Me, a letterbox, and murder
Harden Murrumburrah: Aboriginal heritage | Allsopp & Barnes Families | Cinema / Picture Theatres | Council Chambers | Fossil animals | Flying into Harden 1914 | Historic Buildings | Hotels, Pubs & Inns | McMahon's Reef Goldfield | Murder! | Platypus | Postal Services | Sheep |
Contents
- Prologue 2025
- Sex 1986
- Murder #1 1993
- Murder #2 2002
- Harden town 2009
- Inquest 2011
- Trial 2024
- Chronology
- Epilogue
- Disclaimer
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1. Prologue 2025
6 pm, Monday, 13 January 2025. I step out of the kitchen after cleaning up from dinner - spaghetti bolonaise and organic penne - and walk into the front room. As I look out the window I see two ambulances parked outside, and a white four wheel drive next to them.
"WTF!" I think to myself.
It has been hot for the last couple of days - 30-32°C - and the house is all closed up, so I do not hear any sirens or commotion from the back room. The thought that they could have been there for half a hour or more races through my head.
I quickly pick up my t-shirt and walk out the front door. Looking down I see a young boy, about 14, laying on the edge of the footpath, near the letterbox. He is wearing a bike helmet and has a large, dark green whistle in his mouth given him by one of the ambulance officers, or ambos as we call them. His left leg is wrapped on three sides up to his thigh in a white cardboard casket, with bandages on the top. Next to him are two female ambos, and a male ambo standing behind.
The boy is lying half on the path and half on the grassy area between him and the road - a major country road with trucks regularly flying by. Next to him lying on the grass is an e-scooter with its front handle section collapsed. To the far left is an old man, slumped, with a serious look on his face. He does not utter a word. Standing next to my letterbox is an elderly woman. I am 68; they are probably around the same age.
I put my shirt on and look down at the boy. I smile. He smiles back and says to the ambos, whilst pointing in my direction, "Look, he's putting his shirt on!"
The ambos have two thick green plastic boards in hand and are about to maneuver the young boy on to them, and then on to a trolley so they can wheel him into the back of one of the ambulances. As they attempt to place the green boards underneath him, the boy screams out in pain.
"Blow into the whistle," says one of the ambos.
"I'll give him some more morphine," says another.
They successfully place the green boards under the boy, lift him on to the yellow trolley, and then wheel him over to the rear of the ambulance.
Whilst this is all happening I walk over to the elderly woman standing by the letterbox and ask, "Are you his grandmother?"
"No, his stepmother, and that's his father," she answers, pointing to the stooped man standing silently by the boy and ambos.
"What happened?" I ask.
"He came off his scooter."
"Were you with him at the time?"
"No. There were some people behind him who saw it happened, and the man next door helped."
The e-scooter was a large one, commonly used by adults, and able to achieve relatively high speeds. They are not as stable as e-bikes. The immediate thought that comes to mind is that the kid is too young for it.
I ask one of the ambos, "How bad is it?"
"It looks like he hit the verge, and put his leg out as he came off. We won't know the full extent of the injury until we get him to the hospital," she answered.
With that, I stand back and watch, silently, as the boy is placed in the ambulance. One of the ambos asks the man if he wants to ride inside with his son. He shakes his head, implying yes, and moves towards the rear.
I notice that throughout the time I am there the elderly couple do not approach the boy, hold his hand or in any way appear to console him with words. They seem detached, emotionally, especially the woman, though the man does look concerned.
Within a couple of minutes it is all over. The woman gets into the four wheel drive and leaves for what I assume will be the hospital. The ambos and boy disappear into the ambulances. I walk inside, but come outside again a minute or so later to take a photo of the two ambulances, then head off back inside to basically forget about the incident and get on with the rest of the evening.
11am, Thursday, 16 January 2025. I am walking back down Albury Street after having done some shopping at Harden IGA. The previous afternoon, between about 2 and 3 pm, a mini tornado had ripped through town, bringing down trees and power lines. It began out west, around Wagga Wagga and Cowra, and continued its rampage all the way east to the coast at Wollongong and Sydney.
As I approach an intersection I see a friend working on a house. Next to the house a massive tree has been blown over by the winds the previous day. I walk up and chat.
"Massive tree, eh?" I say, pointing to the fallen mass of roots and stump a metre or two away.
He turns, and asks me, "What happened with the Geeves' the other day?"
"Who?" I respond with a frown, not knowing who he is referring to.
"You know - the murder couple?" he continues, as he pulls bits and pieces of material from the back of his truck.
"What? What murder?" I ask, completely oblivious to any murder connected with Harden-Murrumburrah, having only been a resident for two and a half years.
"They were charged with murdering that young girl and taking her baby."
Just then another woman rocks up and starts asking him some questions about his work.
I walk away back down the street towards home. Not being a fan of murder, I am unaware of the reference he made.
4 pm, Friday, 17 January 2025. I am sitting down with my daughter and her mother looking at some photographs I had taken of the massive storms we had had that week, including lightning and fallen trees. As the conversation wandered, and they started talking about other things, I thought to connect two interesting images I had taken (one is illustrated above) with the following words:
"Hey, here are two photos I took this week, and they are linked by MURDER!"
This immediately got their attention.
"What do you mean?" they both asked.
"Apparently the couple at the scooter accident had been accused of murder. But I don't know anything about that," I replied
"I do!" responded my daughter's mum. "I followed the case on the ABC."
With that, I was given a broad outline of the sad case of the apparent murder, or mysterious disappearance, of 19 year old Amber Haigh, and the involvement of Robert and Anne Geeves of Harden - the very same couple who stood outside my house the previous Monday. They had been acquitted of her murder in September 2024, so the story was still fresh in the public's mind. However it wasn't in mine.
What is the Geeves murder case? The following is a summary account, outlining a somewhat dark past for some Harden residents.
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2. Sex 1986
The first criminal case to bring Robert Geeves to the attention of the public related to sexual intercourse with a minor. Two 13 year old girls - Erica and Catherine - were involved, with the former accusing 26 year old Geeves of abduction, physical abuse, being kept in a silo, and multiple sexual assaults. Geeves was eventually acquitted by a jury, though also found guilty of hindering police in their investigations. He served 100 hours of community service. The following summary account of the trial is taken from the Cootamundra Herald of 15 May 1987:
Harden man acquitted on four sex charges
Robert Samuel Geeves of Harden was yesterday acquitted of four counts of sexual intercourse with a 13 year old Sydney girl in 1986. The jury handed down the not guilty verdicts in the Cootamundra District Court after a two day trial. Geeves, of Wombat Road, Harden, was alleged to have committed the offences at his home while harbouring two runaways in August and September last year. The young complainant, aged 13, was hiding from police at the time with a friend named Catherine. She alleged this week that Geeves had sexual intercourse with her on four occasions during their stay. Judge Shillington suppressed the alleged victim's name but declined to make a similar order for the accused.
The Crown alleged that Geeves committed the acts between August 19 and September 30, 1986. He received a telephone call from Catherine (a family friend) just prior to the school holidays. She told Geeves that she and another friend had decided to run away from home and he consented to the use of his house near Wombat as a refuge from the police. During the second week of their stay Catherine and the complainant were cutting their hair in the lounge room of Geeves' home. It was alleged the accused offered to help Catherine's friend and placed her on his lap before making sexual overtones. The Crown claimed that Catherine left the room and retired to bed, leaving the accused alone with the young girl.
The girl, now aged 14, told the court that Geeves repeated the act on three other occasions, one during his lunch hour. In her evidence the girl said she had consented to the intercourse but owing to her age it is still deemed unlawful.
Both girls continued living at the accused's home until October 1986 when they were transferred to another house in Wombat. The complainant said they were taken to David Bennett's home where they stayed until Geeves drove her to Sydney.
