The Parkside Body in the Freezer Case: 
The Appeal (part 5)

The House

The house in which Mr Stevenson was murdered was located in Parkside, across from the South Adelaide Parklands. A very distinctive house with a slanting roof, it was bulldozed in 2008 and is now an empty space alongside the Transcendental Meditation headquarters. I doubt anyone waiting for a bus right at the front of the property would have any idea that almost 40 years ago, a horrendous murder took place there.

189 Greenhill Road, Parkside - circa 1970s

 

189 Greenhill Road, Parkside - 2007

189 Greenhill Road, Parkside - 2017

The Appeal

David Szach’s is a free man after serving his time for a murder, he (possibly) did not commit. He may be free, but he will forever have that conviction recorded against him in the annals of law. He has claimed right from the start that he did not murder his lover Derrance Stevenson, and now evidence would suggest that he is telling the truth, However, Government officials will not Mr Szach’s appeal the conviction, even though there are laws in place that give him the right to do so.
Mr Szach’s is now fighting not only for his right to clear his name but for his life, with a diagnosis of motor neurone disease that will eventually rob him of his freedom yet again.
In 2016 Maurice Blackburn Lawyers launched a challenge to David Szach’s murder conviction under South Australian legislation that permits convicted criminals to launch an appeal if there is compelling new evidence to clear their name.
In Szach’s case that compelling new evidence is the manner in which Dr Manock conducted his forensic pathology testing, and his non-scientific reasoning when substituting data or methods to gain an end result. (Dr Manock’s testing methods are being brought into question in a number of different cases in South Australia).
There is also the compelling evidence of a young man who turned up at the South Australian Legal Aide Commission the morning after the murder, that had been with Mr Stevenson the night he was murdered. This young man was never sought for the court case, nor was the staff member he spoke to sought as a witness.


I will be watching the outcome of Mr Szach’s appeal, and no doubt will write about the result sometime in the future.

As an interesting side note, and a look into Adelaide’s mythology, and urban legends, could the murder of Derrance Stevenson be, in part, where the origins of Dr Schneider/ Schneider’s Alley haunting began?
 In my original research into Schneider’s Alley, way back in 2008, there was talk of the time of a nearby doctor chopping someone up and putting them into the freezer…considering the notorious park is only 5.8km’s away from the murder scene in Parkside, I believe this, in some weird way, helped propagate the Alley’s notorious (but fake) reputation and origins – a case of misinformation, and urban legend storytelling!

rear view of Derrance Stevenson's house 2007

side view of Derrance Stevenson's house 2007

front view of Derrance Stevenson's house 2007

researched and written by : Allen Tiller - 2017
www.allentiller.com.au
https://www.facebook.com/AllenHauntingAustralia/
https://www.facebook.com/TheHauntsOfAdelaide/

Bibliography

TV & Radio:

Archer, G, 2007, Szach Polygraph, Today Tonight, Seven Network, Adelaide, South Australia, aired 12 Mar 2007, viewed 10 Mar 2017, https://www.todaytonightadelaide.com.au/stories/szach-polygraph

Carrick D, 2016, The body in the freezer, ABC Radio, viewed 10 Mar 2017, http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/backgroundbriefing/2016-09-18/7848700#transcript

Mann A, 2015, 'Shonk' forensic expert could trigger legal crisis in South Australia, 7:30 ABC Network, viewed 10 Mar 2017, http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2015/s4368496.htm

Books:

Mann, Tom 2015, Body in the freezer: the case of David Szach, [Gawler East, South Australia] Tom Mann

Orr, Stephen 2011, The cruel city : is Adelaide the murder capital of Australia?, Sydney Allen & Unwin

Newspapers:

1979 'Lawyer's body hidden in freezer, court told', The Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995), 7 August, p. 10. , viewed 10 Mar 2017, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article110573111

1979 'Lawyer's death: man for trial', The Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995), 15 August, p. 17. , viewed 10 Mar 2017, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article110575069

1979 'Lawyer's death: man for trial', The Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995), 15 August, p. 17. , viewed 10 Mar 2017, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article110575069

