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On December 2,
1997, the State Government offered a $100,000 reward for information leading to
the conviction of Thurgood-Dove's killers.
A pardon was
ordered for anyone who had played a minor role in the murder.
On December
22, 1997, police raided the home of two men living in the area at dawn.
One was taken to
St Kilda Rd, questioned and later released.
On March 24,
1998, it was revealed that Mrs Thurgood-Dove told at least two people she had a
dark secret she could not disclose.
On March 26,
1998, the Herald-Sun carried front-page headlines stating that the prime suspect
for the murder of Jane Thurgood-Dove was a well-respected serving policeman.
It was suggested
that the officer was in love with Mrs Thurgood-Dove and that he became deeply
depressed after her death.
The officer had
been interviewed by the homicide squad.
Victoria Police
said assertions that a serving policeman hired two hit men to kill Mrs Thurgood-Dove
was 'pure fantasy'.
On April 29,
2000, the policeman failed a lie detector test.
The polygraph
machine is believed to have indicated he answered dishonestly when asked if he
was responsible for Mrs Thurgood-Dove's death.
He is believed to
have denied any part in the murder.
Mrs Thurgood-Dove's husband Mark passed the
test.
Later in the year a Victorian Coroner made an open finding, saying he couldn't identify
Mrs Thurgood-Dove's killer.
On January 19,
2001, the driver of get away car was offered an amnesty in an agreement between
police and the Department of Public Prosecutions.
On Sept 15,
2001, the reward for information stood at $100,000.
Police
indicated that the getaway driver could be eligible for the reward.
Detectives
admitted that after four years, they had come no closer to solving the murder.
Det. Insp. Brian
Rix of the homicide squad said the unknown driver held the key to solving the
crime and maybe spared prosecution.
"It is a
Quantum Leap to go from stealing a car to being implicated in a murder as
horrendous as this one"' Rix said.
On July
21, 2002, Chris Tinkler reported in the Sunday Herald-Sun that the father of
Jane Thurgood-Dove said revolutionary technology that provides a window into a
criminal's mind will solve her killing.
Her shattered father, John
Magill, believed "brain fingerprinting" -- developed by a Harvard
University scientist and the CIA and used in the War on Terror -- will trap the
killer.
Mr Magill called on the State
Government to adopt the futuristic technology, which he believed would also be
crucial in solving dozens of other murders.
He put his plea before the
Victorian Parliament's Law Reform Committee.
"The last four and a half
years have been a total nightmare," a tearful Mr Magill said from
his northern suburbs home.
"Jane was a lovely
girl," the retired 68-year-old said.
"I want to see the
perpetrator of Jane's death convicted. That's my motivation."
Under brain fingerprinting,
images, words or phrases relevant to a crime are flashed up on a computer
screen, along with irrelevant words or pictures.
When a suspect sees something
they recognise their brain involuntarily reacts in a different way to when they
see something foreign.
The electrical brain responses
are measured through headband equipped with sensors.
The system was being used by the
CIA, FBI and US Navy in crime fighting and counter-terrorism.
US inventor, neuroscientist Dr
Lawrence Farwell, told the Sunday Herald Sun he was keen to speak to
Victorian leaders.
"There is nothing to stop
Victoria, or Australia, from taking this on," Dr Farwell said.
CIA-funded tests costing $2
million, as well as US Navy and FBI tests, had been 100 per cent accurate, he
said.
Several US police forces,
including New York, were now in discussions about using brain fingerprinting.
"The police in New York
estimate it could be used in 100 cases a day," Dr Farwell said.
"As far as counter-terrorism
is concerned, this is a new weapon," Dr Farwell said.
"We have been working with
the agencies in the US, but I really cannot say more than that as to where we
are at."
Dr Farwell, a former Harvard
Medical School faculty member, was featured late last year in Time magazine
among the possible "Picassos or Einsteins of the 21st century".
Brain fingerprinting has already
been ruled admissible by a US court in a conviction appeal case.
Another test proved the record in
US serial killer James Grinder's brain matched the murder of Julie Helton.
Grinder then pleaded guilty and
was sentenced to life in prison.
Mr Magill said discovering the
technology on the Internet had given him hope.
"I'm looking all the time
for ways to help catch Jane's killer," he said.
"I would like to think this
technology will help achieve that, and solve many more crimes as well.
"They are good people in the
homicide squad and they should have all the best tools.
"Criminals are operating
smarter, exercising care, as was the case in my daughter Jane's murder, so they
don't leave too many traces behind."
On August 1, 2002, homicide
squad head,
Ron Iddles was said to be waiting for the man who phoned him twice the
previous day with "relevant information" pertaining to the murder.
Iddles believed the squad
was "only one phone call away from solving the case and has urged the
man to speak with him again.
Rewards for information
leading to cases such as this murder being solved had recently been
bumped up to one million dollars.
These are funded by auctions which sell
off the assets of criminals.