This evidence conflicted with both the accused's and Catherine's testimony. They denied knowing any person by the name of David Bennett. In the witness box Catherine said she was not aware of any sexual contact between her friend and Geeves during their stay. She said the accused had driven her friend straight to Sydney from his home. Catherine had remained at the Geeves' home in Harden for several days before police discovered her whereabouts.
In his testimony Geeves denied all four charges of sexual intercourse and said he had very little contact wit the complainant at all. He admitted helping the young girl in cutting her hair but claimed nothing developed from that occasion.
The accused's wife, Anne Geeves, said nothing happened at her home to suggest any sexual contact between her husband and the young girl. Mrs Geeves also denied knowing a David Bennett from Wombat.
In his address to the jury, Crown prosecutor Paul Conlan said the girl had no reason to fabricate any of the evidence. "She even admits to being a consenting party and if this girl is the liar that the accused would have you believe, why would she agree to sex," he asked?
In the defence summation, barrister John Boultbee said there were too many inconsistencies in the complainant's evidence. Mr Boultbee said there was substantial evidence from witnesses to support the accused's case. He said Catherine, having shared the same bedroom as the alleged victim, could not support her friend's evidence. Mr Boultbee was instructed by solicitor Jim Callan while Pat Harris instructed the Crown.
A more fulsome account of this episode is found in the Cody L blog from 2021. At the time of the incident Robert and Anne Geeves were raising their three year old son Robbie.
Erica was later interviewed for the Australian national TV program 60 Minutes, in a story called Haunted which aired on 25 September 2011. Therein she talks about how, some 25 years later, the experience still haunted her dreams at night.
A reading of the various accounts points to three elements leading to Geeves' acquittal, apart from his own denial of the accusations: (1) the testimony of Catherine (a family friend), which basically supported the account by Geeves as against that of her "friend" Erica; (2) the testimony by Mrs Geeves that nothing happened whilst Erica was in the house; and (3) the failure to accept the testimony of Erica.
Was this story therefore a total fabrication by Erica? The court would have us believe so, though the 60 Minutes interview would suggest not.
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3. Murder 1993
.....after driving to Wombat to buy bourbon, Janelle Goodwin and Robert Geeves began drinking heavily at the Geeves’ farm. According to Robert Geeves, he and Janelle had gotten into a squabble, Geeves later stating “I don’t know what started the argument but we both sort of got cranked up and fired up”. According to Geeves, the argument “got fiercer and fiercer”, causing the two to hit and scratch one another. Eventually, Geeves recalled, a rifle was pulled and, during a struggle, Janelle accidentally pulled the trigger on herself.
This account may have made sense, especially since Janelle and Geeves’ relationship was later described by Police Prosecutor Acting Sergeant Mitchell Croyston as not “rosy”, recounting a time when a witness reported Robert had allegedly asked him to have sex with Janelle so that Robert would have a reason to leave her. Janelle and Geeves getting into an altercation may have seemed relatively expected and accidental gunshots were certainly possible (though there were only 13 recorded accidental firearm-related deaths in 1993) .
It was the way Janelle’s body was found, however, that made police think twice. Abandoned in the Geeves’ property shed, Janelle Goodwin, once a respected Australian Army Nurse, was dumped in a wheel-burrow, her naked body wrapped in a sheet and her head in plastic. Twine was tied around her ankles, knees, thighs, chest and neck.
Her cause of death was a gunshot wound, the bullet entering her left nostril, travelling through her brain and coming to a halt at the back of her skull. Journalist Stephen Rice, in an article for the newspaper ‘Sunday Telegraph’, wrote: “she had literally been staring down the barrel of the gun when she died.”
Janelle’s autopsy showed further wounds to her body, such as a top lip laceration and bruises on the chin, thighs and forehead. A gold ring she wore on her left finger was dented and blood was found in her lungs, indicating she was still breathing for quite some time after the original gunshot injury. Janelle was found to have had a blood-alcohol level of 0.202 – two times Australia’s legal driving limit – and her autopsy also confirmed she was 7 months pregnant (Cody L 2021).
On Monday, 21 June 1993 the body of Janelle Goodwin was "found" at the Geeves' Kingsvale home. Geeves reported it to police two days later. He was subsequently charged with murder. However, on 15 November 1993 Geeves was discharged at committal at Cootamundra Local Court, due to insufficient evidence. A trial was subsequently held, but he was found not guilty, despite having admitted to being involved in her fatal shooting.
A reading of the various accounts of the trial leaves the present writer with a number of conclusions and questions. It seems clear that Geeves was involved in a scuffle with Goodwin which led to her being shot in the face at point blank range. How could this happen if he did not pull the trigger? Or did Goodwin commit an act of suicide? It is also clear that Geeves was involved in an assault upon the person of Goodwin. Why was he not charged with assault, or at least manslaughter arising out of her death?
The court's dismissal of the case due to lack of evidence seems at odds with the amount of evidence available at the time. And why did Robert Geeves, and/or Mrs Geeves, not call an ambulance as soon as Goodwin was shot, especially considering the evidence that she did not die immediately? The actions of Robert Geeves after the shooting, in not reporting it, and especially in apparently seeking to dispose of the body, thus is damning, viz.:
Abandoned in the Geeves’ property shed, Janelle Goodwin, once a respected Australian Army Nurse, was dumped in a wheel-burrow, her naked body wrapped in a sheet and her head in plastic. Twine was tied around her ankles, knees, thighs, chest and neck.
One is therefore left incredulous at the failure of the police and the court to find Robert Geeves guilty of any crime against the pregnant Janelle Goodwin, and the horrific manner in which she was dealt with, based on Geeves' own account and the forensic evidence.
So it is, that by the middle of 1994 the people of Harden are faced with the fact that Robert Geeves has been charged, and acquitted, of two serious crimes - sexual assault and kidnapping of a minor, and murder. Both have taken place in the Geeves house and on the related property, and Mrs Geeves has apparently been in attendance at the house on both occasions. The people of Harden are also aware of the apparent failings of the police and court system in regards to both case. Surely, this is the end of it ......
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4. Amber Michelle Haigh murder / disappearance 2002
“Whoever had a hand in Amber’s disappearance I hope … that you are judged for the heartless bastards that you are.” (Rosalind Wright, Amber Haigh's mother 2011)
Amber Haigh was an innocent young woman who suffered neglect and abuse throughout her brief life (Cody L 2021). She had an intellectual disability and suffered from epilepsy. At the age of 19 Amber gave birth to a boy, named Royce. She was murdered when the child was just six months old. She was last seen on 2 June 2002 in Young, accompanied by Robert Geeves and her son. Evidence pointed to two people responsible for Amber Haigh's disappearance, and presumed death - the then 42 years old Robert Geeves and his wife Anne. However, their murder trial 22 years later, in September 2024, failed to find the couple guilty. Amber Haigh's disappearance remains a mystery, though the judge at the trial confirmed the findings of the 2011 Inquest, namely, that she was deceased.
The following is a summary account of the case, with references to parties involved in the trial and links to media reports. Where is Amber Haigh? The most fulsome account of her life and tragic times is to be found in What Happened to Amber Haigh?, a comprehensive blog by Cody L, with extensive bibliography.
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5. Harden town 2009
The following article from a December 2009 edition of the Sydney Morning Herald sets the scene for our first step back in time concerning the activities of Robert and Anne Geeves and leading up to the likely murder of Amber Haigh. Two prominent court cases involved Robert Geeves prior to 2002, as outlined above. Both had resulted in acquittals. Amber Haigh disappeared in 2002 and by 2009 serious questions were being asked regarding the role of the police in investigating her disappearance. The rather colourful story that year by a Herald journo paints a dark picture of the Harden goings-on, involving accusations of kidnapping, rape and multiple murder. It is reproduced in full below.
