The Jennifer Tanner CASE

Table of Contents

Abstract 3

PROFILE �" Information of Deceased. 4

Jennifer Tanner �" Primary Profile. 4

Adele Bailey �" The Secondary Profile. 4

Overview of Case �" Identifying Data and Reason of Referral 5

Factuality of Crime Scene(s) 6

Events following after the crime scene. 6

Description of weapon and inference of method. 7

REFERENCE. 10

 

 

Report of Criminal Case

Criminology                

 

This paper may include confidential material.

Abstract

OVERVIEW OF CASE

 

 

The case of Jennifer Tanner remains UNSOLVED since it is unclear whether or not Jennifer Tanner was murdered or she committed suicide. Although, in accordance to the evidence discussed in this study strongly supports the theory in which she was murdered.

 

 

 

PROFILE �" Information of Deceased

Jennifer Tanner �" Primary Profile

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*The profile shown above is the profile of deceased Jennifer Ruth Tanner included in one of the inquests to investigate the case of the Coroners Court which has been dismissed.  This report will contrast with the Adele Bailey case as it is deemed to be associated with the Jennifer Tanner case. It is also deemed that a secondary profile of Adele bailey will be relevant since it may lead to more informative evidence.

Adele Bailey �" The Secondary Profile

Overview of Case �" Identifying Data and Reason of Referral

 

Jennifer Ruth TANNER died on the 14^th November 1984 with the effects of two gunshots to the brain including one gunshot on each hand, between the index finger and thumb (webbing). It is argued that Jennifer has committed suicide and is also argued that she was murdered. The main suspect for her murder is her brother-in-law, Dennis TANNER (former Victorian policeman), who is also said to also be associated in the killing of a New Zealand transsexual sex worker, Adele Bailey (disappeared 1978, St Kilda). Adele Bailey’s remains were uncovered in a mine shaft at Donnie Doon, behind the Tanner family’s farm. This is also near the same place where Jennifer Tanner died. This is the possible reason why it is rumoured by media that the deaths of Adele Bailey and Jennifer Tanner are linked.

The actual reason on why Jennifer Ruth Tanner died has remained unclear. Media, police and forensic pathologist have argued between two scenarios. Murder and suicide. To place possible inferences of her death, referral of researched facts and expert opinions will be placed into consideration in this report.

 

 

Factuality of Crime Scene(s)

 

Laurence Tanner (Jennifer Tanner’s husband) arrived in his house circa 10.22pm on the 14^th November 1984 to find Jennifer on the couch with an .22 Calibre BRNO bolt action rifle between her legs. There seems to be “a large pile of congealed blood on her left leg and hip”, on the couch and cushions, blood and tissue on splattered towards the ceiling, blood on the rifle itself and a heavily blood stained towel towards her left with burn marks. When her body was found, her 21-month son, Samuel, was asleep within the residential area but away from the crime scene (i.e. across the hallway).

                         i.         Jennifer Tanner was seated sideways on the two-seater couch

                        ii.         She was dressed in unzipped jeans and a black T-shirt

                       iii.         Her right leg was fully extended as her left was bent. Her feet were bare

                      iv.         The used cartilage lays on her left foot

                       v.         Jennifer’s left hand was partially grasping the rifle that was present

                      vi.         Laurence Tanner (Jennifer Tanner’s husband) stated in an interview that some of the jewellery that belonged to his mother, legal documents and newspaper clippings about his assault in 1998 (around a year before Dennis Tanner resigned from the police force). A possible reason for this is that the Tanner family is known for their dispute for their mother’s property

                     vii.         No suicide note was found.

Events following after the crime scene

1.     Benalla detectives raided Dennis Tanner’s property

 

2.     Detective have found a Webley and Scott .22 Calibre long-arm air rifle (not the same rifle uncovered at the Bonnie Doon), police-issue ammunition and unauthorised police identification. Re: unauthorised police identification: Galbally Rolfe, who was advised by Police Victoria, stated that he resigned from the police force in 1999 and that Dennis Tanner had requested it to be returned.

