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Inside WA Police’s Special Crime Squad tasked with investigating WA’s most complex domestic violence cases

Her husband had dug a grave in the backyard of their northern suburbs home, ready for the day he finally killed her. And in the garage, there was a noose he had tied, hanging from the rafters. Over the years, the 54-year-old woman was beaten, abused, drugged, held captive in her own house, tied to a bed and callously sexually assaulted with a knife at her throat. He stole litres of caustic soda, telling his wife he’d one day use it to dissolve her body. She was forced to flee overseas for her life, only for her abuser to burn down her house while she was gone. And on the day she finally escaped the grip of her husband’s years-long reign of terror, she believes she was just minutes from being another tragic mark on WA’s shocking tally of women killed at the hands of their partners. “He locked me in the house, and he had shackles and chains that he had made,” the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said. “And I knew that he was going to kill me that day. He looked me in the eye and said, ‘I’m going to kill you today’.” Somehow, she found the strength to fight her way out. She escaped after grabbing the spare car keys. She had the foresight to hide. Her ex-husband, who also cannot be named, now faces dozens of serious offences. She credits the officers within WA Police’s specialist family and domestic violence squad with saving her life. She has shared her story in the hope it might help save another. The team — officially known as the special crime squad — serious crime and family violence — sits on the same floor as the detectives who investigate cold case homicides. It is tasked with investigating WA’s most complex domestic violence cases — and its officers are called upon during high-risk situations to quickly take down dangerous perpetrators and save victims from harm. Acting Detective Inspector Peter Fuderer told The West Australian that the woman’s story was sadly not an isolated one and rattled off a brief list of cases that have crossed his desk in recent weeks alone. A woman who had been repeatedly punched in the head before he broke her leg with a weapon. Another had her arm, face and ribs broken after she had objects thrown at her, and the offender hit her until she lost consciousness. A victim with a perforated ear drum. Another with a broken eye socket. Since July, the squad has charged more than 250 people with more than 2000 serious family violence offences. “Every day we will get multiple inquiries or multiple investigations in for inquiry,” Det-Insp. Fuderer said. “The offences we are looking at range from sexual assaults, historic or current, all with a family violence association, to serious assaults. We are dealing daily with serious significant injuries to victims, again historic or current.” The squad was initially set up to investigate historic cases until two years ago, when its focus changed to dealing with current, very high-risk, and complex investigations. “I think the reporting of family violence became (more prominent) ... and to specialise in investigations gets a better outcome for victims,” Det-Insp. Fuderer said. “The detectives here ... what they do have is time and expertise developed over years of policing ... which gives them the expertise to sit down with victims. “We understand that for them to come forward is a massive step. They might’ve suffered 10, 15, 20 years of nearly daily abuse, physical and sexual ... so for them to leave that family environment, where they are a prisoner in their own house, to actually go to authorities and say something — to actually interview those people can take days and days, if not weeks, to strip back all of the layers that have been built up to protect them. “It can take a long time to find out what has actually happened to them so that we can get the evidence ... to be able to prove that in court.” In an example of the team’s tenacity, Det-Insp. Fuderer detailed a situation where a woman was turning up to work regularly with black eyes — prompting her employer to call police — but the victim was reluctant to talk. An officer then spent a week with the woman, building her trust and confidence to the point she disclosed years of abuse to him. She told police she was aware that the same man had offended against another woman — who in turn disclosed she was aware of a third victim — exposing a web of violence. “So out of the courage of one lady and the determination to not accept that nothing had happened from the detective ... he was able to identify a number of victims of a number of serious offences,” Det-Insp. Fuderer said. Assistant Commissioner Tony Longhorn said the squad will, where possible, take on protracted investigations that may span multiple metropolitan districts or regional WA, which in turn also frees up frontline officers. “They work closely with local detectives to resolve investigations and hold the perpetrators to account,” he said. In recent years, new legislation has given police better powers to bring perpetrators to account, including laws around distributing intimate images — an offence Det-Insp. Fuderer said it was becoming “more and more prevalent”. Another relatively new offence — persistently engaging in family violence — has also helped in cases involving victims who have been abused for years and are unable to pinpoint offending to specific dates. “It makes it a lot easier for historic victims to get their stories out and to get them through the court,” Det-Insp. Federer said. And in recent years, police have been faced with a new frontier to tackle — with advances in technology giving perpetrators alarmingly cheap and easy ways to track their victims. Det-Insp. Fuderer said the squad’s work has undoubtedly changed lives. “It’s not just freeing up that victim, it’s freeing up their kids, it’s freeing up their parents, their friends, to get them out of that cage where they are and freeing up them up to live again,” he said. “I think there’s no doubt that over the years the squad has been operating, a number of lives have been saved.” The Assistant Commissioner agreed. “The capacity for the team to work closely with victims and build up the necessary trust has resulted in some perpetrators being charged with serious offending which spans over many years,” Mr Longhorn said. “I have no doubt that the team have saved the lives of victims who were trapped in violent relationships and felt they had no means of escape. “If that’s not one of the most satisfying and rewarding things we can do as police, I’m not sure what is.” For women like the one at the start of this story, it’s never as easy as just simply leaving. She is now homeless, broke and “my mental health is shot beyond shot”. Her abuser racked up thousands of dollars worth of debt in her name without her knowledge — and she faces frustrating roadblocks with the banks trying to clear it. She is likely going to have to flee WA, leaving behind her only support network when her ex-husband soon becomes eligible for parole over the burning down of her home. But she said the most important thing was that she was still here. Every time she sees a tragic headline about another woman killed, she said she feels “very, very lucky — but very, very sad”. “I’ve not got much else going for me, but I’m alive,” she said. “So if you’re still alive and you get the opportunity to go and leave the situation — go. “Trust the police because if I hadn’t trusted the police, I wouldn’t be alive.” 1800 RESPECT

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Inside WA Police’s Special Crime Squad tasked with investigating WA’s most complex domestic violence cases

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Inside WA Police’s Special Crime Squad tasked with investigating WA’s most complex domestic violence cases