PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I feel some trepidation writing about Estelle Blackburn's story because it has been the subject of so many books, TV documentaries and articles, by people much more entitled to write about the case than myself. However, I feel justified in undertaking this task, because my purpose is to include Estelle Blackburn in this group of 'Selfless Warriors' - by definition "Those exceptional individuals who are ripped out of their ordinary lives by their inability to stand by in the face of a glaring miscarriage of justice." To help the reader understand Estelle Blackburn's extraordinary actions, I am beginning with a 'very concise partial chronological account' of the events which intersected her life with the lives of John Button, Darryl Beamish and the infamous Eric Edgar Cooke. This is a very 'unliterary' approach - but I think it works.
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VERY CONCISE (PARTIAL) CHRONOLOGY: (Thanks to Wikipedia for helpful entries, including Estelle Blackburn, Darryl Beamish, John Button, and 'Broken Lives'.)
1959: Darryl Beamish: an 18-year-old deaf mute is arrested for the murder of a 22-year-old socialite and heiress named Jillian MacPherson Brewer, who was slain in her flat by an intruder who mutilated her body with a tomahawk and a pair of dressmaking scissors.
1961: The deaf mute is convicted of murder after police allege they had taken four statements - in spite of his insistence that the confessions were untrue and obtained through intimidation and threats. The bad news; He is sentenced to death by hanging; The good? news (so to speak) is that his sentence is commuted to life imprisonment of which he serves 15 years. His appeal is dismissed - as are all his subsequent appeals and applications to appeal. Game over? (Spoiler alert): Not quite!
1963: Eric Edgar Cooke is arrested. (Welcome news in Perth).
1963: John Button, another West Australian, is jailed for five years after being convicted of manslaughter in the death of his girlfriend Rosemary Anderson whom he had allegedly run over with his car. So what does that have to do with the afore-mentioned Darryl Beamish? (Spoiler alert): Everything! (Stay tuned).
1964: Shortly before being hung on October 26, 1964, arch-criminal serial murderer Eric Edgar Cooke, who terrorised Perth in the 1960's, voluntarily takes the bible from the prison chaplain and says,"I swear before almighty God that I killed Anderson and Brewer." Cooke had confessed to twenty-two violent crimes — eight murders and fourteen attempted murders and assaults — during a five-year period between September 1958 and September 1963. The police however choose to keep his murders of Rosemary Anderson and Jillian Brewer off of the list. Cooke's gallows confession, which was later discovered by Estelle Blackburn, prove initially to be of no value to Beamish and Button, because shortly after making the confessions which exonerated them, he is lying in his grave. To make matters even worse, the police and the appeal courts dismiss Cooke's gallows confession as "utterly worthless" and the work of a "palpable and unscrupulous liar" - while maintaining that the statements which the men said had been obtained by intimidation and threats, in the absence of lawyers and family - from two scared young men, who had maintained their innocence from the outset - were true. (I was pretty shocked to learn that the appeal judges had chosen to ignore the fact that a serial killer had confessed to the killings in the shadow of the gallows). So, as you will see in a moment, both men were eventually released as convicted murderers, desperate to clear their names for the rest of their lives. The odds of success were however not very good, until 1991, when a brilliant journalist named Estelle Blackburn, who loved dancing, came along. (As you keep reading dear reader, you will learn how an extraordinary journalist's love of dancing led to the exoneration of two innocent men who had been convicted of horrible crimes.)
