Christopher Bartle: Police Minister vows detectives will ‘never give up’ solving Gerard Ross cold case murder

Police Minister Reece Whitby has vowed detectives will “never give up” solving the cold case murder of WA schoolboy Gerard Ross, after its suspect was found dead before he could face trial for historical child sex abuse offences. The West Australian on Wednesday revealed Christopher James Bartle was a suspect in the unsolved 1997 murder of schoolboy Gerard, who vanished during a family holiday in Rockingham while walking to a nearby comic book shop on October 14. His body was found in the Karnup pine plantation — about 20km from where he was last seen — a fortnight later. Mr Bartle, a computer technician and junior sports photographer, lived just kilometres from where Gerard was last seen, and was identified as a suspect. He was interviewed at the time, but was never charged in relation to Gerard’s abduction or murder. Detectives last year charged Mr Bartle with 31 historical child sex offences, including multiple counts of rape and indecent dealing, with officers alleging he sexually abused four young girls between 1998 and 2007. His matter was set for a trial listing hearing in Perth District Court on April 17. But the 66-year-old died on March 21, with sources telling The West the circumstances surrounding his death were not suspicious. Mr Whitby — a former journalist — said he reported on Gerard’s murder at the time, and said the story had stuck with him throughout his career. “We’re parents, we can relate to this, it’s just a devastating, tragic, horrendous offence,” he said. He said officers would continue to investigate Gerard’s murder, and pledged police would “never put the file away”. “My heart is with the family, as it always is, but the message they should know from police is that they never give up,” he said. “I don’t know how critical (Mr Bartle) was and what evidence or situation might be able to throw light on that terrible murder, but people should know that police will always continue investigating, they’ll never give up and they’ll always look at evidence as it comes forward.” Prior to Gerard’s disappearance, Mr Bartle was a member of the white supremacist Australian Nationalists Movement and a follower of its leader, Jack Van Tongeren. In 1990, Mr Bartle, Van Tongeren and four others were arrested as part of a high-level police operation called Operation Jackhammer. After his release from Fremantle Prison in 1993, Mr Bartle settled in Rockingham and took up photography. The father-of-four later shared more than 150,000 images on photo-sharing website Flickr, describing himself as a “very enthusiastic amateur photographer”. “I try not to capture any image that may cause embarrassment or that goes against my own moral standards,” he wrote online. In 2015, he posted a photo of his Working With Children Check card, writing about how difficult it had been to obtain. “Sports photographers are not required or eligible to have a working with children’s check card, this is because there is no way a photographer can groom or harm a child,” he wrote. “I have tried for years to get a WWCC, but photographers are not required or eligible to have a WWCC. “Through my church I was able to obtain a WWCC; finally I found a way to get one and I present my WWCC to the world. Finally a way to prove that I am honourable.” In 2011, one of Mr Bartle’s alleged victims filed a police report alleging he had sexually abused her when she was 15-years-old. He denied the allegation. More complainants came forward in subsequent years, and he was arrested and charged in February last year. Mr Bartle fronted Rockingham Magistrates Court last February and was refused bail, partly due to the fact he lived near a school and his wife was working as a tutor. He was later granted bail in Armadale Magistrates Court after providing a $10,000 personal undertaking and a $10,000 surety. Mr Bartle’s alleged victims told The West Australian his death had denied them their chance at justice. One victim — who alleged Mr Bartle abused her between the ages of six and nine — said she was “devastated”. “I had been waiting for my day in court — for accountability, for my voice to be heard, and for some sense of justice — since I was nine years old,” she said. “That opportunity has now been taken from me. “I am devastated, not just by what he did to me as a child, but by the fact he has escaped facing the consequences of his actions. “It feels like the system has failed me and the other victims in the end, and I’ve been left without closure.”