 

3.     Dennis Tanner is supposedly the only one who knew both women

 

4.     Detectives did not uncover any stolen items from the couple’s property (i.e. no newspaper clippings of Laurie Tanner’s assault that left him with a knife stabbed on his ankle and jewellery owned by his mother)

 

 

Victim’s Surroundings �" Jennifer Tanner

 

§  Television was on

§  Gas wall heater was on

§  Freshly ironed clothes were seated near the heater along with the iron and ironing board

§  Near the ironing board is a nappy and tin of baby powder

§  On the other side of heater, there was a saucer on the bottom of a half-full coffee mug and three biscuits on a plate

§  One of the three small glass-and-brass coffee table that were spread around the room �"in which the crime scene took place�" held an ashtray with five cigarette butts

§  And on another coffee table, there was a dish filled with wrapped chocolates

 

*Given the statements in the suspected victim’s surroundings, it is possible that she may have invited someone over to her house before she died.

Before Laurie Tanner found his wife dead on the couch, he was on a visit from Mansfield which is about 30-40 kilometres away. Once he found Jennifer, he was instantly convinced that she was dead and immediately went down the hallway to check on his son, Samuel, then later called the Wangaratta Ambulance Service at around 10:22pm.

Jennifer received two gunshots on the head which are within close proximity of each other and a gunshot wound on each hand.

As for Adele Bailey, it is found that Dennis Tanner had once arrested her and that he was one of the last police officer that has talked to Adele.  17 years after Adele Bailey’s disappearance, her remains (skeleton) was recovered in a mine shaft near Dennis Tanner’s private property in Bonnie Doon.

·       During the occurrence of Adele Bailey’s internal migration to Bonnie Doon, it is found that she wrote to her sister about her having an affair with Dennis Tanner and her fearing to present evidence in a court case about an unknown police officer. This was not long before she disappeared.

 

·       Theory says that Adele was beaten to death when Dennis Tanner found out that she was transsexual. But there is no full established evidence that supports this theory.

Description of weapon and inference of method

 

Additionally, since this case was first treated as a suicide, no photographs and DNA testing were taken at the crime scene. This ultimately meant that the people who attended the scene took sketches of the scene.

“Mr Irwin said the ambulance driver who attended the death scene drew a sketch that showed blood and body matter had sprayed upwards away from the body and on to curtains or wall behind the body.”

Since the blood and tissue were splattered towards the ceiling and the gunshot is fired almost vertically at an upward angle, it is possible that the gun was near the ground when it was triggered. Because of this, crime scene attendants inferenced this as a suicidal case. The trigger pull measured 1.8kg.

By combining the facts that the gun was found between TANNER’s legs with her right leg fully extended �"feet bare, her left hand partially grasping the rifle and the cartilage rested on her left foot it was deemed that she killed herself by pulling the trigger with her left hallux (largest toe). *As shown on the image on the bottom right in which a model demonstrates how Jennifer Tanner may have killed herself:

Even if this was the case, Detective Senior Sergeant, Bill Nash, states that the x-rays taken on Jennifer Tanner’s body cannot be suicide. “We've circulated those x-rays, copies of them to experts both in Australia and overseas and those experts inform us that Jennifer Tanner could not have committed suicide.” Stated Bill Nash

Quotes from Mr Ron Irwin, who attended Jennifer Tanner’s X-ray:

"The two shots to Jenny Tanner's skull were both skin contact wounds, very close together, one above the other in the centre of her forehead,'' he said.

"The head photographs show powder burning to the skin around the entry holes.

"In murders, shots are rarely fired hard against the skin, because the shooter can't get that close; the victim is instinctively evasive and moves about.

"In suicides, by contrast, the shooter is always still. Two contact wounds close together almost always indicate suicide.

"Jenny also had a through-and through wound in each hand through the webbing between the thumb and forefinger. This is consistent with using her toe to fire vertically while her hands were cupped over the muzzle.''

