Australian Story: Apr 4

Australian Story on Monday screens part 2 of “Trials & Tribulations”, around WA’s Scott Austic who served over 12 years for a murder he was later cleared over.

Introduced by filmmaker Michael Muntz.

Please note: this film contains images of an Indigenous person who has died.

West Australian man Scott Austic served more than twelve and a half years in prison for the murder of his pregnant girlfriend before a second jury found him not guilty in just over two hours.

“When the jury returned their verdict it was hard to explain into words,” says Austic. “I could feel tears running down my face, just waiting for that, those two words of not guilty.”

It was the end of a protracted nightmare which began when police knocked on his door early one morning after Austic’s girlfriend Stacey Thorne had been found dead on a neighbour’s front lawn.

For investigating detectives, there were signs of a seemingly clear motive: Ms Thorne was pregnant with Austic’s child and he didn’t want her to have the baby.

But Scott Austic’s mother Robyn wasn’t prepared to let it go and after his conviction she convinced Perth criminal lawyer and forensic scientist Dr Clint Hampson to take a look at the case.

What he discovered was astonishing: clear signs of tampering with the key evidence that helped send her son to jail.

“I was extremely shocked,” says Dr Hampson. “And that immediately put me on alert as to what else might have been going on in this particular case.”

Neither of the families derailed by Stacey’s death have had any closure. In desperation the Thorne family have hired a private investigator to sift for new leads.

“We just can’t understand how it got to this stage,” says Stacey’s sister Brenda. “There’s people out there know what happened. We just want them to come forward.”

Meanwhile, Scott Austic is still waiting for an apology and compensation from the West Australian government.

Producer: Janine Cohen

8pm Monday on ABC.