The Truth About Amy: Ex-cop accuses WA Police of ‘confirmation bias' over suspected murder

7NEWS

6 hours ago

An ex-cop has accused WA Police of 'confirmation bias' in the suspected murder of Amy Wensley more than a decade ago.
The Truth About Amy podcast revealed in the final episode of its second season that key witnesses — including Gareth Price who was at the Serpentine property when Amy died — still hadn't been properly interrogated.
Former detective and private investigator Duncan McNab, pictured, said confirmation bias often meant crimes weren't properly investigated.
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'The moment you have confirmation bias in your investigation, it means that you're going to stuff it up,' he told hosts Liam Bartlett and Alison Sandy.
'It also means that someone innocent might get convicted or railroaded towards a conviction … (or) that the victims of the crime aren't properly served by the investigators.
'(An) investigation is a jigsaw puzzle . . . you throw all the pieces of the jigsaw on the table and work systematically until you get a result.'
Ms Wensley, 24, was found dead behind her bedroom door in her home in 2014 with a fatal gunshot wound to her head.
Ducan McNab.
Credit: Supplied
Her important belongings were in a car, along with her two daughters — an apparent sign she was about to leave her partner, David Simmons, pictured above with Amy.
Despite police initially treating the death as suspicious, detectives later deemed it a suicide and cleaned the bedroom, destroying with it any forensic evidence.
Ms Wensley's mother Nancy Kirk — who rejects the idea she took her own life — said she phoned her daughter and listened to her as she hysterically sobbed on the day she died.
Ms Wensley claimed Mr Simmons had 'grabbed me by the throat and thrown me on the ground' during an argument, just moments before the fatal shot was fired.
Mr Simmons has vehemently denied any suggestions that he was holding the gun when it went off.
A coronial inquest in 2021 was unable to determine how Ms Wensley died.
'I have considered all of the available evidence . . . and I have concluded that there is not enough evidence for me to make a formal finding as to how Amy died,' Deputy coroner Sarah Linton said at the time.
'The Truth About Amy' is a major podcast produced by Seven West Media, investigating the death of WA mother Amy Wensley in 2014.
Credit: Supplied
/ Supplied
Mr McNab called on Police Commissioner Col Blanch to 'do the right thing' and properly investigate Amy's case.
'Here's a chance for you to get in front of something,' he said.
'Here's a chance for you to be seen as someone doing the right thing.
'Yes, a couple of rank and file might squawk loudly about it, but you're a leader – lead.'
The Truth About Amy earlier this season revealed that former Detective Senior Constable Ann Lehane — the officer first in charge of the coronial investigation — was told to treat Amy's case as 'non-suspicious'.
When she didn't, she was reprimanded.
'Coppers around the country — and I think internationally for that matter — seldom say, 'oops, we've got it wrong,'' Mr McNab said.
'They have been forced into that position and they're always unwilling.
'Instead of saying, 'No, no, no, forget the past', maybe it's time to deal with the past and get these crimes fixed.'
A spokesperson for Premier Roger Cook said there was a $1 million reward for anyone with information that could help solve Amy's case.
'The Premier strongly encourages anyone who knows anything to come forward, so Amy's family receive answers but also justice,' the spokesperson said.
WA Police were contacted for comment.
While Season Two of The Truth About Amy is now complete, the hit podcast will soon be released as a vodcast on YouTube and will continue with bonus episodes as new information of the case comes to light.