Transcript
ROD HENDERSON: From my experience with the police, and I have had 31 years policing in Australia, the norm is for the police to notify a coroner where a death has occurred in circumstances that are out of the ordinary. So I have been patiently waiting for the police to take care of that and to notify the Coroner here in Rarotonga. That didn't occur so I took the initiative and I have submitted a report to him and sent him a notification that I believe this woman has died, lost at sea, and under circumstances that would require a coronial inquest. So I have done that and I served a copy on the coroner here and also I dropped copies off to some other government agencies.
DON WISEMAN: And what sort of response so far?
RH: No response. I have had no acknowledgement really of what I have done. Of course island time is different to other times in the big countries. So it's been nearly two weeks since I have taken that initiative and I have heard nothing back. Nevertheless I am still anxious to make sure that this case doesn't disappear.
DW: Do you think that Cook Islands authorities just see you as a thorn in their side?
RH: I wouldn't be surprised if that is the case. I am interested in seeing justice is done here, and there have been some other cases I have got involved in as well, so they do know of me, that's for sure.
DW: The understanding I think is that this woman disappeared off this yacht about 40 nautical miles from Rarotonga, where does the jurisdiction for the police start and finish?
DW: In this particular case it is a bit unique because any matters that occur on the high seas is a sort of an open question. The Cook Islands Police certainly got involved in this. They jumped right into it initially. But there is precedence that if a vessel on the high seas, and that's anywhere out of local coastlines, the country of origin can also assume a responsibility to look into it. And in this case it was Australia, because the skipper of the boat, Alex Roehrs, he was Australian, naturalised Australian - the yacht was also registered in Australia. So there is a responsibility I believe for Australia to take an interest in this, an active interest. I campaigned hard for that to happen but got no response from the Australian authorities at all. So that disappointed me a lot.
DW: Given that there is such sparse information about this what do you think the coronial inquiry might throw up?
RH: Well I have managed to eke out some facts that were published here in the llocal media that make me believe that there is definitely foul play involved and if that's the case, and I'm certain it is the case, then anybody involved in the investigation of that matter would be required to tell the coroner what they know. Now at this point the Cook Islands Police haven't disclosed any information at all, and bearing in mind that they kept this fellow on the island for six months, not under arrest but somehow persuaded him to stay here while they looked into all this matter and finally they let him go. And as he sailed out he tried to sink his yacht. He claimed he had hit a submerged object and he was sinking. That proved to be false. It was established that when the patrol boat from here went out to rescue him, because he had put in a request for rescue, that they found that the stop valves had been opened and several lines had been cut to let the water flood in. So there is a huge amount of controversy over this fellow and his actions, whilst he was on the island, before he arrived here, and to my mind justice is yet to be served on this.
DW: Cook Islands Police of course - there are not many of them, they are not well resourced, but they do have back up from New Zealand. Do you think that that is one way around solving this mystery, bringing in some people from the outside?
RH: Oh yes that would be the ultimate answer. Bring in some seasoned detectives who have been around the block a few times, know the ropes so to speak, and can come over here and redo the whole thing. That would be my ultimate expectation.
DW: And that is something you hope might come out of a coronial inquiry.
RH: That's correct. I would hope the coroner would see all the shortcomings that have occurred in the investigation up to now and say, look we need to do this all over again.