1964: Beamish loses his appeal:
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INTRODUCTION TO ESTELLE BLACKBURN:
As noted above, the police, backed up initially by the courts, chose to believe that Cooke's confession (moments before his execution) was false - and that Button's and Beamish's confessions (the ones coerced from them) were true. Had the police paid attention to Cooke's seemingly random selection of victims and his various methods of assault (as Estelle Blackburn later did) - and had the police conducted the most sophisticated, up-to-date collision impact reconstruction techniques that Blackburn and her colleagues conducted - Button and Beamish would not likely have been convicted, let alone charged with their respective offences. This is a huge point in the 'Selfless Warrior' context. She was not a trained police officer. She had no legal training. At the time Button and Beamish came into her life, she was (as reporters often refer to them) a 'flack' - a press secretary in the office of the Premier of West Australia." Nice cushy job. Clean gloves. Far away from the blood-soaked grimy world of criminal justice. So how did Estelle Blackburn become transformed into a 'Selfless Warrior' - and what did her love of dancing have to do with it? Stay tuned.
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A CHANCE MEETING!
In an interview with Sydney Morning Herald reporter Ben Pobjie, Blackburn says that she was working as a press secretary to the premier of West Australia, "when I went to a dance and an odd guy – he was a bit doubtful but he was a great dancer so I danced with this guy every Thursday for quite a while. And a friend of mine came over from England and he was wrongly charged with something. He rang me from the police lockup and said “Help, Estelle.” So I rang this dancing guy, Jim, and said I can’t come dancing tonight, a friend of mine’s been framed by the cops, I’ve got to help him. And Jim said don’t talk to me about the police framing people: they framed my brother for a murder Cooke did. I lived through Cooke’s terror, I was 13 at the time. It struck terror in my heart hearing the name again. I got my friend sorted out, and of course, [as a] nosy journo: "what’s all this about Cooke and your brother?" And that’s how it happened. A chance meeting at a dance, and a chance wrongful charge of a friend.
A 'promo' for her book 'Writing Broken Lives' describes her story as, "the story of a thirteen-year journey that exposed injustice and led to John Button and Darryl Beamish being exonerated. It began with a jive with a stranger on a warm Thursday night in November 1991," and adds that, "It's hard to believe, but it took over thirty years for that black cloud to be lifted off of Button's and Beamish's heads - and that may not have happened if Estelle Blackburn had not loved dancing."
I get the impression however that the story entered her life at a time when she sorely needed something more than the everyday life she was living, as per the following ABC interview in which, "Ms Blackburn spoke courageously of some events in her life that changed her forever and triggered an awakening which led to the tremendous work that Ms Blackburn has now accomplished."
"Two life crises hit me at the same time. I turned 40 - time to review what you're doing - and my mother died in the same week, so another reason to review what you're doing," she said, the interview continues.
"It made me think that is churning out political propaganda really what I'm about?
"I hadn't done anything worthwhile, I hadn't raised children, I had a very hedonistic happy-go-lucky life till then and that did set me thinking that maybe I should do something before it's my turn; I was the next cab off the rank in the family deaths.
"The stars aligned and by absolute chance I met John Button's brother at a dance."
"He told me about his brother being wrongfully convicted and that would have meant nothing to me before except not long before that - 25 years ago this week - the Guildford Four were released from jail in the UK after 15 years."
"I had lived through those IRA bombings in London and I was glad when they were convicted along with The Guildford Four, I was like, 'hurray they have the right person'.
"Then in '91, 'oh hang on', what is this about injustice?
"It started an awakening and made me really curious."
Indeed, as Blackburn told Reporter Pobjie: "There I was working for the premier, and suddenly this chance meeting happened and I realised I couldn’t re-investigate a 30-odd-year-old murder and work for a premier," she said . "So I gave it up, got myself a two-day-a-week little salaried job and started to look at the murders of 30 years previously. It took a lot of work, a lot of sleuthing, so clearly I couldn’t work full-time. I sold an investment house to fund myself. It cost me my financial security, but it’s enriched me in every other way."
