A man previously charged with kidnapping and murdering a little girl more than 50 years ago has been named for the first time in NSW parliament.
Cheryl Grimmer, a UK-born toddler, vanished from outside a shower block while on an outing with her family at Fairy Meadow Beach in the Illawarra, NSW.
Her disappearance has never been solved and a coronial inquest in 2011 found that she was likely dead and urged police to reopen the case.
Cheryl Grimmer vanished in 1970. (BBC/Supplied)
Investigators discovered records of a police interview in 1971, in which a 17-year-old boy allegedly admitted to police he had abducted and killed the girl.
Because of his age at the time, he has only been identified by the pseudonym “Mercury” until today, when Legalise Cannabis MP Jeremy Buckingham revealed his name in parliament.
Parliamentary privilege means MPs cannot be sued or prosecuted for what they say in parliament, though the house as a body may take action against MPs deemed to have abused privilege.
Cheryl with her mother Carole. (60 Minutes)
9news.com.au is unable to reveal the identity of the man named by Buckingham because the media organisations are not protected by the same privilege.
No charges were laid during the Grimmer investigation in 1971, as police were unable to verify the details of the alleged confession and concluded it was false.
A renewed investigation saw Mercury arrested in 2017 and taken before the courts.
Cheryl’s disappearance has never been solved. (BBC/Supplied)
He pleaded not guilty to Cheryl’s abduction and murder.
However, the alleged confession was ruled inadmissible as evidence by the judge, who said that Mercury was a minor at the time and had not had the benefit of a parent or guardian present when the alleged confession was made.
The prosecution ultimately dropped the charges against Mercury, who is now in his 60s.