From the land of fear, loss and dark secrets
Welcome to Harden, a shire shrouded in mystery. One woman is dead, another missing, and somehow they are linked. Scarecrows stalk the main street, false eyes vacantly scanning this middle-of-nowhere town. They prop against power poles, signposts, almost anything in Harden that stands still long enough. As a symbolic connection to the local spring-time show, the scarecrows are silent sentinels for the town and all within. Old-timers assure they are temporary. Something to do with the children.
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| From left to right ... dead, Janelle Goodwin; missing, Amber Haigh; acquitted, Robert Geeves; the wife, Anne. |
An oddity, perhaps, but trivial in a country town where unanswered questions hang like dark clouds. One woman is dead and one woman is missing. Something bad - something awful - has happened here. Even the police are predicting "a story to unfold like no other".
The story involves Janelle Goodwin, a pregnant 29-year-old who was shot in the head. Another central character is orchard worker Robert Geeves, who admits dumping her naked body in a wheelbarrow. Plot twists and turns bring us to teenager Amber Haigh who, like so many others, was lured to this pocket of south-west New South Wales by the promise of work as a fruit picker. It was her first stint away from mother Ros and their Sydney home. She made the 350-kilometre trek to stay with her great aunt at Kingsvale, a village on the fringes of Harden shire.
Concern nagged at her mum. Amber was 17 years old but, developmentally delayed; she viewed life through the gaze of a prepubescent. Although she could manage day-to-day tasks, in her mother's words, she was vulnerable and easily led. Amber never grew up. "I always worried for my daughter's well-being," Ros explains. "When she left, I was comforted by the fact that she was able to stay with an aunty … I felt safer knowing that."
No one in the family feels safe any more. Not in Harden, not anywhere. Not since Amber disappeared from the shire seven years ago, leaving behind her baby son and a litany of loss. "I feel helpless, frustrated, angry, hurt and upset because I think someone has taken my daughter away," says Ros, who asks for her surname and suburb to be withheld. What she would give for a full night's sleep. "I am constantly thinking about Amber. Every day it goes over and over in my head. I always ask why."
Amber never knew Janelle Goodwin. They met their fates almost a decade apart, but they do have place and one person in common - the bed of Harden shire orchard worker Robert Geeves. Ms Goodwin was first. At the age of 29, and pregnant to Mr Geeves, her body was discovered in a barrow beneath a tarp inside a shearing shed behind his Kingsvale farmhouse on June 21, 1993. She was naked, tied from ankles to throat, wrapped in bed sheets with a shopping bag over her head. She had been shot through the nose at close range with a .22 rifle. Police were called a day after the shooting. Mr Geeves confessed to putting her body in the shed. They had been drinking. They argued, then struggled. The gun went off. He panicked. He cleaned the scene. It was a terrible accident. Mr Geeves was charged with murder, pleading not guilty. A magistrate discharged him in Cootamundra Local Court due to insufficient evidence. The ruling meant the case could be prosecuted in the future. And it was. Police reapplied the heat after Mr Geeves and wife Anne contacted police on June 19, 2002, to report that Amber Haigh - another of his live-in lovers - had vanished in the night. The resurrected investigation led to Mr Geeves being tried in the New South Wales Supreme Court over Ms Goodwin's death. Prosecutors were confident: they had ballistics advice and fresh witness statements. The trial took more than three years. Mr Geeves was found not guilty of murder. The jury members agreed: it was a terrible accident. Ms Goodwin's death was not the first time Mr Geeves, now 49, had been acquitted of serious charges.
In 1986, two 13-year-old girls from nearby Young failed to return home from school. They were missing for more than a fortnight. When they finally resurfaced, one filed a police statement alleging she had been kept prisoner in a wheat silo and was sexually assaulted by Mr Geeves. The other teenager contradicted the claims. Again, he was cleared. Mr Geeves maintains his innocence in all matters, and The Sun-Herald does not suggest otherwise.
Driving through the scarecrow honour guard, we run head-first into another Stephen King-style moment: giant spiders have invaded the town's only motel. They are monsters, like tennis balls even in curls of death, and we're told that no one, including the local pest control man, has seen their kind before. Admittedly, as we check in, it is tempting to chase riddles of spiders and scarecrows, but somewhere within the shire boundaries are clues to a far more sinister mystery.
"We believe something bad has happened to Amber Haigh," says local area police commander Keith Price, appealing for any assistance that may lead to a breakthrough. "Someone in this community has information that can end this once and for all."
About 3500 live in Harden shire, although the population swells considerably in this corner of the "Golden Triangle" - so called due to its favourable conditions for growing wheat - from October to December. That's when students, backpackers and other transients flock to the harvest. (A cherry grower in Young this season fielded 5000 inquiries from potential pickers.)
The town of Harden itself is a twin, joined at the hyphenated hip to bordering Murrumburrah, settled in the 1850s. One face of that twin shines with the rural charm of a bygone era. A private museum salutes the birth of the Australian Light Horse while the historical society hails glory days of gold rushes, faster trains and bumper crops. The second-hand bookshop boasts almost as many titles as the council does ratepayers. Imposing churches from three denominations offer a reminder why it could have been confused with God's country. A new medical centre and nursing home point to a forgiving future. But turn the other cheek, and this shire is masked in shadow. Beyond isolation, drought and the desperation of such a combination, there's an unhealthy mix of the unknown, unbelievable and uncertain. The community's collective expression contorts whenever someone, usually an outsider, mentions Amber Haigh or Janelle Goodwin. What once was the talk of the town is now whispered behind hands. "We wondered when the big media would finally arrive," one businessman tells us. "We don't want our names mentioned but we want people to hear what has happened around here."
Big media will follow in droves when an inquest - to be announced tomorrow - is held next year into Amber's disappearance. They will focus on her last-known steps. The Geeves, described as her "carers" in early reports, told police they had dropped her at Campbelltown railway station at 8.30 one winter night, having driven about four hours from the shire. They said Amber wanted to make a surprise visit to her critically ill father in Mount Druitt Hospital. She left her son Royce with them, farewelling the five-month-old with a kiss and a hug. The couple went to the police when she failed to return home after a fortnight. They appealed publicly for help finding her.
"Amber, come home, Roycey needs you," Mr Geeves said at the time. "He's growing at the moment - what you miss today you don't get back tomorrow."
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| Amber Haigh and her son Royce, circa March 2002. |
Police set up a strike force. They searched the ramshackle weatherboard house where she had been living with the Geeves. They also checked abandoned mine shafts littering the 160-hectare property. Nothing was found. Even a $100,000 reward for information yielded nought. But the extra police attention did make Harden more protective of its own, and others. Regulars at the town's Commercial Hotel tell of how patrons pulled on the machismo one evening when someone they no longer trusted tried chatting up a barmaid: "All the guys in the bar stopped what they were doing and stood to attention with their chests all puffed out." The troublemaker hightailed it. Turns out Amber had also fallen pregnant to Mr Geeves. Royce was his son, although the boy is now in the custody of Amber's relatives.
We approached the Geeves at their property on what would have been her 27th birthday. Amber, if she was around, would have wanted to blow out the candles on her favourite cake: sponge with jam and icing. At least that's the sort of cake her aunt used to make before the girl struck up a relationship with the older couple down the road.
Mr Geeves acknowledged the mystery of Amber's disappearance still had an effect on him. "Of course it does, but I have nothing to say." His wife Anne added: "We'd love to know what happened." So too would her long-suffering family, the authorities and the good folk of Harden who, like the name suggests, are a resilient lot.
Younger sister Melissa thinks about her every day. "I miss and love her so much. She will be in my heart forever … I was a cheeky kid but Amber would always say: 'Melissa, I love you no matter what'."
Everyone is steeling themselves for this inquest. The proceedings promise rage and resentment. Fingers crossed, relief too. Mr Geeves and his wife will take legal advice before deciding to give evidence. While they are deciding, Harden locals recommend we chat to a youngish lady in town about him. She tells us: "He's a good man … what's it got to do with you?" The inquest aims to determine what it has to do with anyone. Amber's mother hopes for justice. She wants to make sure another young life is not wasted: "We do not want to see another family grieve a loss such as ours."
