"It was a very savage, brutal murder. She had been bashed repeatedly and without mercy." - Graeme Crowley, former detective
"A lot of people say to me, why do you work on this? You know he's a child killer. And then I get my sanity back and think, he didn't do it. The real killer is out there now." - Paul Wilson, criminologist
"I would find what turned out to be significant problems with virtually every piece of evidence that the crown presented at the trial." - Graeme Crowley, former detective
"It was just horrendous to sit there and watch your brother go to jail. His life's taken away from him and he's taken away from us." - Stacey Stafford, sister
"I'm very close to being able to prove who killed Leanne." - Graeme Crowley, former detective
In 1992 Graham Stafford was convicted of the brutal murder of a Brisbane schoolgirl.
Stafford was the last person to see 12-year-old Leanne Holland alive and police were quick to charge him with the schoolgirl's murder.
Despite the compelling body of evidence presented against him during the trial, a broad-based group of professionals, who had never met Stafford, joined forces to clear his name.
The group - which includes a former detective, journalist, criminologist and the original jury foreman - believes that much of the evidence used to convict Graham Stafford was seriously flawed.
Former detective-turned-private investigator Graeme Crowley has spent the past 15 years unravelling the Crown's evidence. Whilst initially employed by the Stafford family, Graeme Crowley has continued to pursue the case doggedly at his own expense.
In this episode of Australian Story - the first of two parts - Graeme Crowley reveals the results of his research. |