.22 Calibre BRNO bolt action rifle

*Context for the term Rifle: A Gun fired from shoulder level with a long spiral grooved barrel making the bullet spin. The bullet spinning ultimately makes long distance shooting efficient. Once the bullet has been shot, the rifle must be loaded again.

 

 

“Jenny also had a through-and through wound in each hand through the webbing between the thumb and forefinger. This is consistent with using her toe to fire vertically while her hands were cupped over the muzzle.''

 

*The quote stated above is considered a reasonable explanation that supports the theory of Jennifer Tanner committing suicide. It rejects the inference that Jennifer used her hand as indication of defence. But still, how did she manage to shoot herself twice in the head whilst enduring burgeoning pain? That question supports the opposition’s theory.

It is also unknown whether the ‘two’ gunshots were one gunshot that ultimately wounded both hands or each an individual gunshot for each hand.   The number of bullets in the cartilage remain unclear.

 

Jennifer was found shot in the head twice and a shot found on each hand (the shot on the hands may indicate that Jennifer was in the position of defence assuming she was murdered). This fact makes the possibility that Jennifer committed suicide close to impossible. This is because [despite the quote; “In suicides, by contrast, the shooter is always still. Two contact wounds close together almost always indicate suicide.”] Jennifer will have found shooting herself twice in the head an extremity (not to mention, unnecessary shooting herself once on each hand. But she may have done so to make her suicide seem like a murder). In order to shoot herself more than once, she will have to load the rifle again to proceed. The possibility of her loading the rifle �"whilst keeping the position that she was found it�" and shooting herself multiple times is next to null since the pain will be described as ‘too harsh to handle’;

Ø  In order for this to be murder, the killer must have been close to ground when the gunshot(s) were triggered

 

Ø  There is a slight possibility that Jennifer’s attacker first sexually assaulted her since her body was found on the couch and her jeans were unzipped

 

Ø  It is also possible that the person that she might have invited (see Victim’s Surroundings) could have been her killer.

*The time difference between the disappearance of Adele Bailey and the death Jennifer Tanner is 6 years.

Ø  Sexual assault may be a subject in this case and the Adele Bailey case. This is because Adele Bailey had sex with a police officer (possible that it was not with Dennis Tanner but related) near her disappearance. Additionally, her remains were uncovered close to a property that belonged to Dennis Tanner.

*In a scenario in which Jennifer was murdered, it is possible the killer may have set up the scene to appear as a suicide one.

REFERENCE

 

Bowles, R. (1998). Blind Justice: The True Story of the Death of Jennifer Tanner. Crows Nest, NSW, Australia: A Sue Hine.

 

Colvin, M. (2005, October 13). Transcript - Police offer $2m reward in murder cases. (M. Colvin, Producer, & ABC Local Radio) Retrieved September 2017, from abc.net: http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2005/s1481896.htm

 

Cononers Court of Victoria. (2011, August 4). 009691 Jennifer Tanner. (Cononers Court of Victoria) Retrieved Septemeber 2017, from Cononers Court of Victoria: http://www.coronerscourt.vic.gov.au/home/orders+and+rulings/009691+jennifer+tanner

 

Coroners Court of Victoria . (2011, August 4). FORM 44 - Order by Coroner to Re-Open Investigation. (Coroners Court of Victoria ) Retrieved September 2017, from Coroners Court of Victoria : http://www.coronerscourt.vic.gov.au/resources/ba741dc4-2fd5-4c0f-aac4-deb94b5236dd/reopenorderjennifertanner_009691.pdf

 

Coroners Court of Victoria. (2011, August 4). Inquest into the Death of Jennifer Tanner. (Coroners Court of Victoria) Retrieved September 2017, from Coroners Court of Victoria: http://www.coronerscourt.vic.gov.au/home/orders+and+rulings/inquest+into+the+death+of+jennifer+tanner

 

