Murder of Margaret Gall
On 25 March 2002, a 50-year-old grandmother, Margaret Gall, was found dead in the lounge room of her home in Raymond Terrace, a town in the Hunter Region in the Australian state of New South Wales.
The crime remains unsolved, and the New South Wales Government is offering a reward of $100,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible.[1]
Investigation[edit]
Strike Force Varberg was formed to investigate the murder. It included detectives from the homicide squad and the Port Stephens Local Area Command.[2]
In 2011, Anne Maree Wotherspoon, a 27-year-old woman from Hamilton South, was arrested in Newcastle CBD. She was subsequently charged with murder and then refused bail. Eventually three other people were arrested and charged for their alleged involvement. However, in April 2012, prosecutors dropped charges against all three of the accused.[3]
In late 2013, the Supreme Court of New South Wales ruled that the confession of Wotherspoon was unreliable. Wotherspoon had told police that she and three others had stormed Gall's home seeking drugs and money. However, she made a number of errors in her confession including what weapon was used and the time of the murder. Justice Megan Latham found that Wotherspoon had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and drug-induced psychosis, causing delusions and hallucinations. Wotherspoon, an intravenous drug user, was recorded telling one of her boyfriends that she was going to confess with the intention of being imprisoned and being placed on a methadone program.[4]
References[edit]
- ↑ "Murder of Margaret Gall - NSW Police Online". police.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 2017-07-12.
- ↑ "Woman, 27, charged with 2002 murder of Margaret Gall after $100,00 reward; The Daily Telegraph". dailytelegraph.com.au. Retrieved 2018-09-10.
- ↑ "Charges dropped and free from jail | The Maitland Mercury". maitlandmercury.com.au. Retrieved 2017-07-12.
- ↑ "Errors in confession in Gall murder case | Newcastle Herald". theherald.com.au. Retrieved 2017-07-12.
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