On Murder 2

 About this book:

'Jockey Smith's Last Stand' is the true story of how Ian Harris, a country police officer, was confronted by James Edward 'Jockey' Smith at Creswick one Saturday night in December 1992. Smith, who was known throughout Australia as Public Enemy Number One, tried to disarm Harris and shot at him while pursuing him around the police car. With the aid of Darren Neil, who was coming home after a day of exploring gold mines with his sons, Harris was able to fatally wound Smith outside the Farmers Arms Hotel. This story tells it how it happened and the post traumatic stress suffered by the police officer and others directly and indirectly involved.

Extract:

'Neil walked straight up to Smith, asking Harris, "Are you alright? Are you alright?"

Then to Smith he said, "Settle down a bit," and pushed him hard with both hands directly on the chest propelling him backwards as Smith continued waving the revolver around. Smith fired a third shot into the ground about 150cm away from the feet of Ian Harris. Jarrod and Travis screamed.

"I'm going to kill you," Smith said, pointing the revolver at Harris's head.

Neil rushed back to the station wagon and drove past the police car then turned towards the main bar, almost completing a U-turn. He then opened the door for his terrified children and guided them towards the main bar. Someone opened a door and pulled them inside. Meanwhile Harris continued to back away with his hands raised in the air. He was at the front bonnet of the police car when Smith reached for his shirt collar. Harris resisted, causing two buttons to pop from the shirt.

Neil raced back to the idling station wagon while Smith swept his revolver from one to the other. Back inside the station wagon Neil reversed, then momentarily stopped. Engaging first gear he then leaned across the passenger seat and accelerated, kangaroo hopping, towards Smith and Harris."

Run him over, run him over!" yelled the police officer.

As the car got closer, for reasons unknown to him even today, Darren Neil braked. He could have pinned Smith against the side of the police car but stopped short. Smith fired a fourth shot. Adam Francis saw the station wagon brake to avoid Harris who stepped aside at the last moment. At the same time Smith turned and aimed his revolver at Neil, frozen in is seat, and fired a fifth shot. Harris, seizing the opportunity, drew his revolver and squeezed the trigger three times.'

You can purchase this story for AU$5.00. It can either be emailed or mailed to you anywhere for this price.

This anthology is the second of true crime stories edited by author Kerry Greenwood. There are twenty writers and twenty-one stories.

Murder Ballads. Victor Chang. The Pyjama Girl. The Windsor Murder... Some stories scream out to be told.

Murder is messy, chilling and explosive. It raises questions and arouses fear. It tests our legal system and out faith in human nature.

How does a picnic turn into a shoot-out? How does a psychopath slip through the legal system? How can a small town look away when a baby is tortured and murdered? Why do we glorify serial killers?

The first On Murder was a best-seller. With On Murder 2, crime writer and legal aid solicitor Kerry Greenwood has maintained the standard. Whether first-hand accounts, long-standing investigations, pen portraits or accounts from the "inside" of the legal system, these stories are all marked by their drama, their intelligence and their unflinching gaze.

go to top of page

Reviews:

March 2002 Reviews - by Carol George - The Australian Women's Weekly

"On Murder 2

Edited by Kerry Greenwood ( Black Inc. $21.95) True Crime Writing in Australia
Crime buffs and lovers of morbid mysteries will find this anthology, compiled by Kerry Greenwood, Melbourne solicitor and author of the terrific Phryne Fisher mysteries, fascinating. Penned by journalists, a forensic pathologist, a barrister and writers who revisit true life crimes, many in gritty detail. Not for the faint-hearted, but interesting with some of the stories exposing the shortfalls of our legal system and raising moral questions that give you something to think about long after you've put the book down. "We can ask a soldier about war, we can ask a rock climber how it feels to fall of a cliff, we can ask a battered wife how it feels to be beaten up every day. But we can't ask a murder victim how it feels to be murdered. Murder is a puzzle which always has the most important piece missing." (from the introduction to On Murder 2 by Kerry Greenwood)"

go to top of page

Related Links:

On Murder 2 ABC Perth The Backyard

go to top of page