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6. Inquest 2011
Hearings were held on 20 June 2011 at Young and Parramatta court houses. The court concluded that Amber Haigh was deceased (dead).
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7. Murder trial 2024
In May 2002 Robert and Anne Geeves were charged with the murder of Amber Haigh. They went to trial in June 2024. The following is a list of people involved in, mention, or associated with the disappearance of Amber Haigh and the various investigations and ultimate court case which sought to resolve the issue. The latter, of course, was not achieved, despite the damning evidence presented against Robert and Anne Geeves suggesting their possible involvement.
- Allbutt, Richard - working on Geeves farm, friends with Stella Nealon and Ray Harding.
- Arber, James - witness who came to police in 2021 and revealed bias against the Geeves, according to the judge.
- Blundell, Adam - spread stories saying the Geeves had put Amber's body through a shredder.
- Brown, Cindy - Paul Harding's girlfriend and friend of Amber Haigh.
- Coady, Paul - defence lawyer for Robert Geeves at the murder trial.
- Cockram, David - Detective Sergeant, Young.
- Crea, Gaetano - police officer initially responsible for investigating the disappearance of Amber Haigh and who had a bias towards the Geeves, according to the judge.
- Cross, Natasha - partner of Robbie Geeves.
- Fitzgibbons, Angela - neighbour.
- Ford, Tracey - prosecution witness at the murder trial. Former partner of Ms. Haigh's uncle.
- Geeves, Anne Margaret (b.1960) - charged with the murder of Amber Haigh.
- Geeves, Robert Samuel (b.1960) - charged with the murder of Amber Haigh. Father of her child.
- Geeves, Robbie - son of Robert and Anne Geeves. Boyfriend of Amber Haigh.
- Haigh, Amber (b.1983) - young woman who disappeared on 5 June 2002.
- Haigh, Michael - uncle of Amber Haigh and prosecution witness in the murder trial.
- Harding, Paul - Amber Haigh's 3rd cousin. Accused of having sex with her. Possible father of her child.
- Harding, Ray - Amber Haigh's great uncle. Accused of having sex with her. Possible father of her child.
- Illes, Alex - policeman who first investigated the disappearance of Amber Haigh.
- Ingram, Petrina - prosecution witness at the murder trial. Had an extensive conversation with Amber Haigh on Cootamundra station before she went missing. Described the behaviour of the Geeves.
- Kerr, Paul - Crown prosecutor of the Geeves murder trial.
- King, Michael - defence barrister for Anne Geeves in the murder trial.
- Lonergan, Justice Julie - judge hearing the Amber Haigh murder case.
- Nealon, Stella - Amber Haigh's great-aunt.
- Pisaturo-McMillan, Rebecca - prosecution witness in the murder trial who recalled her interaction with Amber Haigh.
- Podge - a bikie who was said to have carried out a contract on behalf of Robert Geeves to kill Amber Haigh.
- Powell, Susan - nurse at Young hospital.
- Richins, Catrina - social worker at Young Community Health Centre.
- Wright, Rosalind - Amber Haigh's mother.
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| Anne Geeves, Amber Haigh & Robert Geeves. |
The following actions by Robert Geeves were stated to have taken place by witnesses in the Amber Haigh murder trial. They also include actions alleged to have taken place previous to 2002.
- Robert Samuel Geeves threw a chair through the bench window of his son's house after Robbie refused to accept Amber Haigh's newborn baby as his brother. He also threatened to kill the parents of Robbie's girlfriend Natasha.
- Ms Haigh once told her uncle Michael Haigh that she was "scared" of Anne Geeves.
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8. Chronology & bibliography
The following chronology of events is interspersed with bibliographic references and links. A large number of the references have been extracted from the Cody L blog of 2021 on Amber Haigh, which also includes references to Robert Geeves earlier involvement in criminal offences, of which he was subsequently acquitted.
1960
* Robert Samuel Geeves and Anne Margaret Geeves are born around this time.
1983
* Robbie Geeves, son, born to Robert and Anne Geeves (23). Anne Geeves subsequently has four miscarriages and a still born child during her ongoing marriage to Robert Geeves. It is implied that this is one of the reasons the couple subsequently used surrogacy to extent their family. As a result, Janelle Goodwin (1992), Amber Haigh (2001) and another, unnamed woman (circa 2010) are known, or suspected, to have become pregnant to Robert Geeves, with the support of Anne Geeves. Goodwin died whilst seven months pregnant in 1993; the other two gave birth in 2002 and circa 2011.
* Amber Haigh born.
1986
* August - September: Robert and Anne Geeves (26) harbour two 13 year old runaway schoolgirls - Erica and Catherine - from Young at their Wombat Road, Kingsvale property near Harden.
* Robert Geeves is charged with sexual offences over a 13-year-old schoolgirl (Erica) who had disappeared in 1986 from school at Young with a friend (Catherine), the latter of whom was discovered weeks later at the Geeves property at Kingsvale near Harden, northwest of the town.
1987
* 14 May - Robert Geeves is acquitted of four charges of sexual intercourse with 13 year old schoolgirl Erica from Young. Geeves is later convicted of hindering a police investigation.
1992
* circa October: Janelle Goodwin, a 29-year-old mother of two, is staying with Robert Geeves (32) and his wife Anne Geeves in what Janelle’s mother described as originally meaning to be temporary, but which soon “developed into a relationship” with Mr Geeves. Once this relationship began, Mr Geeves, who had once had a vasectomy, had a procedure to get it reversed. Months later (circa December), Janelle Goodwin becomes pregnant to Geeves (Cody L 2021).
1993
* Sunday, 20 June 1993, Cody L: ..... after driving to Wombat to buy bourbon, Janelle Goodwin and Robert Geeves began drinking heavily at the Geeves’ farm. According to Robert Geeves, he and Janelle had gotten into a squabble, Geeves later stating “I don’t know what started the argument but we both sort of got cranked up and fired up”. According to Geeves, the argument “got fiercer and fiercer”, causing the two to hit and scratch one another. Eventually, Geeves recalled, a rifle was pulled and, during a struggle, Janelle accidentally pulled the trigger on herself. This account may have made sense, especially since Janelle and Geeves’ relationship was later described by Police Prosecutor Acting Sergeant Mitchell Croyston as not “rosy”, recounting a time when a witness reported Robert had allegedly asked him to have sex with Janelle so that Robert would have a reason to leave her. Janelle and Geeves getting into an altercation may have seemed relatively expected and accidental gunshots were certainly possible (though there were only 13 recorded accidental firearm-related deaths in 1993). It was the way Janelle’s body was found, however, that made police think twice. Abandoned in the Geeves’ property shed, Janelle Goodwin, once a respected Australian Army Nurse, was dumped in a wheel-burrow, her naked body wrapped in a sheet and her head in plastic. Twine was tied around her ankles, knees, thighs, chest and neck. Her cause of death was a gunshot wound, the bullet entering her left nostril, travelling though her brain and coming to a halt at the back of her skull. Journalist Stephen Rice, in an article for the newspaper ‘Sunday Telegraph’, wrote: “she had literally been staring down the barrel of the gun when she died” (The Daily Telegraph).
Janelle’s autopsy showed further wounds to her body, such as a top lip laceration and bruises on the chin, thighs and forehead. A gold ring she wore on her left finger was dented and blood was found in her lungs, indicating she was still breathing for quite some time after the original gunshot injury. Janelle was found to have had a blood-alcohol level of 0.202 – two times Australia’s legal driving limit – and her autopsy also confirmed she was 7 months pregnant.
* Tuesday, 22 June 1993 - Robert Geeves reports to the police two days after her death that the body of Janelle Goodwin is at the Kingsvale home.