1991 'Murphy visit to death house alleged', The Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995), 14 April, p. 3. , viewed 10 Mar 2017, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article122356759

1993 'Convict's life sentence to end in July', The Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995), 27 March, p. 18. , viewed 10 Mar 2017, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article127204589

Carrick D & Story-Carter J, 2016, The body in the freezer, ABC News, viewed 10 Mar 2017, http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-09-16/david-szach-and-the-body-in-the-freezer/7851166

Hunt N, 2014, Lost diary gives South Australia police new lead into Alan Barnes murder by The Family, The Advertiser (online), viewed 10 Mar 2017, http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/lost-diary-gives-south-australia-police-new-lead-into-alan-barnes-murder-by-the-family/news-story/eaf66c4823f20f55981177c02d2bb657

Loussikian K, 2016, Lionel Murphy’s misbehaviour: inquiry documents released, The Australian, viewed 10 Mar 2017, http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/lionel-murphys-misbehaviour-inquiry-documents-released/news-story/541db65962e1432b27b7fad110b7cbe9

Manock CH, 1979, Autopsy Report, The State Coroner, Forensic Science Centre, viewed 10 Mar 2017, http://netk.net.au/Szach/AutopsyReport.asp

Mata M, 2016, Maurice Blackburn launches David Szach’s body-in-a-freezer appeal, Australasian Lawyer, viewed 10 Mar 2017, http://www.australasianlawyer.com.au/news/maurice-blackburn-launches-david-szachs-bodyinafreezer-appeal-223715.aspx

Sydney Morning Herald, 2013, I didn't do it, I wasn't there, Sydney Morning Herald, viewed 10 Mar 2017, http://www.smh.com.au/national/i-didnt-do-it-i-wasnt-there-20131215-2zfwf.html

Urban, AL, 2014, David Szach: denying a dying man, Civil Liberties Australia, viewed 10 Mar 2017, http://www.cla.asn.au/News/david-szach-denying-a-dying-man/

Vaughan, J, 2008, Body-in-freezer murder house demolished, The Advertiser, viewed 10 Mar 2017, http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/body-in-freezer-murder-house-demolished/news-story/10b1d5a4673ace5791be3a969cbd2d1b

James C, 2014, How the death of Anna-Jane Cheney stopped South Australia in its tracks, The Advertiser, viewed 10 Mar 2017, http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/how-the-death-of-annajane-cheney-stopped-south-australia-in-its-tracks/news-story/0ecd38982fa994ae88e20dda1eb94eaa

The Parkside Body in the Freezer Case: Innocence (part 2)

The Parkside Body in the Freezer Case: Innocence (part 2)

David Szach’s was sent to jail at the age of 19, for the murder of his 44-year-old  lover, flamboyant lawyer, Derrance Stevenson, in 1979.

Szach’s has always maintained his innocence in the case, launching numerous appeals to clear his name, and even appearing on channel seven current affairs program, Today Tonight, undertaking a polygraph test (https://www.todaytonightadelaide.com.au/stories/szach-polygraph). (you can read a transcript of the interview here: http://netk.net.au/Media/2007-03-12TTSzach.asp) 

David Szach - circa 1980 - source Today Tonight

It is claimed that Mr Derrance Redford Stevenson was killed on the night of Monday, June 4^th 1979. A concerned friend had visited his home at 189 Greenhill Rd, Parkside after Mr Stevenson failed to appear at an important trial at the courthouse on Tuesday morning. Police searched the building, fearing Mr Stevenson had been robbed for the large amounts of cash his friends claimed he kept on the premises, it was during this time the freezer was found glued shut, and once opened, Mr Stevenson’s body was found.
 Mr Stevenson was last seen alive at about 4.25pm on June 4 by his relieving secretary, Mrs Flaherty.

 The coroner arrived at 6pm Tuesday night to begin examinations of Mr Stevenson’s body, which had spent the night in a sealed freezer. He estimated the time of death, which corresponded to a time that Mr Szach’s would have been present in the home (more about this next week), further pointing the finger toward Mr Szach.

