Key Points
- Robert and Anne Geeves have been found not guilty of the murder of Amber Haigh.
- Haigh was reported missing in 2002 when she was 19 years old.
- The couple was arrested and charged with murder in 2022.
A married couple has been found not guilty of the murder of Amber Haigh, 19, who went missing in 2002.
In front of a packed courtroom on Monday, Justice Julia Lonergan acquitted Robert and Anne Geeves after a judge-alone trial in the Supreme Court of New South Wales.
Here’s what you need to know.
Who was Amber Haigh?
Haigh was 19 when she disappeared. She lived in Kingsvale, in south-west New South Wales, with her five-month-old son.
Haigh has been described as “loving and caring”, but also “vulnerable” and “naive”.
Medical experts and family testimony presented in court showed that the young woman had the mental capabilities of a 12- or 13-year-old girl and that others could easily boss her around or take advantage of her.
When did Amber Haigh disappear?
Haigh was reported missing on June 19, 2002 by Robert and Anne Geeves.
The couple told police they dropped her off at Campbelltown train station, in suburban Sydney, on June 5 to visit her father in Mt Druitt, Sydney. They said she left her son in their care.
Later that day, money was withdrawn from his bank account at a Campbelltown ATM at around 8.45pm.
Extensive investigations were conducted, including numerous public appeals and a $1 million reward for information, but no trace of her was found.
In 2011, a coronial inquest found that Haigh had died, having died “as a result of homicide or other misadventure” in June 2002.
What were Robert and Anne Geeves accused of?
The Geeves were arrested in 2022 and charged with murder.
Prosecutors said he killed Haigh in order to gain custody of the child. The defense argued that there was no evidence to support this claim.
In his judgment, Lonergan said the Geeves’ version of events “could be true”. She said Haigh probably died in June 2002, but it had not been proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the couple killed her.
The couple have always maintained their innocence and denied any involvement in Haigh’s disappearance.
Additional reporting by Australian Associated Press.