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FRESH EVIDENCE:
In the course of his interview with 'Australian Presbyterian' Button says Blackburn explained that the government would only re-open the case if they could produce 'fresh evidence,' - a pursuit that ended up taking six and a half years - culminating in Blackburn's important book 'Broken Lives,' which convinced the government to reopen the case. It took time to find all seven girls who had been run down by Cooke but survived, and to gain their confidence so that they agreed to reopen old wounds and tell her their stories. It also took time to try and find the five other attempted murder victims who had been attacked while asleep - finding all but one who died of cancer a couple of years after the attack. Through this evidence, Blackburn's lawyer would be able to convince the appeals court that the two murders of which Beamish and Button had been convicted, closely resembled multiple other murders committed by Cooke, details of which had been withheld by the police from the public. During the course of his interview with 'Australian Presbyterian,' Button says that Blackburn, whom he regards as a 'sister', used her government networks to access police, prison and legal files, following each lead with 'Terrier-like' determination during the six and a half years it took to write 'Broken Lives' - the book, published in 1998, which single-handedly prompted the government to re-open the case after so many decades. Blackburn had even managed to find important witnesses who had not been interviewed by the police - one in particular who could corroborate Cooke's confession who had not been interviewed at all.) Also, 'Broken Lives' publisher Bret Christian oversaw and funded the hiring, and bringing to Australia, of a U.S, motor vehicle accident reconstruction expert, to prove, as he did, that John Button's car was not involved in Ms. Anderson's death - a central part of the prosecution's case. The expert's up-to-date reconstruction techniques were accepted as 'fresh evidence' on Button's successful appeal.
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IMPACT OF 'BROKEN LIVES' - 'THE BOOK THAT STARTED IT ALL.'
The impact was palpable. Published in November, 1998, to the backdrop of two major Television programs - the ABC's 'Australian Story' and later, 'Sixty Minutes.' It prompted an urgency motion in the State Parliament, leading to the Attorney-General's decision to grant Button a new appeal. Button's conviction was quashed by the Court of Criminal Appeal on February 25, 2002, after the evidence from vehicle crash experts produced by Blackburn and her colleagues,
In his review of 'The end of innocence' - a companion book to 'Broken Lives' by Estelle Blackburn - author Rob Guthrie writes, "Broken Lives uncovered a modus operandi for Cooke which involved stealing cars, driving through lonely streets at night and running down women. Cooke was never charged with these running-down incidents and the four or five women who were involved in these separate cases were unaware of each others plight." He adds that, "Perhaps the biggest achievement for Blackburn was that she uncovered the fact that Cooke was not only a murderer but that he had confessed to a remarkable series of housebreaking and hit-and-run collisions. .........When Cooke confessed to the murder of the women for whom Button and Beamish had been held responsible, his evidence was not believed. By uncovering Cooke's hit-and-run exploits, Blackburn was able to show that Button's girlfriend, Rosemary Anderson, had not been run down by Button, but had been the subject of another of Cooke's hit-and-run episodes. Likewise, through the evidence she gathered, Blackburn was able to show that Jillian Brewer was not stabbed to death by Beamish but, rather, by Cooke."
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FINAL CHRONOLOGY:
2003: John Button is handed $460,000 compensation.
2005: (April 1): Darryl Beamish, wins his new appeal (and is thereby exonerated) on the basis of the same fresh evidence, and with the same pro bono legal team and Bret Christian leading the support work – as with Button, the murder attributed to Cooke. (This is the moment where the Beamish and Button cases are sewn firmly together: Beamish won his appeal because the success of Button's appeal raised doubts about the court's reasons for rejecting Cooke's confession to killing Jillian Brewer in Beamish's 1964 appeal.)
2011: June 2: The state government announces it will make a $425,000 ex gratia payment to Darryl Beamish. Attorney-General Christian Porter expressed the government's "sincere regret" this morning while announcing the sum to be paid to Mr Beamish, who is deaf and mute, and spent 15 years in jail before winning a lengthy court battle to clear his name.
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A SELFLESS WARRIOR'S SACRIFICE: ABC NEWS:
"Ms Blackburn's book 'The End of Innocence' tells her story of the years of research and writing 'Broken Lives', which involved a cruel and personal twist that while she was engaged in her ground-breaking investigation of injustice she was herself trapped in a relationship with a violent but persuasive psychopath.