* Geeves is charged with murder after his then pregnant girlfriend Janelle Goodwin had been killed during an alleged drunken fight, “shot through the nose and killed in a struggle with a gun”. The court heard that Geeves allegedly put a plastic bag over Goodwin’s head, covered her body in a sheet and tied it up, before reporting her death two days later.
* 15 November - Geeves is discharged at committal at Cootamundra Local Court, due to insufficient evidence.
1994
* January - Robert Geeves is then recharged with murder before ultimately being acquitted at trial.
1998
* Robbie Geeves, the son of Robert and Anne, meets Amber Haigh (15) while both are studying at Young TAFE. They become girlfriend and boyfriend.
* Amber Haigh moves to Mt. Isa to live with her aunt.
1999
* Robbie Geeves and Amber Haigh (16) end their relationship due to the physical separation.
* Robert Geeves continues phone contact with Amber Haigh.
2000
* March - Robbie Geeves starts dating another woman.
* May - Anne Geeves tells her son that Amber Haigh (17) will be coming to live on the farm Huntleigh, near Kingsvale. Robbie protests, but his mother tells him that it does not matter, as "she'll move in because your dad wants her to". Robbie moves out of the house to Young with his partner Natasha Cross.
* Amber Haigh commences living with the Geeves at Kingsvale, near Young.
* At some stage during 2000-2001 Amber Haigh begins having sex with Robert Geeves. It is reported that the sex sessions are sometimes videotaped and photographed, with Anne Geeves involved. The sessions can involve rape and Haigh being bound and tied up. Amber Haigh informs others of her fear and objections to the sexual violence and abuse.
2001
* circa April - Amber Haigh (18) becomes pregnant. It is supposed that Robert Geeves is the father, but accusations are later made that Amber's elderly uncle Ray Harding and his son Paul had also had sex with her around this time and may have had a paternal connection to her child.
* August - Amber seeks legal advice in regards to protecting herself and her future child. Rebecca Pisaturo-McMillan, legal secretary, recalls: .... remembers a slim teenage girl with long, brown hair walking into the firm in early August 2001. The girl was nicely dressed and showing the telltale bump of pregnancy. Ms Pisaturo-McMillan says the young woman explained, with little emotion, that she needed to make a will “for the safeguard of her child." She was very straightforward and adamant that once her child was born, her life would be taken. She described it would be the father of the child, who told her if she was ever pregnant, she would not live beyond the birth of that child [and] that he would end her life. (Jacka 2024)
* October - Amber Haigh sets up her own place in Young, for herself and her child.
* Robbie Geeves sees Amber Haigh walking through Young pregnant. He is shocked and dismayed at the thought that his father had impregnated his former girlfriend.
2002
* January - Amber Haigh gives birth to a child. He is named Royce, with Robert Geeves listed as the father.
* January - Anne Geeves takes her son Robbie (19) to the hospital to see Amber's baby. He is physically sick at what has taken place and quits his vineyard job (where his parents also worked) as he rejects the idea of the child of his former girlfriend as his brother. Mrs Geeves refers to Amber as a surrogate mother.
* The Geeves take the baby to the house of Robbie and Natasha. There are heated arguments as he again rejects the child. Robert threatens to throw a chair through their window.
* Robbie Geeves obtains an apprehended violence order against his father.
* March - Petrina Ingram has a conversation with Amber Haigh on Cootamundra station. Amber was travelling to Sydney with her young son and had a pram. She described the behaviour of the Geeves. Ingram later presents the information to the police when Amber is reported missing. Her court account was reported as follows:
She said the pair struck up a conversation and spent a few hours together while their coach and train connections were delayed. Petrina Ingram met Amber Haigh while the two were waiting for transport in Cootamundra in early 2002. Ms Ingram told the court she complimented "a pram or blanket" Ms Haigh had with her, and was "shocked" when told it was a gift from the father's wife. "I wouldn't think that was typical behaviour," Ms Ingram said. Ms Ingram said she asked the teenager about her relationship with the Geeves, and was told the couple would visit her place in Young and they "would all drink until she was drunk". She said Ms Haigh then described what would happen after she was drunk. "The wife would then go home. The husband would tie her to the bed and have sex with her," Ms Ingram told the court. She said Ms Haigh then commented that "[Anne Greeves] couldn't bear children of her own" and said she believed "they were trying to take the baby off her or get custody of the baby". Ms Ingram told the court she noted the interaction in her diary shortly after the conversation and told her then boyfriend about the story later that day. She said the next time she saw Ms Haigh was in a television news story from June 2002 which reported on her disappearance. Ms Ingram told the court she called Crimestoppers with her information soon after.
* April - May: Amber Haigh takes baby and bankcard to her uncle's place for protection from Geeves. She stays for 4 days.
* Sunday, 2 June 2002 - Amber Haigh, baby Royce and Robert Geeves are seen in Young by several local residents. The is the last independent sighting of Amber Haigh. Confirmed by state prosecutors.
[It is possible that Amber Haigh was taken from Young and killed. This is based on an assumption that she was never taken to Campbelltown railway station three days later, as there is no evidence to support that occurrence apart from the statements of Robert and Anne Geeves.]
* Monday, 3 June 2002 - Robert and Anne Geeves stay at Tahmoor Inn, Tahmoor.
* Monday, 3 June 2002 - Amber Haigh apparently seen at Woolworths, Young, according to Anne Geeves' barrister Michael King.
* 5 June - According to the Geeves, Amber Haigh is last seen on this day when they say they dropped her off at Campbelltown station to go visit her ailing father at Mount Druitt hospital. The baby was left with the Geeves. There is no evidence that she was ever at Campbelltown station or Mt Druitt station.
- At the time she was living with the Geeves at Kingsvale, near Young, and had her own flat.
- $500 is withdrawn from Haigh's bank account at Campbelltown at 8.49pm. No evidence of Amber Haigh's existence has been found since that time, and it has been suggested that the Geeves made the withdrawal.
* !2 June - The Geeves once again stay at Tahmoor Inn. At one point they are witnessed travelling along a "lonely road" with a trailer behind.
* 19 June - Robert and Anne Geeves report Amber Haigh missing, 14 days after her supposed disappearance.
* 21 June - policeman Alex Illes requests CCTV footage from Campbelltown station. It no longer exists, having been deleted.
* 24 June - police search Amber Haigh's flat and film the search.
* 25 June - Robert Geeves is interviewed by police.
* June - Television report on the disappearance of Amber Haigh. Petrina Ingram contacts Crimestoppers as a result.
* 18 July - The Geeves are interviewed at Young police station.
* Strike Force Villamar places listening devices in the Geeves house and car. They give erratic results. Hear the couple seeking to concoct an alibi for their visit to Tahmoor. For example:
- As they discuss the police questioning of them, Anne Geeves states: They didn't bring up the videotapes. Robert Geeves replies indistinctly. They didn't bring up the fact that you raped her while I took photos.
* Lawrence, K., (2002), Where is Amber and why would she have abandoned her baby – A mother is dropped at a train station and not seen again: [2 Extended Metro Edition], Daily Telegraph, Surry Hills, N.S.W., accessed via ‘Proquest’ 26 March 2021 <http://ezproxy.slv.vic.gov.au/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.ezproxy.slv.vic.gov.au/newspapers/where-is-amber-why-would-she-have-abandoned-her/docview/358791195/se-2?accountid=13905>.
* Lawrence, K., (2002), Search for lost mother now a murder hunt: [1 State Edition], Daily Telegraph, Surry Hills, N.S.W., accessed via ‘Proquest’ 26 March 2021 <http://ezproxy.slv.vic.gov.au/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.ezproxy.slv.vic.gov.au/newspapers/search-lost-mother-now-murder-hunt/docview/358816624/se-2?accountid=13905>.
* O’Shea, F., (2002), Amber’s home searched: [1 State Edition], Daily Telegraph. Surry Hills, N.S.W., accessed via ‘Proquest’ 26 March 2021 <http://ezproxy.slv.vic.gov.au/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.ezproxy.slv.vic.gov.au/newspapers/ambers-home-searched/docview/358834087/se-2?accountid=13905>.