Coroners Court of Victoria. (2011, August 4). Ruling Upon Application For A Cost Order Against Mr Dennis Tanner. (Coroners Court of Victoria) Retrieved ca. September 2017, from Coroners Court of Victoria: http://www.coronerscourt.vic.gov.au/resources/fe8907fb-fc15-48ec-89e0-3c214dc9ba48/costsapplication_jennifertanner.pdf

 

Ex-Magistrate appears to be in contempt of his own court! (2002, August 5). Retrieved ca. September 2017, from smuggled: http://www.smuggled.com/medre114.htm

Farnsworth, S. (2012, August 10). Coroner told of new evidence in Tanner case. (abc.net.au) Retrieved ca. September 2017, from abc.net.au: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-08-09/coroner-told-of-new-evidence-in-tanner-case/4187852

 

Kok, D. (2016, November 29). Who killed Jenny Tanner? (D. Kok, Producer) Retrieved ca. September 2017, from Prezi: https://prezi.com/i64gqcc839nr/who-killed-jenny-tanner/

 

Mills, T. (2015, March 16). Police case against former detective Denis Tanner dropped. (The Age) Retrieved December 5, 2017, from The Age: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/police-case-against-former-detective-denis-tanner-dropped-20150316-1lzzmp.html

Moor, K. (2010, July 27). New evidence implicates several former police officers in Adele Bailey murder. Retrieved December 5, 2017, from HeraldSun: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/new-evidence-implicates-several-former-police-officers-in-adele-bailey-murder/news-story/9c702c99ddc39e49a2dabf014a9e4dfc?sv=86218d9268dd98861d864223492c4000

 

Moor, K. (2013, April 15). Jennifer Tanner committed suicide and was not murdered evidence shows, late detective Ron Irwin claimed. (Herald Sun) Retrieved ca. September 2017, from Herald Sun: sun.com.au/news/law-order/evidence-backs-jennifer-tanner-suicide-theory-late-cop-ron-irwin-claims/news-story/a6e1853995dbdaf5c94e7380e58560c1

 

Moor, K. (2015, July 27). New evidence implicates several former police officers in Adele Bailey murder. (H. Sun, Producer) Retrieved December 14, 2017, from Herald Sun: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/new-evidence-implicates-several-former-police-officers-in-adele-bailey-murder/news-story/9c702c99ddc39e49a2dabf014a9e4dfc?sv=86218d9268dd98861d864223492c4000

 

Murphy, A. (2012, July 2). New murder evidence: Detectives call for another inquest into deaths of women. (Sunraysia Daily) Retrieved ca. September 2017, from Sunraysia Daily: http://www.sunraysiadaily.com.au/story/197691/new-murder-evidence-detectives-call-for-another-inquest-into-deaths-of-women/

 

QBD Books. (2010). Blind Justice: The True Story of the Death of Jennifer Tanner. (QBD Books) Retrieved ca. September 2017, from QBD Books: https://www.qbd.com.au/blind-justice-the-true-story-of-the-death-of-jennifer-tanner/robin-bowles/9781742119434/

 

Russel, M. (2012, November 2). Tanner fails in bid to clear his name. (The Age - Victoria) Retrieved September 2017, from The Age : http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/tanner-fails-in-bid-to-clear-his-name-20121102-28ots.html

 

Satyanshu K., M. J. (1987). The Size of Crime Problem in Australia. (http://www.aic.gov.au/media_library/archive/publications-1980s/size-crime-problem-australia-january-1987.pdf, Ed.) Canberra, ACT, Australia: Australian Insitute of Criminology.

