There is fresh hope that the murderer of Shandee Blackburn will soon be brought to justice following a revelatory podcast that brings into question the quality of the forensic evidence processing by the state-run laboratory.
The podcast, which was produced by investigative journalist Hedley Thomas from The Australian, found that lab results from DNA testing were likely mis-handled.
In the podcast Dr. Kristy Wright advises that there had been 17 incorrect results released from the laboratory.
A former forensic biologist also called the handling of the case a "forensic train wreck".
This evidence combined prompted the coroner to reopen the coronial investigation into Shandee’s death.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced the inquiry in June and it will be headed by the former President of the Court of Appeal, retired judge Walter Sofronoff.
Shandee Blackburn was murdered in February 2013 in the early hours of the morning as she was walking home from her workplace.
She was stabbed in multiple places including her chest and crawled to a nearby gutter where she was heard by a neighbour - Ringo Tapim - who called emergency services.
Shandee was then taken to hospital where attempts were made to resuscitate her before she was pronounced dead.
In 2014, John Peros was arrested and charged with her murder but found not guilty in 2017 when nothing was shown that directly linked him to Shandee’s murder.
In 2019 at a coronial inquest the court heard evidence against John Peros, which showed CCTV footage of a Toyota Hilux of the same age and colour as one he owned nearby the scene of the crime, six minutes prior to the murder.
In August 2020, coroner David O'Connell gave his findings that John Peros was indeed responsible for the murder of Shandee Blackburn - despite being acquitted three years prior.
The refreshed media coverage in the podcast ‘Shandee’s Story’ which mention the forensic lab failures has now brought about the inquiry into the processes of state DNA lab testing.
On Wednesday, two Queensland Government-run DNA testing laboratory senior employees who worked in the forensic unit were stood down pending the outcome of the inquiry.
Thousands of cases, including Sharnee’s will now be re-examined.
Image: Shandee Blackburn was murdered in 2013