* Lawrence, K., (2002), He was accused of murder but discharged and found not guilty of two sexual assaults and Robert Geeves is adamant … I did not kill Amber: [2 Extended Metro Edition], The Daily Telegraph Surry Hills, N.S.W., accessed via ‘Proquest’ 26 March 2021 <http://ezproxy.slv.vic.gov.au/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.ezproxy.slv.vic.gov.au/newspapers/he-was-accused-murder-discharged-found-not-guilty/docview/358804900/se-2?accountid=13905>.
* Kamper, A., (2002), 9-year time delay on justice – Murder investigation re-opened after another woman goes missing – EXCLUSIVE: [1 State Edition], The Daily Telegraph Surry Hills, N.S.W., accessed via ‘Proquest’ 26 March 2021 <http://ezproxy.slv.vic.gov.au/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.ezproxy.slv.vic.gov.au/newspapers/9-year-time-delay-on-justice-murder-investigation/docview/358749251/se-2?accountid=13905>.
* Murder investigation for missing teen mother: [4 2am Edition], (2002), The Daily Telegraph Surry Hills, N.S.W., accessed via ‘Proquest’ 26 March 2021 <http://ezproxy.slv.vic.gov.au/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.ezproxy.slv.vic.gov.au/newspapers/murder-investigation-missing-teen-mother/docview/358845696/se-2?accountid=13905>.
* Kamper, A., (2002), Birthday marks missing teen: [1 State Edition], The Daily Telegraph Surry Hills, N.S.W., accessed via ‘Proquest’ 26 March 2021 <http://ezproxy.slv.vic.gov.au/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.ezproxy.slv.vic.gov.au/newspapers/birthday-marks-missing-teen/docview/358895136/se-2?accountid=13905>.
2003
* 11 December, Australian Broadcasting Commission - Courts:
Breakthrough made in murder case.
A man has been granted bail after being charged with murder over the shooting death of a 29-year-old woman near Young a decade ago. Forty-three-year-old Robert Geeves of Harden is alleged to have shot Janelle Goodwin of Kingsvale on a property in the Kingsvale area between June 20 and 21, 1993. In Cowra Local Court yesterday, the magistrate Phillip Moon granted Geeves conditional bail to reappear in court at Young on January 20. Police have described the arrest as a significant breakthrough in the re-investigation of Ms Goodwin's murder.
* 12 December 2003, Cowra Guardian.
Murder accused granted bail
A Harden man accused of murdering his pregnant girlfriend a decade ago was released on bail at Cowra Local Court on Wednesday after re investigations resulted in a fresh murder charge. Forty-three-year-old Robert Samuel Geeves of Huntleigh Rd, Harden, was first charged with murder after Janelle Goodwin received a fatal gun shot wound to the head on June 20, 1993 at his property near Wombat. He was discharged at the committal hearing stage in 1993, however a police re-investigation occurred in which new evidence from experts and witnesses came to light. At 11.42am Wednesday morning Geeves attended the Young Police Station and was arrested in relation to the death. At court that afternoon police prosecutor Sergeant Mitchell Croyston opposed bail, citing the seriousness of the charge and the strength of new evidence by two experts regarding human movement and ballistics. New evidence from a man and Geeves' son regarding the couple's relationship was also mentioned by Sgt Croyston, who added there were fears for the safety of the witnesses if Geeves was released. He said a threat towards the son had been recorded by police on a listening device during investigations into the disappearance of 19-year-old Amber Haigh, who went missing in June last year. Defence solicitor Geoff Casey told the court there was no dispute that in 1993, the victim had died as a result of a gunshot wound. The "violent interludes" between the couple had been made abundantly clear from the start, Mr Casey said. Geeves had continued to live in Harden since the death and had since remarried and bought land there; "all of his roots are in that district". The last time Geeves had seen Ms Haigh was when he and his wife had dropped her off at the Campbelltown Railway Station, while the threats towards his son had been in a completely different situation and context, Mr Casey said. He concluded by stating that Geeves had been tested and had chosen to "stand and fight" rather than leave the area and avoid the charge. Sgt Croyston then added that the Director of Public Prosecutions, after reviewing the new evidence, had "directed, not recommended" that Geeves be charged with the death. Magistrate Phillip Moon described the matter as "extraordinary" with the issue resurrected after Geeves had been discharged a decade beforehand. He noted that Geeves had community ties and that the case was circumstantial with no eyewitnesses, choosing to grant Geeves bail following $5000 surety with an associate of Geeves also required to put forward the same amount. The case has been adjourned to Young Local Court on January 20.
* Police hope for new leads in missing persons cases, (2003), ABC News, accessed 26 March 2021 <https://www.abc.net.au/news/2003-08-04/police-hope-for-new-leads-in-missing-persons-cases/1459048>.
* Dam search for woman: [1 State Edition], (2003), The Daily Telegraph Surry Hills, N.S.W., accessed via ‘Proquest’ 26 March 2021 <http://ezproxy.slv.vic.gov.au/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.ezproxy.slv.vic.gov.au/newspapers/dam-search-woman/docview/358908498/se-2?accountid=13905>.
* Divers seeking disabled mum: [Late Edition], (2003), Illawarra Mercury; Wollongong, N.S.W., accessed via ‘Proquest’ 26 March 2021 <http://ezproxy.slv.vic.gov.au/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.ezproxy.slv.vic.gov.au/newspapers/divers-seeking-disabled-mum/docview/364444395/se-2?accountid=13905>.
* Divers search dams for missing woman, (2003), ABC News, accessed 26 March 2021 <https://www.abc.net.au/news/2003-08-28/divers-search-dams-for-missing-woman/1470706>.
* Police to keep Haigh case open, (2003), ABC News, accessed 26 March 2021 <https://www.abc.net.au/news/2003-08-29/police-to-keep-haigh-case-open/1471200>.
* Lawrence, K., (2003), The boyfriend charged in a death revisited: [1 State Edition], The Daily Telegraph Surry Hills, N.S.W., accessed via ‘Proquest’ 26 March 2021 <http://ezproxy.slv.vic.gov.au/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.ezproxy.slv.vic.gov.au/newspapers/boyfriend-charged-death-revisited/docview/359100298/se-2?accountid=13905>.
2004
* 20 January 2004 - Robert Geeves appears in Young court charged with the murder of Janelle Goodwin.
Public asked for help to find missing locals, (2004), ABC News, accessed 26 March 2021 <https://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2004-08-02/public-asked-for-help-to-find-missing-locals/2018428>.
2005
* Strike Force Villamar raids the Geeves home and obtains blood stained carpet which, along with previously obtained blood stained doona, matched with the DNA of Amber's mother Rosalind Wright.
2006
* Police wait to name murder investigation suspect, (2006), ABC News, accessed 27 March 2021 <https://www.abc.net.au/news/2006-06-08/police-wait-to-name-murder-investigation-suspect/1772886>.
2007
* NSW: $100,000 reward for information on missing Amber Haigh, (2007), AAP General News Wire Sydney, accessed via ‘Proquest’ 27 March 2021 <http://ezproxy.slv.vic.gov.au/login?url=http://ezproxy.slv.vic.gov.au/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.ezproxy.slv.vic.gov.au/wire-feeds/nsw-100-000-reward-information-on-missing-amber/docview/448847949/se-2?accountid=13905>.
* NSW police offer $100k in missing woman case, (2007), ABC Premium News Sydney, accessed via ‘Proquest’ 27 March 2021 <http://ezproxy.slv.vic.gov.au/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.ezproxy.slv.vic.gov.au/wire-feeds/nsw-police-offer-100k-missing-woman-case/docview/457662012/se-2?accountid=13905>.
* Hope for reward to spark new leads in missing teen case, (2007), ABC News, accessed 27 March 2021 <https://www.abc.net.au/news/2007-08-20/hope-for-reward-to-spark-new-leads-in-missing-teen/644632>.