 

The Age. (2003, Febuary 25). No new twists in the Tanner tale. (The Age - Australia) Retrieved ca. September 2017, from The Age - Australia: http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/02/24/1046063962630.html

 

The Canberra Times. (2014, May 9). Former policeman Denis Tanner investigated over firearms. Retrieved from Canberra Times: http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/former-policeman-denis-tanner-investigated-over-firearms-20140509-zr795.html

 

Zagria. (2009, January 13). Adele Bailey (1955 - 1978) murdered. Retrieved December 5, 2017, from Blog Spot: https://zagria.blogspot.com.au/2009/01/adele-bailey-1955-1978-murdered.html#.WiZYZrSZ2Ay

 

Zagria. (2009, January 13). Adele Bailey (1955 - 1978) murdered. Retrieved Decmeber 5, 2017, from BlogSpot: https://zagria.blogspot.com.au/2009/01/adele-bailey-1955-1978-murdered.html#.WiZYZrSZ2Ay

 

zagria.blogspot. (2009, January 13). Adele Bailey (1955 - 1978) murdered. Retrieved 2017, from zagria.blogspot: https://zagria.blogspot.com.au/2009/01/adele-bailey-1955-1978-murdered.html

 

Author's Note

THIS IS ONLY THE DEMO. Is seriously unfinished I'm actually cringing right now XD

Anyways, this is a first. I do encourage you to be critical, even for the smallest things...

Thanks!

Reviews

[Matt Lugg]

Great piece about this tragic event for which justice has never been done. Love to see the finished product

[AliceBarnes]

This seems like such a unique idea! I never would have thought to do anything like this. Whilst I can see why JayG is thinking that people are paid to do this kind of thing, I think there might be a market for it, especially since you don't see this sort of thing released to the public. It could be say used for people who want to go into that kind of job and just want to see roughly what they will be having to look at/for. Yes, people read to be entertained, but personally I feel that there are some who do wish to be informed (Documentaries inform while entertaining) so who is to say that you couldn't do that with this? A very unique idea that you should be proud of! I wish you luck with your venture.

[JayG]

The demo? So you plan to build a fictitious file about a created character, so amateur sleuths can read it and reach a conclusion?

If so (and you don't explain your goal but should have): I can't see much of a market. People read to be entertained, not informed. They aren't seeking to hear about a crime, they want to be made to live the adventure, and do that in real-time, from within the moment the protagonist calls "now." But instead of living the story, you're asking them to sift through documents that normally, people have to be paid to read.

[Sachi Ruaya]

This is a factual criminology report...
Jennifer Tanner is my teacher's aunt who has died a while ago. This is NOT a created character.

The whole purpose of this is as a RESEARCH PAPER. To be informed. Remember that there is more than just stories in this Cafe. It's called Writers (as in writing) Cafe. Writing DOES include factual research papers and non-fiction...

This is NOT meant to entertain. It is a research paper! Only meant to state facts and evaluate and analyse them.

I highly doubt you actually read this :(

SachikoMochiko

[JayG]

I know it's a real report, a quick search showed that. But so what? You said it was a Demo, and didn't say what it was a demo of, or your intent for the finished project. So since there seems no purpose to posting Some public documents in a writing venue, and no purpose given for what you're attempting to accomplish, I gave a general comment. Feel free to delete or ignore it.

[Fayyaadh]

Oh ok now i understand it properly,apologies for thinking it was fictional before,well then look forward to seeing the final repprt on the case

[Sachi Ruaya]

It's alright. Everyone has the right to either criticise etc. I just thought I should be honest with what I'm thinking :) Excuse me if I was being rude.

SachikoMochiko

[augustus]

Fascinating stuff. Can't wait to see the verdict!

[Venusian Baby]

The most interesting part is that even though shot was supposed to be coming from below(according to splatter) she somehow managed to throw her hands to defend. Can't really imagine situation of this happening even with small caliber handgun, let alone stuff like AR 15 or any Short barrel rifle).

[Fayyaadh]

this is actually nice the format and way you are doing it cant wait to read the actual final product, wish it well, it is quite descriptive but that's the case with topic/story you are doing which is good since you are going for a crime dram type style other than research which I see you are doing, other than reports if you have read pulp fiction get a few more ideas from there but its just a suggestion that's all

[Coyote Poetry]

I liked this. Made me want to know and read more. Had the feel of a powerful introduction. If you write more. Please send read requests.
Coyote

[Sachi Ruaya]

I do apologise for the poor format. Well, this is a demo. I will fix it soon after it is finished! :)

SachikoMochiko