Szach had allegedly cancelled a bus ticket to Coober Pedy on Monday the 4^th. He often went to the town to mine opal. It is claimed that Szach’s took Mr Stevenson’s distinct red 240z Datsun, and drove it to his parent's house, then drove it to Coober Pedy. What is significant about this, is that it is claimed that Stevenson was very particular about who drove his car and where it went. It is claimed he would never have let his 19-year-old lover drive the car.
 To further implicate Szach’s a witness claimed he saw a man leaving Stevenson’s home after 11pm carrying a green garbage bag and an attaché case. The attaché case (or one very similar to it) was found inside Stevenson’s red Datsun in Coober Pedy…

David Szach’s pleaded not guilty in court but was sentenced (via jury) to life in jail. He appealed and was re-tried in 1980, only to lose again. Szach’s refused to apply for parole, as he believed he was innocent, and applying for parole against his sentence, would give him the recognition that he had committed the crime.
 South Australian laws were changed to enable the Chair of the Parole Board to apply for a non-parole period on the behalf of a prisoner because of Szach’s stance.

Szach’s was released in 1994

So, did David Szach’s kill his older lover? Dr Bob Moles of the Miscarriages of Justice Project at Flinders’ University doesn’t believe so and has campaigned against the conviction of Mr Szach’s and the Governments further refusal to allow Szach’s to appeal against his conviction.

Dr Moles publicly stated that Szach’s couldn’t have killed Stevenson in an interview with ABC news reporters, Damien Carrick and Jeremy Story Carter, where he stated;

"You'd have to attribute to David Szach a number of skills,"

"He'd have the skills of a hired assassin. He'd have to have the skills of a highly skilled rally driver. He'd have to have the skills of a person who could impersonate somebody else and he'd also have to have a great capacity to come across as innocent and naïve when he's been questioned by the police."

There is further evidence either overlooked or “pushed aside” by prosecutors. On the night of Stevenson’s death, two cars were seen sitting in the driveway at his house. One for the green and white ford belonging to Gino Gambardella, and the other unknown (with the witness suggesting it could be the red Datsun that belonged to Stevenson). These cars were witnessed at about 11pm on the night of the murder.

A taxi also picked up a young man, wearing a suit, who was carrying a garbage bag and an attaché case and drove him into the City. The young man, when he exited the taxi, forget his belongings, and was called back by the taxi driver to take them with him.
The taxi driver described the young man as being around 19 years old with blond shoulder-length hair, wearing glasses and of a sallow complexion. He (The taxi driver) did not believe this man to be Szach’s.

A mysterious young man showed up on the steps of the South Australian Legal Aid Commission the morning after Stevenson’s murder wanting to report a crime. When asked by a legal secretary if he had seen a lawyer, the man replied: "Only Derrance Stevenson, but when I left him last night he was in no condition to act for anyone."

David Szach - circa 2012 - source ABC News

 This young man was never heard of again, and no one tried to follow up on his request. Who was he? Was he the young man in the suit?



Szach’s also claimed that Stevenson had been receiving threatening phone calls, and after one phone call, had told him to take the Datsun and leave town for a while. Szach’s followed his partner’s advice, spending a day with his mother, and returning home that night, to find Stevenson not home, so he took the car and drove overnight to Coober Pedy. Szach’s never once deterred from this story.

At the time of the trial, it was illegal to be homosexual in Adelaide. The prosecution sensationalised the case in the media by focussing as much attention on the two men’s sex lives as they could, taking the spotlight away from facts, witness testimony and other unanswered questions about the case at the time.
There are many intriguing unanswered questions with this case, including a scandal around the then Coroner. There is also the question of who is Gino Gambardella and what was he doing at Stevenson’s house on the night of the murder?

I will be looking at both of these men in the coming blogs.

Do you believe David Szach’s is guilty or innocent of the murder of Derrance Stevenson? Tell us over on our Facebook page; The Haunts of Adelaide (https://www.facebook.com/TheHauntsOfAdelaide/?fref=ts)




Next Week: The Parkside Body in the Freezer Case: Gino "Luigi" Gambardella (part 3)
(Bibliography in the final blog post of this series)