No further proceedings to take place in case of UK-born toddler who disappeared in New South Wales nearly 50 years ago

The trial of a man accused of murdering UK-born toddler Cheryl Grimmer almost 50 years ago will not go ahead, after a judge ruled his 1971 police interview was not admissible.

Cheryl Grimmer vanished from outside a shower block while with her mother and three older brothers at Fairy Meadow Beach in the Illawarra region of New South Wales on 12 January 1970.

The man, who cannot be named as he was underage at the time, pleaded not guilty in September 2018 to murdering the three-year-old in 1970.

In April last year, the court heard that during an interview with police in the early 1970s, the man had confessed to killing Grimmer, telling officers he had intended to have “sexual intercourse” with the girl before allegedly killing her.

The court heard at the time that the Crown’s case “largely depends” on an admission made by the man when he was 17 years old, less than 18 months after Grimmer disappeared.

Cheryl Grimmer case: police arrest man over murder of toddler 47 years ago Read more

But on Friday, Justice Robert Allan Hulme ruled the interview could not be used as evidence in the trial.

In his judgment in the New South Wales supreme court on Friday, Hulme said the interview was inadmissible because of the manner in which it was conducted and the particular vulnerability of the accused at the time.

“No parent, adult or legal practitioner was present at any stage of the police interview,” the judge said.

He heard evidence from two psychiatrists who agreed that the teenager had a low average intelligence, was immature and more vulnerable than the average 17-year-old.

The court heard the accused had a difficult relationship with his parents, a history of running away from home, moving countries, low intellect and limited education.

“Both agreed that this meant the accused would have been vulnerable to influence and may have had a propensity to respond to the cues or expectations of others,” the judge said.

The Crown submitted that at the time of the interview, there were no mandatory requirements or guidelines for an adult support person to be present when questioning minors.

The other evidence before the judge was made up of contemporaneous records and reports from 1970-71, derived from his interaction with the juvenile justice system.

“I hasten to add that any criminal behaviour was of a relative minor kind [and] that what seemed to be more concerning was the accused’s frequent absconding from homes and from detention facilities. The Crown accepts that its case cannot succeed without it,” the judge noted.

In a statement following the ruling about the interview, the New South Wales director of public prosecutions said it had directed that no further proceedings take place.

In the absence of that interview, there was insufficient evidence for the case to proceed, a spokeswoman said.

Cheryl Grimmer’s disappearance in January 1970 prompted a high-profile police investigation. The case was reopened after a 2011 coroner’s report ruled that Grimmer was dead and recommended that police reinvestigate.

The man, now in his 60s, was arrested in March 2018 but was released on Friday.