Corryn Rayney | |
---|---|
Born | Corynn Veronica Ann Da Silva 1963 |
Died | August 7, 2007 Kings Park, Perth, Australia | (aged 43–44)
Known for | Mysterious death and prosecution of her husband for her supposed murder |
Corryn Veronica Ann Rayney, née Da Silva, (born 1963) migrated to Australia with her Indian family in 1973 as refugees from Idi Amin's Uganda.[1][2][3] Her death occurred on or about 7 August 2007, her body being discovered a week later in a clandestine grave in Kings Park, Perth, with no clearly established cause of death.[4] Her husband Lloyd Rayney, a prominent barrister specialising in criminal prosecution, was charged with her murder, but found not guilty after a trial before a judge only.[5] The acquittal was unanimously upheld by a court of appeal in August 2013. The state's police commissioner and attorney general declined to acknowledge documented procedural mistakes, and refused to instigate a fresh search for the killers, leading to calls for a federal investigation into the matter.
The Rayneys lived in the Perth suburb of Como and had two daughters,[6] Caitlyn (born 1994) and Sarah (born 1997).[7]: 60 At the time, Lloyd Rayney was involved in a Corruption and Crime Commission inquiry into the misconduct of police officers in a murder investigation.[6] Corryn Rayney was employed as a registrar at the Supreme Court of Western Australia. She was last seen alive at 9.30 p.m. on 7 August 2007 at a boot scooting class.[6][8] A week later, police discovered her abandoned car and followed a trail of oil from it to the grave in Kings Park.[9]