* Police up-beat about solving Amber Haigh case, (2007), ABC News, accessed 27 March 2021 <https://www.abc.net.au/news/2007-09-05/police-up-beat-about-solving-amber-haigh-case/660474>.
2008
* Kidman, J., (2008), No closure for victims’ families: Cold case squad launch delay, Sun Herald Sydney, N.S.W., accessed via ‘Proquest’ 27 March 2021 <http://ezproxy.slv.vic.gov.au/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.ezproxy.slv.vic.gov.au/newspapers/no-closure-victims-families/docview/367244435/se-2?accountid=13905>.
2009
* Duff, Emon, From the land of fear, loss and dark secrets, Sydney Morning Herald, 6 December 2009.
2010
* Inquest to be held into Haigh case, (2010), ABC News, accessed 27 March 2021 <https://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2010-02-11/inquest-to-be-held-into-haigh-case/327488>.
* Police still investigating Haigh disappearance, (2010), ABC News, accessed 27 March 2021 <https://www.abc.net.au/news/2010-03-08/police-still-investigating-haigh-disappearance/354618>.
* Missing woman’s mum pleads for answers, (2010), ABC News, accessed 27 March 2021 <https://www.abc.net.au/news/2010-08-02/missing-womans-mum-pleads-for-answers/928376>.
* Marcus, C., (2010), Anxious wait for DNA test, Sunday Telegraph Surry Hills, N.S.W., accessed via ‘Proquest’ 27 March 2021 <http://ezproxy.slv.vic.gov.au/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.ezproxy.slv.vic.gov.au/newspapers/anxious-wait-dna-test/docview/751415872/se-2?accountid=13905>.
* Date set for Amber Haigh inquest, (2010), ABC News, accessed 27 March 2021 <https://www.abc.net.au/news/2010-09-22/date-set-for-amber-haigh-inquest/2269710>.
2011
* 20 June, Parramatta and Young courts: Inquest held into the disappearance of Amber Haigh.
 |
| Robert and Anne Geeves outside Amber Haigh's inquest, 2011. |
* 8 July 2011 - Deputy State Coroner Scott Mitchell determines Amber Haigh ....died probably in early June, 2002, as a result of homicide or other misadventure.
* 25 September 2011, 60 Minutes (TV program) story whereby Erica (38) recounts her 1986 sexual abuse experience with Robert Geeves as a runaway schoolgirl:
HAUNTED
Meets Erica who claims her life was shattered by Robert Geeves. Earlier in the year 60 Minutes reported how two women in his life met tragic and suspicious ends - one shot dead, the other missing without trace.
Haunted. It would be an understatement to describe Robert Geeves as a man
unlucky in love. Earlier this year, we told you how two of the women in
his life met tragic and suspicious ends – one shot dead, the other
missing without trace. Geeves was investigated, but cleared of blame
both times. On Sunday night, you’ll meet a third woman, who claims her
life was shattered by Robert Geeves. For 25 years, Erica has tried to
forget what happened, but after Liam Bartlett’s investigation on 60
Minutes last April, she’s decided to speak out about the man who still
haunts her dreams.
Reporter: Liz Hayes
Producer: Stephen Rice
* Brown, M., (2011), Amber not buried in vineyard, inquest told, Wollondilly Advertiser, accessed 27 March 2021 <https://www.wollondillyadvertiser.com.au/story/928619/amber-not-buried-in-vineyard-inquest-told/>.
* Rice, S., (2011), Inquest will ponder puzzle of missing girl, The Daily Telegraph Surry Hills, N.S.W., accessed via ‘Proquest’ 27 March 2021 <http://ezproxy.slv.vic.gov.au/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.ezproxy.slv.vic.gov.au/newspapers/inquest-will-ponder-puzzle-missing-girl/docview/861084838/se-2?accountid=13905>.
* Rice, S., (2011), A quiet little town with killer secrets, The Daily Telegraph, accessed 27 March 2021 <https://amp.dailytelegraph.com.au/a-quiet-little-town-with-killer-secrets/news-story/952dd82e0017df86eeee9e0e0f49dff7>.
* Duff, E., (2011), Search for answers about Amber, Sydney Morning Herald, accessed 27 March 2021 <https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/search-for-answers-about-amber-20110618-1g8tn.html>.
* NSW: Sex tape evidence at missing woman inquest, (2011), AAP General News Wire, Sydney, accessed via ‘Proquest’ 27 March 2021 <http://ezproxy.slv.vic.gov.au/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.ezproxy.slv.vic.gov.au/wire-feeds/nsw-sex-tape-evidence-at-missing-woman-inquest/docview/872572333/se-2?accountid=13905>.
* NSW:Missing teen ‘scared of older partner’, (2011), AAP General News Wire, Sydney, accessed via ‘Proquest’ 27 March 2021 <http://ezproxy.slv.vic.gov.au/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.ezproxy.slv.vic.gov.au/wire-feeds/nsw-missing-teen-scared-older-partner/docview/872696816/se-2?accountid=13905>.
* Madden, J., (2011), Missing teen `used as surrogate mother’, The Australian, Canberra, A.C.T., accessed via ‘Proquest 27 March 2021<http://ezproxy.slv.vic.gov.au/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.ezproxy.slv.vic.gov.au/newspapers/missing-teen-used-as-surrogate-mother/docview/872463603/se-2?accountid=13905>.
* Dale, A., (2011), Suspect surrogacy Missing teenager didn’t want couple to have her baby, The Daily Telegraph, Surry Hills, N.S.W., accessed via ‘Proquest’ 27 March 2021 <http://ezproxy.slv.vic.gov.au/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.ezproxy.slv.vic.gov.au/newspapers/suspect-surrogacy-missing-teenager-didnt-want/docview/872461552/se-2?accountid=13905>.
* Brown, M., (2011), Baby ‘taken’, then mother vanished, Sydney Morning Herald, accessed 27 March 2021 <https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/baby-taken-then-mother-vanished-20110620-1gbz2.html>.
* NSW: Inquest hears bikies killed NSW teen mum, (2011), AAP General News Wire, Sydney, accessed via ‘Proquest’ 27 March 2021 <http://ezproxy.slv.vic.gov.au/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.ezproxy.slv.vic.gov.au/wire-feeds/nsw-inquest-hears-bikies-killed-teen-mum/docview/873101535/se-2?accountid=13905>.
* NSW: NSW teen seen days after deemed missing, (2011), AAP General News Wire, Sydney, accessed via ‘Proquest’ 27 March 2021 <http://ezproxy.slv.vic.gov.au/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.ezproxy.slv.vic.gov.au/wire-feeds/nsw-teen-seen-days-after-deemed-missing/docview/873139918/se-2?accountid=13905>.
* Mitchell, N., (2011), `Lover buried teen’s body’, The Australian, Canberra, A.C.T., accessed via ‘Proquest’ 27 March 2021 <http://ezproxy.slv.vic.gov.au/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.ezproxy.slv.vic.gov.au/newspapers/lover-buried-teens-body/docview/872846970/se-2?accountid=13905>.
* Brown, M., (2011), Social workers tell of fear for pregnant teen, Sydney Morning Herald, accessed 27 March 2021 <https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/social-workers-tell-of-fear-for-pregnant-teen-20110622-1gfg6.html>.
* Johnson, S., (2011), ‘Heartless bastards’ took my girl: mum, Sydney Morning Herald, accessed 27 March 2021 <https://www.smh.com.au/national/heartless-bastards-took-my-girl-mum-20110624-1gimr.html>.
* Brown, M., (2011), Son feared father’s violence, court told, Sydney Morning Herald, accessed 27 March 2021 <https://www.smh.com.au/national/son-feared-fathers-violence-court-told-20110623-1ghmd.html>.
