Aussies have reacted after an expert speculated that police likely knew there was more to the death of a young woman but said it was not being treated as suspicious.
Audrey Griffin’s partially-submerged body was discovered in Erina Creek on the New South Wales Central Coast on March 24.
The 19-year-old was last seen the night before as she left a nearby pub following a night out with friends. Her death was not publicly announced as suspicious at the time, as a preliminary autopsy indicated she had drowned.
However, after further investigations, police charged Adrian Torrens, 53, with murder at Surry Hills in inner-city Sydney on Monday afternoon.
Armchair detectives were quick to slam the initial reporting of the death as ‘unsuspicious’ on social media.
‘It was such a bizarre thing, being told it was non-suspicious, yet nothing was adding up,’ one person wrote online.
‘As others have said, saying it was not suspicious made no sense at all. I’m glad the police have made an arrest and hope the law serves a fitting punishment… it was never fair to make out it was her own fault,’ another said.
Criminal psychologist Tim Watson-Munro told Daily Mail a death could sometimes be proclaimed as unsuspicious in order to ‘flush out people’ who might otherwise flee or go to ground if they think police are hunting for the suspect.
‘It’s very hard to get into the police’s heads but I would say it may have been a tactical decision,’ Mr Watson-Munro said on Wednesday.
‘The police will do whatever it takes, lawfully…. quite often they withhold information.
‘They’ve now found a body and have arrested someone so it could have been a tactic to flush out (suspects), thinking the heats off.
‘They may have had information they didn’t want out there.’
Online sleuths claimed other young girls had been put in danger by police telling the public Ms Griffin’s death was being treated as unsuspicious.
‘A poor tactic in my opinion. As a community we needed to be warned to be vigilant. Yet the constant message put out there by media was that ‘police are not treating this as suspicious,’ one said.
How many other young girls were put at risk by police lying? I warned my daughter going out and said it’s so clear it’s suspicious,’ a second wrote.
Mr Watson-Munro said on Tuesday that there was a very good reason as to why police didn’t tell the public everything in some cases.
‘The problem is if they release too much information you’ve got all these armchair detectives that colour the water and interfere with the investigation,’ he said.
‘Police will gather all the information they need before they (charge).’