On June
3, 2003, the Herald Sun reported that
a secret witness to the murder had been revealed, as a $1 million bounty was
posted on the killer.
The Herald Sun also revealed that the
person saw the young mother gunned down.
The witness had identified a serving police
officer, who was the prime suspect.
But detectives said the witness's identification
alone was not sufficient without other evidence to lay charges.
The Herald Sun was asked not to divulge
further details because of concerns for the safety of the witness.
The witness was not known to the gunman.
It was also revealed that some police were
concerned that the suspect in the case was still an operational
policeman and armed.
The policeman, who worked in the city, was believed
to have daily dealings with the public and routinely carried a revolver in the
course of his duty.
Some police had sought his removal from
operational duties.
But police command was believed to have refused to
suspend or transfer the man after he produced medical and psychiatric evidence
that he was fit to continue active duty.
The policeman had no alibi for the time of
Mrs Thurgood-Dove's killing.
The suspect policeman, who was allegedly obsessed
with Mrs Thurgood-Dove, had been interviewed over the ambush murder at least
three times.
He is believed to have admitted loving her and
asking her to leave her husband, but denied killing her. The homicide squad detective in charge of the
investigation refused to discuss witnesses or the chief suspect.
But Det Sen-Sgt Ron Iddles was confident the case
could be solved.
The veteran murder investigator said information
on evidence connected to two stolen cars used by the killer and an accomplice
could provide a vital breakthrough.
On October 7, 2003
the Herald Sun reported that a policeman who was the
prime suspect in the Thurgood-Dove murder had been cleared by
police.
Detective Senior Sergeant Ron Iddles, of the
homicide squad, said three suspects, including her husband, Mark, had been
cleared.
"The police officer, the husband and the
mistaken identity have all been ruled out," Det Sen-Sgt Iddles said.
Det Sen-Sgt Iddles, speaking at an international
Crime Stoppers conference in Melbourne, said he would not rest until the case
was solved.
He said Crime Stoppers had received about 1000
calls but there still were not enough clues to solve the crime.
On July 25, 2004, ABC Radio reported that police may
have been
close to cracking the case.
Police said they believed it was a tragic case of mistaken
identity, an
underworld hit gone wrong.
Jane Thurgood-Dove's mother, Helen Magill, said the family
had been told several
weeks before but was still coming to terms with the news.
"We first heard about it and although it's what we always
suspected and always felt was the only reason, it was something we had to then
deal with again. That she had died for nothing, that it was meant for someone
else", Mrs Magill said.
The theory was that the killers had planned to kill the wife
of a criminal figure living in the same street, and were told the woman, who
had similar features to Jane Thurgood-Dove at the time, lived three doors from
the corner.
Jane Thurgood-Dove also lived three doors from a corner, and the killers
picked the wrong house.
Police believe the intended target was Carmel Kyprianou, the wife of a convicted criminal, who lived further along the street.
Peter Kyprianou had already survived a murder
plot in 1994.
It was reported that two of the three men involved have since died of natural
causes, but that the man who drove the getaway car was believed to be still at
large.
And Helen Magill said the family wouldn't feel like the ordeal
was over until all
who were involved in her daughter's murder were dealt with.
"I think it goes a long way now to giving us some sort of peace
in our lives and it's just… it really, what's the word I want? It verifies
what we've always said anyway", she said.
Police planned to hand the new information to the Coroner, who
would decide if
another inquest was needed.
On May 17, 2006, it was reported that a
'violent' former Victorian biker was the man police believe murdered Jane
Thurgood-Dove.
Steven John Mordy was suspected by police of
being the bungling gunman who shot Mrs Thurgood-Dove
instead of a neighbour who was the intended target.
Mordy beat a murder charge in New South Wales a
year before Thurgood-Dove's death.
He was arrested and charged with murder on May 6,
1994.
He was found not guilty by a NSW Supreme Court
jury on August 19, 1996.
His former partner said Mordy was a close friend
of Jamie Reynolds, who police believe organised the car used by the Thurgood-Dove
murder team.
Reynolds, of Ballarat, drowned at in a boating
accident at Barwon Heads in April 2006.
The man labelled the "pot-bellied
gunman" in the Thurgood-Dove killing was described in Coroner's Court
documents detailing his death as having a fat stomach.
Police claim Mordy was a former member of the
Rebels Motorcycle Club and served jail time in New South Wales for violent
crimes.
He was a heavy drinker and amphetamine user.
The hulking, tattooed Mordy died at his North
Geelong home in 2000, aged 39, of heart disease exacerbated by amphetamine use.
Ex-partner Julie Meade said Mordy never mentioned
the Thurgood-Dove case and she did not believe he was the killer.
Ms Meade said although Mordy was prone to
aggression and moved in violent circles, he was not capable of such an atrocious
act and did not match a police description of the killer.
But homicide squad detectives believe Mordy and
Reynolds were part of the team that botched the 1997 killing.
The getaway driver and whoever organised the
killing have not been identified.
