The Derwent's Darkest Hour

Robert Chappell was murdered on his yacht 10 years ago, but who killed him? Was the conviction of his partner, Sue Neill-Fraser, the greatest miscarriage of justice since the Chamberlain case? As the decade-long crusade to free her reaches its dramatic conclusion, Genevieve Gannon follows the evidence trail.

- Genevieve Gannon

On the moonless night of January 26, 2009 a body was dropped into the cold water of Tasmania’s Derwent River, never to be recovered. The deceased was Robert Chappell – Bob to his friends – a 65-year-old physicist who worked in the Royal Hobart Hospital’s oncology unit where he was completing one final project before retirement. When his partner Sue Neill-Fraser arrived at the marina the following morning after police called to say her yacht was sinking, the full extent of the tragedy was not yet apparent. The first thing she asked was, “Where’s Bob?”

Neill-Fraser stood at the water’s edge, telling Constable Shane Etherington her partner Bob had been working on the yacht, which had been giving the couple trouble since they purchased it in Queensland in December. He’d had to repair some panels that had been mysteriously loosened, she said. She told the officer she believed somebody had boarded the boat and prised them free in order to smuggle drugs into Australia, and she asked if the police had sniffer dogs that could investigate this theory. When police searched the empty yacht they noticed blood on the steps to the saloon. Winch ropes were not as they should be and there was blood spatter on the stairwell walls. Bob was missing.

Nine months later, Neill-Fraser was charged with his murder. She pleaded not guilty but was convicted and is presently serving a 23-year jail term for murder. The mother of two has staunchly maintained her innocence, telling The Weekly in 2015: “I think he was the victim of a random or opportunistic incident,” and that she feels like she’s “been sent off to a strange planet.” Supporters have lined up behind her, calling for reviews and a Royal Commission. Venerable defence barrister Robert Richter said the conviction was the greatest miscarriage of justice in this country since Lindy Chamberlain.