Griffiths v The Queen [1994] HCA 55

High Court of Australia Brennan, Deane, Dawson, Toohey and Gaudron JJ Griffiths v The Queen [1994] HCA 55

ORDER Appeal allowed Acquittal entered

Cur adv vult

8 December 1994 Brennan, Dawson and Gaudron JJ.

John Apps, then aged 16, had been living with his father in a caravan park at Caboolture when he went missing on or about 28 November 1989. In November 1990 his remains were found in the Glasshouse Mountains area, not very far away from his home. There was a bullet hole in the back of his skull just to the right of the midline down near the junction with his neck. The bullet, in a deteriorated state, was still within the skull. It was probably of .22 calibre but rifling marks could not be detected. It is possible that it was fired from his father's .22 rifle which disappeared at about the time when John went missing. No rifle was located. John's bicycle and a backpack were found in the vicinity of the body. The evidence showed that John had died at some time before February 1990.

The appellant was a boy of the same age as John. They were in the same class at the Caboolture High School. They had been best friends. The appellant was charged with and convicted of the manslaughter of John Apps. The case against him rested chiefly on the evidence of two girls, Jodie Parker and Leeanne Clack. Jodie Parker gave evidence that, at some time after John Apps' body had been found, the appellant said to her:

I know whose body is up in the mountains. I know whose it is and I was the one that killed him. If you tell anybody I'll do the same to you. The second statement was made to Leeanne Clack with whom the appellant had been friendly. In the course of the conversation he said: I shot [or I killed] John. It was an accident. I didn't mean to do it. Under cross-examination, she thought that he had said "killed" rather than "shot" and she affirmed that he had used the word "accident".