Janelle Patton was a 29-year-old Sydney woman who was brutally murdered on Norfolk Island on 31 March 2002. The case made national headlines in Australia and New Zealand, as she was the first person to be murdered there since 1893.[1]
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Patton was living and working on the island at the time of her death, but was not a local. She had arrived on the island seeking a new beginning following a string of failed relationships in her homeland of Australia. Her time on the island was equally tempestuous, with a string of failed relationships by the time of her murder. Her parents had arrived from Australia for a visit the previous day. Patton was last seen around 11.30 a.m. on her morning walk along a coastal track near her home. Her parents became concerned when she failed to appear at a lunch appointment. When they reported Patton's disappearance to police, they were quickly informed that a body matching their daughter's description had been discovered by two tourists from New Zealand. The body was formally identified by Patton's landlady. The investigation into Janelle's murder was protracted and difficult, owing to the large number of potential suspects. At one stage of the investigation, an Australian officer involved was heard to comment that "...it would be easier to compile a list of people on the island who didn't have a motive (to kill Janelle)".
Patton had been stabbed and beaten with a blunt object and had several defence wounds. There were 64 stab wounds in total, and Patton suffered a fractured skull, broken pelvis and broken ankle. She died from a stab wound to the chest that punctured her lung. The body was found at the Cockpit Waterfall Reserve at opposite end of the island from where she was last seen, wrapped in a large black plastic sheet.[2]
On 1 February 2006, Glenn Peter Charles McNeill, a 28-year-old chef from New Zealand, was arrested for her murder near the town of Nelson, on the South Island of New Zealand, after being identified by an Australian Federal Police investigation.[2] He was subsequently extradited to Norfolk Island and formally charged with the crime.
McNeill claimed in the Norfolk Island Court of Petty Sessions that he accidentally hit Patton with his car,[3] a statement he later retracted.[4] He was transferred to Silverwater Correctional Centre in Sydney and took part in a directions hearing by conference call in late February 2006. A further directions hearing had been expected on 21 April 2006 followed by a committal hearing on Norfolk Island on 22 May 2006.[5] Late in January 2006, the Norfolk Island Administration revoked a long-standing law enabling death by hanging for capital offences.
On 1 February 2007, McNeill formally went on trial for the murder. A press blackout was imposed by the judge, Mark Weinberg, to prevent any dilution of the limited potential jury pool.[6] On 1 March 2007, McNeill told the Supreme Court, "I did not kill Janelle Patton", "I did not abduct her" and "I did not see Janelle Patton that day". He said he would not now recall what he told police earlier, but "would have admitted to anything" due to his mental health problems.[4] The trial ended on 9 March 2007 when the 11-person jury returned a guilty verdict.[7]
On 25 July 2007, McNeill was sentenced to 24 years in prison by Judge Weinberg (acting as Norfolk Island's chief justice) in the Federal Court in Sydney.