthony Dowsley and Natalie Tkaczuk Sikora
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2 comments:
you have to be shitting me..
Yes its all too convenient isn't it?
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