14 February 2010

Elizabeth Herfort - 1990 Inquest Info.

| Jaundice
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Hi,

I was reading all about Elizabeth’s Dissappearance from Canberra 28 + yrs ago now and some of the posts mentioned a 1990 ACT Coroner’s Inquest into her Disappearance as finding that she was presumed murdered. However, when I search for this document there is absolutlely no match for it to be found.

Does anyone have any knowledge of where this report can be obtained? Also, is it possible to find info on the guy who picked her up and was summoned to appear at said Inquest?

Any assistance is welcomed.

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Katietonia – there are some Coroner’s “findings” on the coroners website – quite a few of them. But with respect to the actual files, perhaps inches high in many cases, I suspect you may be right.

Thanks heaps for the helpful info – I’ll try. I was just wondering, I mean without the presence of a body, how can the coroner conclude that 1. She’s dead & 2. That her “death” was caused through murder?

Take a look back at that woman who walked into a poilce station somewhere in America not so long ago & said that she was a girl who went missing “presumed dead” 20+ years previously and was proven to in fact be who she said she was.

I think her name was Jaydee or Jaycee something like that. anyway from the time she was abducted which would have been about 12yrs old I think, until she walked into that police station she was “kept” on this madmen’s farm living in squalor, constantly beaten, systematically raped, forced to bear this nutcases children. I forget how it came about that she got out of there but the first chance she got she took it and is now back with her family.

I’m not for one minute suggesting that Liz is still alive though. My gut instinct tells me she’s no longer with us unfortunately. But the point I was trying to make was how does the coroner come to his findings – how can he withou all the relevant evidence? It’s just a mystery to me as to how it all works.

Thanks again for the help.

You can always access the Canberra Times article at the time of the inquest.

I-filed, not sure what the rules are with release of reports, but there’s definitely a few on the coroner’s court website under Coroners decisions: http://www.courts.act.gov.au/magistrates/index.html

I don’t think the Coroner releases findings as a matter of course, or makes reports available. This could be historically due to sensitivies around suicides maybe? I think you would have to make a case other than, say, curiosity.

As vg suggested, I’d be contacting the Coroners Court directly to see if you can get a copy of the findings. Nothing about Elizabeth on their website, but that doesn’t mean it’s not available to the public. Give them a call. Good luck.

Coroner’s Court
Magistrates Court Building, Knowles Place
Canberra City ACT 2601
GPO Box 370
Tel: (02) 6207 1754
Fax: (02) 6205 9590
Email: courtmctcoroners@act.gov.au

Maybe try the ACT Courts that condcuted the inquest?

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