Ms Meade said she was first contacted by homicide
squad detectives within weeks of Reynolds' death.
He was a good bloke," she said of Mordy.
"I'm completely shocked at what's happened.
It's hard to believe isn't it."
Ms Meade, who went out with Mordy for three years
before his death, disputed claims he went to ground for 18 months after Mrs
Thurgood-Dove was murdered.
She said the father of three continued to go out
and made his customary weekly visits to the De La Ville Hotel in Geelong.
"He didn't hide. I didn't see a
change," she said.
Ms Meade said she had never known Mordy to have
firearms and that he was trying to straighten out his life at the time he died.
"He wanted to put that life behind him. He
was really settling down," she said.
Ms Meade says she was with murder suspect Steven
Mordy on the day he is accused of having gunned down Thurgood-Dove.
"I was with him,'' she said. "I can't
remember him going away for a whole day.''
"I never heard anything until the Jacks
(police) were knocking on my door a couple of weeks after Jamie died. It was a
complete shock.''
She said Mordy had a goatee and was bald at the
time of the murder. A police photofit shows a man with a shaved chin and dark
hair.
Acknowledging Mordy had a police record for drug
and assault offences, Ms Meade said he had encountered his share of trouble.
"But as far as murdering someone, I don't
think so,'' she said.
"I couldn't see him hurting anyone in front
of any kids. He loved his kids.''
She said Mordy was looking for a new life at the
time of the murder.
"The whole time I was with him I never saw
any guns,'' Ms Meade said.
"He was settling down, he liked the quiet
life. He didn't want the biker lifestyle any more.''
Mordy had three children from an earlier
marriage.
Ms Meade said she had known Mordy since she was
13. She said "everyone in Geelong'' knew him when he was young.
He attended Bell Park Technical School and played
under-17 football for North Geelong.
He later worked as a labourer and delivered
flowers for a mate who owned a florist's shop.
Geelong's Steve Hider, 41, occasionally drank
with Mordy at Geelong's De La Ville Hotel and said he was shocked by the murder
allegations.
"They're chasing ghosts the way they're
going,'' Mr Hider said.
"They can't find the right person and this
bloke can't defend himself.
"He'd fight any bloke out the front of a pub
but I could never see him pulling a gun on a woman.''
Underworld sources told the media that Mordy was
severely beaten by Rebels members in the months before he died.
Mordy died in bed at his North Geelong home on
September 27, 2000.
Coroner's Court documents state he went to bed
early that night after not eating dinner.
A housemate later heard Mordy groaning in bed,
but Mordy declined the offer of a doctor when asked.
The report said Mordy had no particular complaint
and just felt unwell.
He then ate a Cherry Ripe and some ice-cream
before vomiting, but still managed to finish off two drinks of Coke.
The next morning, the housemate did not enter
Mordy's room because he liked to sleep late.
About 2.53pm, the housemate finally called on
Mordy and found him on his back with no pulse.
The Coroner's Court documents said of Mordy, who
weighed 104kg and stood 190cm, that "the abdomen is obese" and that he
had an enlarged heart.
The report found the most likely cause of death
was a heart condition and that amphetamines may have contributed.
"It is . . . known amphetamines can be
associated with sudden lethal cardiac arrhythmias," the report said.
Traces of methamphetamine were later detected in
his urine.
On November 6, 2007, the Herald Sun reported
that the parents of Jane Thurgood-Dove were desperate for the capture of the
"evil" criminals who mistakenly murdered her 10 years before.
John and Helen Magill told of the pain of not
knowing who was behind the death of their daughter.
Detectives say Ms Thurgood-Dove's death was a
case of mistaken identity by hitmen who were after her neighbour instead,
Detective Inspector Stephen Clark said.
Mr Magill wants a new coronial inquest to help
find his daughter's killer or killers.
"The coroner's inquiry is going to get
probably the people responsible back into the court system ... these people have
got it wrong, we know that," Mr Magill said.
Mr Magill fought back tears as he pleaded for
help to find the killers.
"The heart of this family unit was violated
and destroyed when those evil individuals murdered our Jane," he said.
"Jane was a mum doing what mums do. Jane was
not in the wrong place at the wrong time ... Jane's death was carried out by
people involved in organised crime."
Mr Magill said the family were desperate for a
breakthrough in the case.
"I say, come on, this family needs a
break," he said.
"It's the responsibility of anyone with the
knowledge of who these people are to bring it forward and remember: the $1
million reward is still active for the correct information."
Mrs Magill said a supportive network had helped
her daughter's children grow up in a loving environment.
"It's very hard for them growing up without
their mother," Mrs Magill said.
"They've just growing into normal, happy
children ... that's about as much as you can hope for."
Insp Clark said he was confident Steven John
Mordy and Jamie Reynolds, now both dead, were involved in Ms Thurgood-Dove's
death.
The driver of the getaway car and the criminals
who ordered the killing are still at large.
Anyone with information has been urged to call
Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
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Jane
Thurgood-Dove