* Brown, M., (2011), The sad, short life of a forever child who just vanished, Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney, N.S.W., Accessed via ‘Proquest’ 27 March 2021 <http://ezproxy.slv.vic.gov.au/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.ezproxy.slv.vic.gov.au/newspapers/sad-short-life-forever-child-who-just-vanished/docview/873548387/se-2?accountid=13905>.
* NSW: Missing NSW teen dead and likely murdered, (2011), AAP General News Wire, Sydney, accessed via ‘Proquest’ 27 March 2021 <http://ezproxy.slv.vic.gov.au/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.ezproxy.slv.vic.gov.au/wire-feeds/nsw-missing-teen-dead-likely-murdered/docview/875492379/se-2?accountid=13905>.
* Minus, J., (2011), `Grave suspicion’ but no case for Haigh murder, The Australian, Canberra, A.C.T., accessed via ‘Proquest’ 27 March 2021 <http://ezproxy.slv.vic.gov.au/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.ezproxy.slv.vic.gov.au/newspapers/grave-suspicion-no-case-haigh-murder/docview/875243763/se-2?accountid=13905>.
* Minus, J., (2011), Missing teen most probably murdered, Weekend Australian, Canberra, A.C.T., accessed via ‘Proquest’ 27 March 2021 <http://ezproxy.slv.vic.gov.au/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.ezproxy.slv.vic.gov.au/newspapers/missing-teen-most-probably-murdered/docview/875529671/se-2?accountid=13905>.
* Brown, M., (2011), Dead teen and suspicion remains with former lover: coroner, Sydney Morning Herald, accessed 27 March 2021 <https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/teen-dead-and-suspicion-remains-with-former-lover-coroner-20110710-1h91v.html>.
* Pigram, M., (2011), 60 Minutes revisits Kingsvale mystery, The Young Witness, Young, N.S.W., accessed 27 March 2021 <http://ezproxy.slv.vic.gov.au/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.ezproxy.slv.vic.gov.au/newspapers/60-minutes-revisits-kingsvale-mystery/docview/902136502/se-2?accountid=13905>.
2012
* Amber missing 10 years, (2012), The Young Witness, accessed 27 March 2021 <https://www.youngwitness.com.au/story/211209/amber-missing-10-years/>
2015
* All avenues “exhausted”, (2015), The Daily Advertiser, Wagga Wagga, N.S.W., accessed via ‘Proquest’ 27 March 2021 <http://ezproxy.slv.vic.gov.au/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.ezproxy.slv.vic.gov.au/newspapers/all-avenues-exhausted/docview/1699251506/se-2?accountid=13905>.
* Mason, E., (2015), The facts that never stacked up, The Young Witness, accessed 27 March 2021 <https://www.youngwitness.com.au/story/3126371/no-stone-left-unturned-in-investigation-police/>.
* What happened to Amber?, (2015), The Young Witness, Young, N.S.W., accessed via ‘Proquest’ 27 March 2021 <http://ezproxy.slv.vic.gov.au/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.ezproxy.slv.vic.gov.au/newspapers/what-happened-amber/docview/1701632829/se-2?accountid=13905>.
2017
* Current Affair, ‘I knew there was some involvement’: Son speaks out on father’s dark past 15 years after girlfriend disappears, Current Affair, 30 August 2017, duration: 16.48 minutes.
2018
* Palmer, B., (2018), All murder cold cases reopened in NSW, Wellington Times, accessed 27 March 2021 < https://www.wellingtontimes.com.au/story/5402021/all-murder-cold-cases-reopened-in-nsw-interactive-map/ >.
2020
* Understanding Epilepsy, (2020), Epilepsy Action Australia, accessed 27 March 2021 <https://www.epilepsy.org.au/about-epilepsy/understanding-epilepsy/>.
2021
* Australian True Crime Podcast, Facebook, 24 June 2021.
* Shaun & Chloe, Amber Haigh and Janelle Goodwin [podcast], Suburban Legends, Spotify, 27 August 2021, duration: 28.12 minutes.
* Cody L, What happened to Amber Haigh?, Cody L Writes - Your home for all things crime, pets and media [blog], 2 April 2021.
2022
* May - Robert and Anne Geeves arrested on charges of the murder of Amber Haigh. Placed in prison.
2024
* June - Geeves court case commences, led by Crown prosecutor Paul Kerr.
* Jacka, Monica, Accused killer Anne Geeves would watch Amber Haigh have sex with husband, court hears, Australian Broadcasting Commission, 25 June 2024.
* Jacka, Monica, Son of accused killers Robert and Anne Geeves takes stand at Amber Haigh murder trial, Australian Broadcasting Commission, 26 June 2024.
* Doherty, Ben, Amber Haigh claimed man accused of her murder would tie her to bed and have sex with her, court hears, The Guardian, 2 July 2024.
* Doherty, Ben, Police claimed Anne Geeves was the 'mastermind' in the alleged murder of Amber Haigh, The Guardian, 23 July 2024.
* August - Closing submissions in murder case.
* Schmidt, Nathan, Closing submissions begin in Amber Haigh court murder trial, news.com.au, 12 August 2024.
* Monday, 16 September - Robert and Anne Geeves found not guilty by Judge Lonergan, after a 28 day trial.
* Robert and Anne Geeves found not guilty of Amber Haigh murder, ABC, 16 September 2024, YouTube, duration: 2.15 minutes.
* Doherty, Ben, Amber Haigh Murder Trail [video], The Guardian, September 2024, YouTube, duration: 1.46 minutes.
* Doherty, Ben, Amber Haigh murder trial: how a ‘red herring’ witness and poor policing hampered the hunt for answers, The Guardian, 16 September 2024.
* Whitbourn, Michaela, Mystery endures as couple acquitted of missing teen’s murder, Sydney Morning Herald, 16 September 2024.
* Doherty, Ben, Robert and Anne Geeves found not guilty of murder, The Guardian, 17 September 2024.
* Jacka, Monica, How Amber Haigh's disappearance brought ominous rumours into the limelight, Australian Broadcasting Commission, 17 September 2024.
* Loved ones of missing woman emotional after Geeves couple found not guilty, Current Affair, 17 September 2024, YouTube, duration: 5.14 minutes.
* Who Cared? The disappearance of Amber Haigh [Amber Haigh murder trial podcast], The Guardian, 18 September 2024.
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9. Epilogue
The young boy who fell off the e-scooter on Monday 13 January 2025 was about 14 years old, which would make his year of birth around 2010. He was the child of Robert Geeves. Amber Haigh's baby was born around January 2002 and would be aged about 22-23 in 2025. He had subsequently been raised by Amber Haigh's family, not by the Geeves. Who, then, was this accident child, as the father Robert Geeves would have been about 52 at his time of birth? Had he secured another surrogate mother following the disappearance of Amber Haigh? After all, Mrs Geeves did inform the writer that he was the father, and not the step-father or foster father, and that she was the step-mother. Had there been a later surrogacy? The following veiled comment in the 2009 Sydney Morning Herald article hinted at such: .....Harden locals recommend we chat to a youngish lady in town about him. She tells us: "He's a good man … what's it got to do with you?" Following the darkness that had associated itself with the Geeves couple leading up to the disappearance of Amber Haigh, it can only be hoped that the accident child has been raised in the light....
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10. Disclaimer: The above account does not accuse any person of any crime. It
mere reports upon various events, and comments upon the outcomes. The
reader is left to make their own conclusions, and to seek more fulsome accounts of the events, the surrounding circumstances, and the evidence presented at trial. In preparing this
article the writer has been made aware of a number of views held by
those who have followed the events referred to above over a number of years, and who strongly believe Robert Geeves is guilty of criminal offences, despite his repeated acquittal at trial. There is no doubt that the information at hand, and the events outlined above, leave a lot of questions unanswered.
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Last updated: 21 January 2025
Michael Organ, Australia
Hi Michael,
ReplyDeleteI would like to contact you if possible please.
My email is o.ic.just1me@gmail.com