"After the success of this work, I did gain some renown but it cost me 13 years of sacrificed salary... and I realized I better get my crusading on the back burner and earn a living," she said.
"It impoverished me financially because this was all self-funded; I didn't manage to achieve any grants but in every other way it's been wonderful for me to feel that I've actually done something decent with my life."
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PUBLIC RECOGNITION:
Not surprisingly, Estelle Blackburn received numerous awards including the Medal of The Order of Australia "For service to the community through investigative journalism in Western Australia." (It's not every day when an investigative journalist receives such national recognition - although I suspect this was probably the last thing in her mind during all these years when she steadfastly fought to exonerate Beamish and Button.) Some media tributes stand out: The Sydney Morning Herald acknowledged that, "Button and Beamish served long sentences before being cleared and compensated, mainly because of the dogged work of investigative reporter Estelle Blackburn." To ABC News, "Estelle Blackburn is the woman universally credited with uncovering the truth about one of Australia's most notorious serial killers, Eric Cooke." To Cheri Gardner, who runs a 'speakers' agency, "Coming across the story by chance and persisting with it turned Estelle’s life around. Here was a courageous woman who without a second thought impoverished herself to fight the cause for strangers. With no legal training and armed only with extraordinary qualities of courage and determination, she took on the system and won in a 10- year combined exercise in authorship and citizen advocacy. Because of her vision, hard work and self sacrifice the justice system may have been set on a truer course."
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COMMENTARY: In winding up, I don't think I have to provide any more reason as to why, in my books, Estelle Blackburn is a 'Selfless Warrior." However, there is something to add. I have learned from the previous posts in this series, that 'Selfless Warriors' do not always work alone. They often have an ability - due to visceral passion and belief - to inspire others to join in the battle to right the injustice. For instance, Bret Christian, publisher of 'Broken Lives', at his own expense supplemented Blackburn's fresh evidence with the crucial scientific evidence of crash testing, and solicitor Jonathan Davies and barrister Tom Percy QC took Button’s case to the Court of Criminal Appeal pro bono in a successful bid to quash Button's conviction on the basis that Cooke was the murderer. Davies and Percy then, working pro bono, proceeded to win Beamish's appeal, once again aided by Christian's support. Christian. Davies. Percy. "In a sense they were 'Selfless Warriors' too. I will leave the last words to Estelle Blackburn, from the interview with 'Australian Presbyterian.'
"Estelle said that she felt morally bound to do something to correct the injustice perpetrated on John Button."
“John had tried everything he could. There was a man crying for help and I had the writing and researching skills that could help him. How could I turn my back?"
“While I have lost all my financial resources to this, I have gained much – not least an enduring friendship with John, Helen and their family. But, single and childless and now 50, it has given me the opportunity to give something back in gratitude for the blessings I have received throughout my life.""
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READING MATERIALS:
Broken Lives: Estelle Blackburn:
End of Innocence: Estelle Blackburn:
https://www.amazon.com/INNOCENCE-remarkable-story-womans-justice/dp/B008AV6REO
Writing Broken Lives: Estelle Blackburn: (To be published soon);
https://www.echobooks.com.au/biography/writing-broken-lives/
Why me Lord? John Button:
https://www.amazon.com/WHY-ME-LORD-John-Button/dp/0646364669
NETK: (Networked Knowledge): John Button Page: Excellent source material on the Button and Beamish cases.
http://netk.net.au/ButtonHome.asp
Australian Presbyterian:
https://ap.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/AP2000-05.pdf
ABC sound recordings: (This is wonderful: Photographs and texts);
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Harold Levy: Publisher: The Selfless Warriors Blog. (Thanks to my daughter, Kyra Jolliet, for her most appreciated editing assistance - after I had already put the mistakes online in my usual eagerness to get the post online! HL)
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