A top cop in South Australia has hit back at explosive claims made in a television special about the disappearance of four-year-old Gus Lamont.<\/p>\n
During a special edition of Spotlight on Sunday evening, Gus Lamont\u2019s grandmother spoke out for the first time since the boy was last seen.<\/p>\n
Speaking to 7News journalist Hannah Foord, Josie Murray addressed the mystery in detail, having been told by the police she was the \u201cmain suspect\u201d.<\/p>\n
But the broadcast also included an interview with a close friend of Ms Murray, Bill Harbison, who levied a shocking broadside at investigating officers.<\/p>\n
Mr Harbison claimed police had subjected Ms Murray to \u201cdiscrimination\u201d due to her transitioning to live as a woman decades ago.<\/p>\n
He said police were \u201ctargeting her because of her transgender situation \u2013 and they were mortally offended that I should say it\u201d.<\/p>\n
However, following the broadcast, one of South Australia\u2019s most senior cops bit back at these claims.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the claim is nonsense,\u201d Deputy Police commissioner Linda Williams said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we conduct any investigation, we always do it impartially, and I am very proud of the professionalism shown by our officers.\u201d<\/p>\n
She declined to comment on any ongoing matters of the investigation but added that she watched the broadcast with interest.<\/p>\n
\u2018MAIN SUSPECT\u2019<\/p>\n
During the hour-long broadcast Ms Murray revealed that she was the police\u2019s \u201cmain suspect\u201d in the little boy\u2019s disappearance and detectives believed she buried him after he died in an accident.<\/p>\n
Gus vanished from his family\u2019s Oak Park Station, near Yunta in the South Australian outback, on September 27 in what has become one of the country\u2019s biggest missing persons cases.<\/p>\n
Speaking to Spotlight, Ms Murray denied having anything to do with the four-year-old\u2019s disappearance.<\/p>\n
Ms Murray detailed how her family frantically searched for Gus in fading light and said she believed police missed evidence of another person being on the property.<\/p>\n
She told the program that she was the \u201cmain suspect\u201d and had been told by police that they believed she had buried him after Gus had died in an accident.<\/p>\n
\u2018LUDICROUS\u2019<\/p>\n
She called the theory \u201cludicrous\u201d, saying it would not be possible to bury anything on the property without disturbing the ground, noting the property had been extensively searched by police.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ve said they don\u2019t think I\u2019ve hurt him, they think that I\u2019ve buried him \u2013 that\u2019s one of the theories they\u2019re working on,\u201d Ms Murray told Spotlight.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor so many reasons it\u2019s ludicrous. It doesn\u2019t make sense. Why would you do that to yourself?\u201d<\/p>\n
She said that had Gus been injured or killed in an accident, she would have made full admissions and \u201cdeal with it\u201d.<\/p>\n
No one has been charged over Gus\u2019 disappearance.<\/p>\n
It is the first time Ms Murray has publicly given her version of events.<\/p>\n
She said the family first noticed Gus had gone missing about 5.30pm on September 27 after not seeing him for about half an hour, prompting a search of the station\u2019s dams, tanks and buildings.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were on the front veranda and she (Gus\u2019 grandmother Shannon) said that Gus was just down near what we call the bomb shelter plane and when we had a look, no sign,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd we said to Shannon \u2018when did you last see him?\u2019 And she said \u2018five o\u2019clock\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had a quick conference and decided what to do, and we decided we better jump on the bikes and go and look.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know what time that was, but after we\u2019d searched on foot, I remember saying \u2018we\u2019ve got 45 minutes of daylight, we better get on with it\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018I WONDER IF SOMEONE\u2019S COME IN\u2019<\/p>\n
She said police were first called at 8pm.<\/p>\n
Ms Murray said before police arrived, she noticed a bedstead and weather station had been moved on the property.<\/p>\n
She said she also saw tyre tracks nearby.<\/p>\n
\u201cI saw wheel tracks going down past where the bedstead was and past where the weather station was,\u201d Ms Murray said. <\/p>\n
\u201cAnd these wheel tracks were a small tyre, a medium-sized car, and not much tread on them \u2026 It was definitely a passenger type. And I thought that\u2019s strange too. <\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I started to think, almost immediately, I wonder if someone\u2019s come in.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms Murray told the program that she also found a footprint on the dam at her property that matched one of Gus\u2019s shoes \u2013 but said it was dismissed by police.<\/p>\n
She said she believed Gus was abducted.<\/p>\n
\u2018WANDERED OFF\u2019<\/p>\n
She said Gus had also gone missing on another occasion before being found a short time later.<\/p>\n
\u201cShan had taken him down to the shearers\u2019 quarters while Jess (Gus\u2019 mother) and I were mustering,\u201d Ms Murray said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd he had wandered off and Shan couldn\u2019t find him when she was gonna come home, so she came home and told us, you know, Gus was gone for a walk somewhere. <\/p>\n
\u201cJess, and I thought, well, we better get on the motorbike and just go and find him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms Murray said she ultimately found Gus about 120m from where he had walked off from.<\/p>\n
She said she hoped the community continued to look for Gus.<\/p>\n
Earlier this month, Ms Murray was fined after appearing in an Adelaide court for owning a gun silencer, which was discovered by police stored in a safe room on the property.<\/p>\n
The offence was not related to Gus\u2019s disappearance.<\/p>\n
Adelaide Magistrates Court was told that Ms Murray had owned the silencer prior to a change in law requiring a licence.<\/p>\n
She was fined $10,500 after pleading guilty and handed a temporary ban on possessing firearms.<\/p>\n