PD Martin's Blog

April 27, 2010

Justice for Elisabeth Membrey?

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , , — PD Martin @ 9:41 am

I haven’t blogged for a while, but I felt compelled to send out something this week. As a crime writer I write whodunits…and not knowing whodunit in real-life cases is the worst imaginable outcome. As most of the Aussies would have heard, after fifteen years someone has finally been arrested and charged with the murder of Elisabeth Membrey.

The news of the arrest is important to me for many reasons. First off, one of the personality traits I share with my leading lady, Sophie, is a sense of justice – the need for justice. A young woman was murdered, and there were no answers. While many people were questioned and I’m sure suspected, no one was charged. The case was unsolved…a mystery.

And like most people who’ve followed the case and seen Elisabeth’s parents as they’ve waited and waited for their daughter’s killer to be brought to justice, I feel relief for them. I can’t imagine what the past fifteen years have been like for them, knowing their daughter’s killer was out there, unknown and unpunished. And worse still, her body has never been found.

I also have a personal interest in this case. Elisabeth disappeared in 1994 – however blood in her unit and her car indicated murder. I remember my mum calling and saying: “You remember that girl you used to dance with? Elisabeth Membrey? Well she’s been murdered.” And while I won’t pretend Elisabeth and I were close, we took dance classes together for about five years and while we never socialized outside the classes, we got along well and used to chat about all things dance. During these limited insights into Elisabeth, I was struck by what a quiet and gentle person she was. And somehow that made the news of her murder all the more shocking.

 The accused claims innocence – and while most convicted criminals cry “I’m innocent”, some really are. Hopefully in this case the police have arrested the man who brought Elisabeth’s life to a screaming halt with such violence. Time, and the trial, will tell. I’m sure after all these years the police must have a strong case against the accused because the spotlight is certainly on the murder of Elisabeth Membrey once more.

Comments (4)